Farmer’s markets have grown from being a protest against wasteful food miles and tasteless supermarket produce to major attractions in their own right.Indeed, while standard British markets have become swamped by cheap plastic items and gaudy crafts, farmers markets have become hugely popular foodie events.The growing demand for local, fresh and genuinely tasty food means there are now estimated to be more than 650 farmers markets around the UK.I’ve toured many of them, and helped write a book called ‘Taste Britain’ about the regional delicacies you can find on farmers’ market stalls. In fact, I once even moved to a town because it has such a good farmers market.From all my travels, research and chats with market traders – in addition to actually sampling the goods – here are the very best of Britain’s best farmers’ markets.South WestTruro, Cornwall In Truro, Cornwall, a market takes place by the cathedral9am-4pm, Wednesday and Saturday, Lemon QuayFind the green-and-white striped awnings of Cornwall’s top food market twice weekly in the shadow of Truro cathedral.The same market also appears in the pedestrianised area of nearby Falmouth, known as The Moor, every Tuesday.Don’t miss: Local specialities such as Cornish gouda cheese, honey from local bees, Cornish sea salt and Chelsea-gold-winning garden plants.Crediton, Devon 10am-1pm, first and third Saturday of month, Market StreetThis rural, busy get-together meets fortnightly in the Mid Devon market town centre. Stallholders are the producers and only sell what they grow or create.Don’t miss: Produce ranges from farmer’s meat pies, vegetables from organic no-dig fields and the unique Devon Oke cheese.Taunton, Somerset In Taunton, a farmers’ market happens every Thursday on the high street9am-2pm, Thursday, High StreetThe county town’s longstanding market is run by a farmers’ co-op and runs along the high street. Note that most of the traders prefer cash.Don’t miss: Products from Somerset cider to traditionally-reared meat straight from the farm.SouthDevizes, Wiltshire The market square in Devizes is filled with stalls every Thursday and the first Saturday of each month7am-3pm, every Thursday and first Saturday of month, Market SquareThe picturesque town square has held food markets for 300 years around its historic carved stone market cross monument. The market has also grown significantly over years; the stalls now spread into the nearby covered ‘Shambles’ area, too.Don’t miss: Wiltshire pork, bacon and sausages, speciality cheeses and veg from fields on the hills around the town. Winchester, Hampshire Winchester boasts an award-winning farmers’ market9am-2pm, second and last Sunday of month, High Street & Middle Brook StreetWinchester’s award-winning farmers’ market is one of the UK’s biggest, with up to 100 stalls fortnightly spread around the ancient Buttercross in the town centre.Don’t miss: A vast array of local produce from fresh watercress to buffalo steaks and Hampshire gin to ostrich meat.Reading, Berkshire In Reading, there is a farmers’ market on the first and third Saturday of each month8.15am-12pm, first and third Saturday of month, Old Cattle MarketWinter shoppers welcome farmers’ and producers’ food stalls being under cover in Reading’s livestock market in what was once the former Saxon market place. This was where the townsmen were forced to regularly practise archery.Don’t miss: Today’s foodie selection still hits the mark, ranging from organic heritage tomatoes to free-range eggs laid in nests.South EastLewes, Sussex A market is held in Lewes on the first and third Saturday of each month9am-1pm, first and third Saturday of month, Friars Walk car parkThis non-profit, community-run farmers’ market has become one of south east’s biggest. From craft sourdough bread to local wines, most produce here comes from within 25 miles.Don’t miss: Cheese from South Downs dairies, organic fruit from Sussex orchards and rare-breed meat from herds within the national park.Cliftonville, Kent 10am-1pm, last Sunday of month, Walpole Bay LawnsThis unique clifftop market in Margate is named after the trendy Cliftonville area where it’s based. Its unique attraction is that it offers sea views in addition to excellent fresh food stalls.Don’t miss: Seasonal fruit and veg, meat and fish, and specialities such as luxury marshmallows, handmade patisseries and garden