Cambridgeshire has fewer proper farmers’ markets than it did ten years ago. Several village markets still appear in council directories but have gone quiet online, and one organiser’s website now points somewhere else entirely. What is left is a small group of markets that are clearly trading, run by town councils, a district council trading company and one very long-running volunteer cooperative, plus the weekly town markets where a fishmonger, a greengrocer and a baker do the same job.
This guide covers nine of them across Cambridge and the south, Huntingdonshire, and Ely and the Fens. We have only given a regular pattern, such as the first and third Saturday, where the council or organiser publishes it. Where they do not, we say so. Our market towns guide covers parking and sightseeing in each town, so this one sticks to what is on the stalls and when to go.
Details were accurate at the time of research in November 2026. Markets move or skip dates for Christmas, funfairs and bad weather, so please check the organiser’s website before you travel.
Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire
Cambridge has the county’s only seven day market, and the Sunday version is the closest the city gets to a producers’ market. South of the city, the villages once had a ring of monthly farmers’ markets, but the one we could confirm for 2026 is a Wednesday morning country market that has been going since 1976.
Cambridge Sunday Market, Market Hill
Outdoor activity
- Cambridge City Council runs the market on Market Hill every day except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, from 10am to 4pm
- On Sundays and bank holiday Mondays it becomes the Sunday Market, which is aimed at arts, crafts and local produce rather than everyday groceries
- Monday to Saturday it trades as the General Market, and Cambridge Network describes around 100 stallholders setting up on a typical day
- The Sunday stalls face the Guildhall across the square, with Great St Mary’s on the other side
- Planning permission to rebuild the Market Square was granted on 2 September 2026, with 97 stalls in the new layout and 55 of them fixed with power and lighting
- Cambridge City Council plans to rebuild the Market Square and move the market to temporary stalls in nearby streets, including King’s Parade, Petty Cury and Sidney Street, while the work happens
- Full Council decides on 26 November 2026, and the council says the market would move in March 2027 if the plans are approved, so check cambridge.gov.uk before you visit
- There is no parking on Market Hill, so use the park and ride or walk in from the bus station
Address: Market Hill, Cambridge city centre
Website: cambridge.gov.uk/cambridge-market
How to book: No booking needed; just turn up between 10am and 4pm
Sunday is the day for food shoppers who live in the city. The weekday tourist crush thins out, the pace slows and you can actually talk to the people selling to you. Expect local produce alongside the craft stalls rather than a full farm-gate line-up of meat and veg. The bigger story is the planned rebuild. If it goes ahead, expect your favourite stall to be round a corner on Petty Cury or King’s Parade for about a year.
Great Shelford Country Market
Indoor activity
- A weekly indoor market in Great Shelford Memorial Hall on Woollards Lane, open every Wednesday from 9am to 11:30am
- It opened in 1976 and marked its 50th year in 2026, when the BBC reported on the anniversary
- Everything on sale is homemade, homegrown or handcrafted by the members, according to the stallholders
- Expect baking, preserves and garden produce, and the plant section was restocked for spring 2026 with spring flowers, pussy willow and catkins
- Entry is free, and refreshments are served in the hall
- The market is part of the national Country Markets network of small producers, and it is looking for new local bakers, preserve makers, growers and crafters to join
- It is the only producer market in South Cambridgeshire that we could confirm with 2026 evidence from two sources
- It is a morning-only market, so a lunchtime visit will find the hall already packed away
Address: Memorial Hall, Woollards Lane, Great Shelford CB22 5LZ
Website: country-markets.co.uk; dates also appear in the Great Shelford Village News
How to book: No booking needed; open every Wednesday morning
Great Shelford Country Market is about as far from a city food hall as you can get, and that is the appeal. It is a village hall kind of morning, with the people who baked the cakes and potted the plants standing behind their own tables. This is the place for a proper sponge or a jar of jam made in a kitchen a few streets away. Because it runs on a weekday morning, it suits retired shoppers and anyone working from home rather than the Saturday crowd. It is ten minutes south of Cambridge, so it pairs easily with a walk on the Gog Magog Hills.
