Coronavirus: Street markets see biggest crowds on first Covid-19 lockdown weekend

Crowds Gather In Camden Town During The Second Lockdown In England
Crowds Gather In Camden Town During The Second Lockdown In England
SplashNews.com

These were the scenes in London this weekend with markets, parks and some shops busy despite England’s second lockdown.

In the first lockdown people queued for hours at supermarkets and scrambled to buy dry pasta and toilet rolls. This time shelves have remained well stocked and the queues are more likely to be found outside coffee shops.

Clothes shops, gyms and hairdressers have been forced to close again, but those deemed “essential” reported doing a healthy trade. 

At Ealing dog grooming service Doggylocks, allowed to keep operating, owner Bronwyn Hall said: “It’s been a very busy time, we are just hoping it will last.”  

Social media was flooded with posts showing parks packed with people enjoying the dry weather. 

Runner Becca Taylor, 30, said: “Bushy Park was very busy and there were big queues for the Skylark Cafe over on Wandsworth Common on Sunday.”

A last-minute change to the new rules last week allowed pubs to sell drink as a takeaway.

Lockdown 2.0 day 3
Gustavo Valiente / Parsons Media

There were queues outside Cable Co. coffee house and bakery in Kensal Rise today.  

Customer Guy Wilson, 28, said: “It’s like the lockdown isn’t happening really. The schools are open and I can still get a top coffee and croissant before work.”

Thom Elliot, who owns London chain Pizza Pilgrims, closed all 14 restaurants during the first lockdown but this time around just four have shut completely.  

He said: “There definitely isn’t as much fear around this time. People have a better understanding of the virus and I think they do want to be out acting safely. The night before [this lockdown] was like Christmas in Soho.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in