plants.Lenham Country Market, Kent 9am-1pm, second Sunday of month, Lenham village squareDespite its size, this small Kent village market remains proud of the market charter it earned from King John in 1206. And it’s still winning awards today: Lenham is the Farm Retail Association Farmers Market of the Year.Don’t miss: A wide range of Kent produce including fresh fish, farmers’ chutneys, live herbs grown in nearby gardens and game from the Stour Valley.LondonBorough Market London’s Borough Market takes place six days a weekAll day: Tuesday to Sunday, Southwark StreetThe halls and passageways of Britain’s premier food market feature more than 100 food stalls where many top chefs buy their ingredients. Note that it’s more like a huge global deli than a rough rural farmers’ market.Don’t miss: Mindboggling produce and ingredients from fabulous exotic fruit to gourmet goat’s milk ice cream.New Covent Garden New Covent Garden Market takes place from Monday to Saturday All day: Monday to Saturday, Nine ElmsThe UK’s top wholesale farmers market is a unique sight: a bustling 37 acres of stalls and traders. Be prepared to buy in bulk though – its main customers are shops and restaurants.Don’t miss: Colourful exotic fruit and veg, strange funghi and miles of fresh flower stalls from all over the globe.Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace Park hosts one of London’s biggest farmers’ markets 10am-3pm, Sunday, Alexandra Palace Park/Campsbourne SchoolOne of the city’s biggest, this farmers’ market offers fruit & veg, bread, cakes, meat, cheese, eggs, milk, preserves, hot food – plus Sunday strolls in the leafy 200-acre north London park.Don’t miss: Treats like focaccia sourdough, huge tasty tomatoes and hot chilli pickles.Islington In Islington London’s oldest farmers’ market takes place 10am-2pm, Sunday, Chapel MarketLondon’s oldest farmers’ market was set up by a local food writer in 1999 and has since become a north London foodie institution, as much a social outing as a shopping trip.Don’t miss: All the market’s meat, fruit and veg comes from farms within 100 miles.MidlandsHarpenden, Hertfordshire More than 70 stalls gather in Harpenden each month10am-2pm, fourth Sunday of month, Lower High StreetThe town council run this monthly event in the heart of Harpenden. They’re rightfully proud of attracting more than 70 stalls to fill this leafy traffic-free site with their red-and-white awnings.Don’t miss: Gourmet food produce – plus fresh flowers, craft beers and British wines.Stroud, Gloucestershire Stroud hosts a bustling food market every Saturday9am-2pm, Saturday, Cornhill and surrounding streetsThis bustling food market fills the town’s steep winding streets. It’s so busy you may have to queue at the best stalls. With great variety, quality and Cotswold views all around, it has been voted one of Britain’s best.Don’t miss: An eccentric weekly array of buskers, musicians and street performers.Moseley, Birmingham 9am-2pm, last Saturday of month, Village Green crossroadsThe market has dozens of stalls, and aims to reduce food miles and support sustainable farming. As such, all produce must come from within 50 miles and no GM produce is allowed.Don’t miss: Current seasonal specials include autumn lamb, apples and blackberries, beetroot and sprouts.East AngliaBeccles, Suffolk 9am-1pm, first and third Saturday of the month, Old Ellough HeliportOnce a Battle of Britain airfield, these days dozens of fortnightly food stalls have transformed the old RAF hangar into one of the UK’s largest undercover farmers’ markets.Don’t miss: Meat, poultry, fish, fruit and cakes produced by farms, dairies and kitchens within 30 miles of Beccles.Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk In Bury St Edmunds a historic market takes place once a month10am-3pm, second Sunday of month, The TraverseBusy stalls of East Anglian farm produce line the streets of the Traverse in Bury’s historic market area once a month. There are big general markets on Wednesday and Saturday too.Don’t miss: A chance to sample local wines, gins and vodkas.Holt, Norfolk On the first Sunday of each month Holt hosts a market full of street food vendors and buskers10am-3pm, first Sunday of month, Market Place/Bakers YardThe roads are closed through the heart of the picturesque Georgian town to allow one of the region’s biggest outdoor markets that