Huntingdonshire and the Great Ouse Valley
The two strongest farmers’ markets in the west of the county are run by town councils and take turns through the month, so you can shop at one of them on almost any Saturday. St Ives has the first and third Saturdays and St Neots the second and fourth, both close to the Great Ouse.
St Ives Farmers’ Market
Outdoor activity
- St Ives Town Council runs the farmers’ market on the first and third Saturday of every month, from 8:30am to 2pm
- The town council holds the market on Sheep Market in the town centre
- The town council says the market was a finalist for FARMA Farmers’ Market of the Year three years running
- Stalls are set out in a horseshoe, a layout chosen after a trial at the market’s tenth birthday in 2013
- Arrive early if you want meat or bread, as those stalls are the busiest in the first part of the morning
- The town’s ordinary street market runs on Market Hill every Monday from 8:30am to 3pm and every Friday from 8:30am to 2pm, if you cannot make a Saturday
- Huntingdonshire District Council lists St Ives Town Council as the contact for the farmers’ market on 01480 388927
- Globe Place and Cattle Market car parks are a few minutes’ walk from the centre, and the Guided Busway runs from Cambridge
Address: Sheep Market, St Ives town centre
Website: stivestowncouncil.gov.uk and huntingdonshire.gov.uk/markets
Phone: 01480 388927 (St Ives Town Council)
How to book: No booking needed; first and third Saturday of the month
St Ives is the farmers’ market most people in Huntingdonshire would send you to, and the town carries it well. Georgian fronts on the Broadway, the bridge chapel over the Great Ouse and Cromwell’s statue on Market Hill make a Saturday shop feel like a morning out. Our food and drink guide covered it as one of the county’s food stops; this time the point is the calendar. Pair it with a walk out along the Ouse Valley Way towards Houghton Mill.
St Neots Farm and Craft Market
Outdoor activity
- St Neots Town Council runs the Farm and Craft Market on the second and fourth Saturday of each month in the Market Square, from 9am to 2pm
- The remaining 2026 dates published by the town council are 14 and 28 November and 12 and 19 December, so the last December market moves forward a week to avoid Boxing Day
- Stalls sell local meat, poultry, game and seasonal vegetables, alongside artisan bread, vegan bakes, sweet treats and hot breakfast and lunch food
- Handmade soaps, textiles and woodwork make up the craft side of the market
- The town council says its dessert and baked goods pitches are full, so there is no shortage of cake
- The Market Square was rebuilt between late 2023 and spring 2025, and general car parking was removed from the square, so park in a town centre car park
- The weekly street market, run by Huntingdonshire District Council, fills the same square every Thursday from 8:30am to 2pm
Address: Market Square, St Neots PE19 2AA
Website: stneots-tc.gov.uk
Phone: 01480 388911 (St Neots Town Council)
How to book: No booking needed; second and fourth Saturday of the month
The St Neots market leans further towards crafts than St Ives, but the meat and game stalls make it worth a visit if you cook. The rebuilt square, with new trees, benches and rain gardens, is a much nicer place to shop than the car park it used to be. Christmas is the time to plan around: the town lights switch on on 29 November 2026, and the 19 December market is the town’s last farmers’ market before Christmas. The bridge over the Great Ouse is a short walk from the square if you want a riverside stroll afterwards.
Ely, the Fens and Peterborough
Ely is the food market capital of the county outside Cambridge, with a farmers’ market, a Thursday charter market and something on the Market Place most days. Further north, the Fenland towns of March, Whittlesey and Chatteris have small weekly markets where the fishmonger and the veg stall are the reason to go. We could not find a regular farmers’ market in Peterborough for 2026; the nearest thing is the City Market food hall on Bridge Street, which Peterborough City Council lists as open Tuesday to Saturday from 8:30am to 4pm with two butchers, a fishmonger and a deli.
Ely Farmers’ Market
Outdoor activity
- The farmers’ market runs on Ely’s Market Place on the second and fourth Saturday of every month, from 8:30am to 2pm
- East Cambridgeshire District Council said the market celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2025, which puts its start at around 2000
- Stalls sell local fruit and vegetables, flowers, plants, shrubs and herbs, along with meat, cakes, pies, pastries and preserves
- The Saturday Craft, Food and Vintage Market trades alongside it from 8:30am to 3:30pm, so farmers’ market Saturdays are the busiest of the month
- The markets are run by the East Cambs Trading Company, the trading arm of East Cambridgeshire District Council
- In December 2026 the fourth Saturday falls on Boxing Day, so check the market website before planning a last-minute Christmas shop
- Ely station is about 15 minutes’ walk uphill to the Market Place, with direct trains from Cambridge, Peterborough, King’s Lynn and Norwich
Address: Market Place, Ely city centre
Website: elymarkets.co.uk
How to book: No booking needed; second and fourth Saturday of the month
Ely’s farmers’ market sits right under the cathedral, and on a clear morning you get the west tower over the top of the veg stalls. It is the market to aim for if you want food from the surrounding Fens rather than general stalls, and the plant and herb sellers are worth a look in spring. The square is exposed when the wind comes across the fen, so dress for it in winter. Park at Forehill or Newnham Street and walk up.
Ely Charter Market
Outdoor activity
- The Charter Market fills Ely’s Market Place every Thursday from 8:30am to 3:30pm
- It continues a market granted to the Bishop of Ely by Henry III, and the district council marked about 800 years of markets in Ely in 2025
- Stalls include local produce, flowers, artisan bread, cakes and household goods, with street food at lunchtime
- It is the main weekday food market in East Cambridgeshire
- A smaller mini market runs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which is mainly a coffee stall with seating and a few extra stalls on Fridays
- Ely Markets is run by the East Cambs Trading Company, which also lists its traders and events on the market website
- Several Ely car parks have early morning restrictions, so read the signs if you arrive before the stalls open
Address: Market Place, Ely city centre
Website: elymarkets.co.uk
How to book: No booking needed; every Thursday
The Thursday market is the one Ely residents actually shop at, and it has a different feel from the weekend. There are fewer visitors and more locals doing a weekly shop, so it moves at an easier pace. It will not have the full farmers’ market spread of meat and preserves, but for bread, flowers and a bag of veg it does the job. If you are visiting the cathedral midweek, time it for a Thursday and do your shopping on the way back down Fore Hill.
March Market
Outdoor activity
- March market runs on the Market Place every Wednesday and Saturday, according to Fenland District Council
- Saturday is the bigger day, with stalls for cheese and meat, cakes, plants and hot food as well as books
- The Market Place car park is closed to drivers from 4am to 7pm on market days, so use City Road car park, which is free
- Fenland District Council does not publish set opening hours for the stalls, so come in the morning for the best choice
- The spring funfair takes over City Road car park in March; in 2026 it was in town from 14 to 29 March, so parking is tighter then
- Fenland District Council holds the March Christmas Market on the first Sunday in December
- March station on the Ely to Peterborough line is about a 20 minute walk from the Market Place
Address: Market Place, March PE15 9JF
Website: fenland.gov.uk/markets
How to book: No booking needed; Wednesdays and Saturdays
March is the Fenland town where a Saturday market still feels like an event, if a modest one. The cheese and meat stalls are the reason to come for food, so get there in the morning. The town centre has been tidied up under the Future High Streets Fund, so the walk from the market to the river is more pleasant than it was. Combine it with St Wendreda’s Church and its carved angel roof for a proper Fen morning out.
Whittlesey Market
Outdoor activity
- Whittlesey market is held every Friday in the Market Place around the 17th century Buttercross
- Fenland District Council allows stalls to trade between 4am and 7pm, though in practice it is a morning market
- Regular traders listed by the council include Routs of Wisbech, a family-run fishmonger, and Dan’s Fruit and Veg, which sells locally sourced produce
- Johnson Plants and Flowers sells plants, seeds and flowers, and Pawsome Snax sells natural dog treats
- When the spring funfair comes to town the market moves; on 27 March 2026 it traded in Station Road car park instead
- Fenland District Council car parks in the town are free
- Whittlesea station, on the Ely to Peterborough line, is a short walk south of the town centre
Address: Market Place, Whittlesey
Website: fenland.gov.uk/markets
How to book: No booking needed; Fridays
Whittlesey’s market is small, and nobody would call it a farmers’ market, but it is where the town buys its fish. A fishmonger driving inland from Wisbech, a veg stall with local produce and a flower stall make a sensible Friday shop for anyone living between Peterborough and March. The Buttercross gives the market a centre, and the town museum opens in the Town Hall on Friday mornings if you want to make more of the trip. Do not come expecting a long row of stalls.