combines farm produce with arts, crafts and garden plants.Don’t miss: Street food vendors and buskers in Bakers Yard.WalesCardiff A weekly food market takes place along Fitzhamon Embankment in Wales10am-2pm, Sunday, Fitzhamon EmbankmentThe blue stalls of the weekly food market line footpaths along the banks of the Taff. It’s one of the UK’s biggest farmers’ markets with a multicultural cosmopolitan capital vibe.Don’t miss: The best Welsh farm produce includes free-range eggs from a monastic farm in the Beacons to venison sausages from Wye Valley deer.Cowbridge, Glamorgan 9am-1pm, Saturday, North RoadEverything on sale in the market’s rows of white tents has been grown, reared, caught, brewed, pickled, baked, smoked or processed by the stallholders from the Vale of Glamorgan.Don’t miss: Local specialities like Welshcakes, Welsh lamb… and Welsh gin.Hay-on-Wye, Powys A 700-year-old market takes place in Hay-on-Wye9am-2pm, Thursday, Memorial Square (also on the first Saturday of the month seasonally and special Christmas markets)A 700-year-old traditional market still fills Memorial Square, Cheese Market, Buttermarket and around the Clock Tower too. The farm produce shares space with arts, crafts and vintage stalls but the combination has been voted the best market in Wales.Don’t miss: The chance to pick up some second-hand cook books in the famous ‘book town’.North WestOrton, Cumbria In Orton a market takes place on the second Saturday of each month9am-2pm, second Saturday of month, village centreThe busy monthly farmers’ market takes over the village with teas served in the church and entertainment from local schoolchildren. Blue-and-white stalls spread across the square and into the market hall too.Don’t miss: Succulent Swaledale lamb, creamy goats milk cheese from the dales and sustainably grown seasonal veg and organic Cumbrian brie.North EastOtley, Yorkshire In Otley, stalls gather on the last Sunday of each month9am-1pm, last Sunday of month, Market PlaceDozens of stalls for this growing monthly market take over the cobbled square of the West Yorkshire market town, under the Jubilee Clock Tower, surrounded by cafes and independent shops.Don’t miss: Delicacies like artisan breads, fresh herbs, Indian food, local bacon cuts and homemade soups.Harrogate, Yorkshire9am-4pm, second Thursday of month, Cambridge StreetHarrogate’s longstanding town centre monthly market features a mix of North Yorkshire farm produce, local arts and craft makers and a mix of street food vans.Don’t miss: Fresh tayberries, a cross between raspberries and blackberries.Barnard Castle, Durham 9am-2pm, first Saturday of the month, HorsemarketThe town’s cobbled marketplace hosts one of the North East’s busiest farmers’ markets, with dozens of green-and-white striped stalls.Don’t miss: Sparkling elderflower wine made from local hedgerows and handmade scotch eggs – made purely from other stallholders’ ingredients.ScotlandDumfries & Galloway A farmer;s market takes place at Dumfries mainline railway station10.30am-2.30pm, first Sunday of month, rail stationDozens of local food producers gather once a month in the unique market site under the grand Victorian pavilion roof covering Platform One at Dumfries mainline railway station.Don’t miss: Honey from Dumfries bees, Cumbrian farm bred and butchered beef, freshly smoked fish and south-west Scotland’s own farm-distilled rum.Kelso, Roxburghshire In Kelso, a market is held on the fourth Saturday of every month in ‘The Square’9.30am-4.30pm, fourth Saturday of every month, The SquareThis historic town claims Scotland’s biggest market square: once a month, the cobbled spaces fills with the market’s multicoloured striped awnings.Don’t miss: Grass-fed Aberdeen Angus beef, venison burgers from local deer and speciality cheese from dairies across the Scottish Borders.Edinburgh Edinburgh Farmers Market takes place every Saturday at Castle Terrace9am-2pm, Saturday, Castle TerraceSpread along a pedestrian area under the trees of Castle Terrace and overlooked by the rocky ramparts, this busy, weekly event has been voted Scotland’s best food market four times.Don’t miss: Free-range bacon, Tay Valley fruit and veg, and homemade Scottish tablet (a traditional sweet)Simon Heptinstall’s latest book, The Great Little Book of Walking, is available on Amazon for £7.99 (amazon.co.uk/great-little-book-walking-everywhere).