Chatteris Market
Outdoor activity
- Chatteris market runs every Friday on Park Street, according to Fenland District Council
- Routs of Wisbech, the same family fishmonger that trades at Whittlesey, sells fresh fish and seafood here
- Mountain Fresh Imports sells fresh fruit and vegetables, many of them sourced locally
- The council does not publish market hours, so arrive in the morning
- Fenland District Council car parks in the town are free
- The Christmas lights switch on is on Saturday 28 November 2026 at 4:30pm, with festive stalls around Market Hill
Address: Park Street, Chatteris
Website: fenland.gov.uk/markets and chatteristowncouncil.info
How to book: No booking needed; Fridays
Chatteris is the smallest market in this guide, a handful of stalls on a Friday rather than a market square full of them. What makes it worth listing is that the regular traders cover the basics properly: fresh fish and seafood, and fruit and veg. The drive in along the straight fen roads from Somersham or Ramsey shows you the black soil that grows much of what ends up on Fen market stalls.
Seasonal Highlights
Spring: Fenland District Council’s spring funfairs visit March and Whittlesey in the second half of March, moving Whittlesey’s Friday market and filling City Road car park in March town centre. Local asparagus usually starts appearing on the St Ives and Ely farmers’ market stalls from late April, and Ely’s Eel Festival fills the city on the early May bank holiday weekend.
Summer: Ely’s Foodie Friday evenings run on the last Friday of each month from April to August, 4pm to 8:30pm, on the Market Place. The long summer Saturdays are the best time to see the St Ives and St Neots farmers’ markets at full strength, and Great Shelford Country Market celebrated its 50th year in June 2026.
Autumn: The Fenland Food Festival in Wisbech brings producers’ stalls to the Queen Mary Centre in early September; in 2026 it was on 5 September. Game starts to appear on the meat stalls at the Ely and St Neots markets, and the Fenland celery harvest runs from September to December.
Winter: Chatteris lights up on 28 November and St Neots on 29 November 2026. Cambridge City Council’s Full Council decides on the Market Square rebuild on 26 November, St Neots holds its last market of the year on 19 December, and the Wisbech Christmas Fayre takes over the town centre on the second Sunday of December.
A Note From Inside Cambridge
We expected this guide to be longer. Plenty of village farmers’ markets still turn up in directories, but when we checked them, the most recent dates we could find were from 2024 or 2025. We would rather list nine markets you can count on than twenty that might be an empty village hall.
If you run a farmers’ market or country market in Cambridgeshire, or you shopped at one recently that we have missed, please get in touch. We will add it as soon as we can confirm it is trading.
Before You Go
- Farmers’ markets in this guide run on set Saturdays only: the first and third in St Ives, and the second and fourth in St Neots and Ely
- Christmas and Boxing Day shift some dates, so check the organiser’s website for December markets; St Neots has already moved its last 2026 market to 19 December
- Bring cash as well as a card, as not every stall takes cards
- Take a cool bag if you are buying meat, fish or cheese and have a drive home afterwards
- Cambridge City Council plans to rebuild the Market Square and move the market to temporary stalls in nearby streets, including King’s Parade, Petty Cury and Sidney Street, while the work happens. Full Council decides on 26 November 2026, and the council says the market would move in March 2027 if the plans are approved, so check cambridge.gov.uk before you visit
- Fenland District Council car parks in March, Whittlesey and Chatteris are free, while Huntingdonshire District Council charges in its main St Ives and St Neots car parks
- Ely, St Neots, March and Whittlesea have railway stations, St Ives is on the Guided Busway, and Chatteris relies on buses or the car
