Merton Abbey Mills

I’ve been to Merton Abbey Mills a few times now, and have always had a nice time. It is a pretty and somewhat bohemian retreat from South West London, a quiet oasis of calm and friendliness.
There are a good selection of shops especially for gifts (great now in the run up to Christimas!) and as well as that there is a regular Farmers Market. I went there last Sunday and was a little late — by 1:30pm many of the stalls had clearly packed up and gone home. However I had an interesting discussion with a leather goods vendor and got to sample some cheeses and check out the pottery. Apparently you can sign up for pottery classes there.
There are also a range of restaurants — which I am rating separately in their own right. And in the evenings there are a range of live music and theatre going on, check out their website for their events calendar.
One thing I would recommend doing, is to travel to Morden Hall Park and do the the Wandle riverside walk from there to Merton Abbey. Its scenic and about a mile and a half, passing by Deen City Farm on the way. A hit for the kids!

Summer is just round the corner and if you happen to be around Colliers Wood then Abbey Mills is the place to be.
It’s a sqaure packed with small boutiques, market stalls, gift shops, art/​craft workshops, a pub and small restaurants.
They also run music and social events through out the summer.
Abbey Mills is situated by the Riverside, so why not take a nice stroll along the canal which will lead you to Deen Farm.
A great place to hang out with family and friends.

Merton Abbey Mills is one of the gems of SW London. Located across the road from the huge Savacentre, it has several different characters.
The most well knows is the market and food bazaar that take place at the weekend. A happy throng of people can be seen here, browsing through the nick nacks and enjoying food from the many and varied food stalls. You can have a slap up meal from around the globe for 5 – 10 quid. I also enjoy the pottery demonstrations.
In the evenings, you have a few restaurants serving food from Italy, Thailand, the Caribbean to an old English pub.
There are food markets, free jazz and blues events throughout the year.
A great place to hang out in SW London

Merton Abbey Mills is easily one of my best finds in the 7 or so years wandering around London. I say ‘best find’ as it’s not evidently a widely known place. The first time I stumbled into it was whilst hungover on the way to Sainsburys for a greasy fry up — my post binge autopilot diverted me to the alluring café in Merton Abbey Mills and I woke up from my semi-​comatosed state enjoying a very tasty and generous Full English. Hardly greasy at all, washed down with some lovely unpretencious coffee! (Run away all you Starbucks phoney coffee drinkers, here’s the real stuff!!!)
After further forages into the ‘Mills I am quite becoming the loyal type of chap I never knew I had in me, being an extravagent wanderer and ‘grass is probably greener on the other side, let’s go have a look…’ kind of guy.
Merton Abbey Mills is a collection of shops, restaurants/café’s and local history. It’s not a huge place (compared to the ginormous soul-​destroying Sainsbury’s across the way). There’s the aforementioned fab café. A good Italian restaurant. A funky crêpe/​coffee hut. A chocolate café (not literally…). All sorts of permanent and guest stalls that are great for mooching around, checking out the strange and unusual, putting the pennies in the back pocket to use.
There’s a good pub right on the riverbank (the River Wandle). You can get a lovely hand pulled pint and dangle your feet in the river watching the trout and the perch go by. And, allegedly, the Salmon!
Further up is the old water mill, restored but left with the smell of old wood and thick creepy spiderwebs in the odd corner! The wheel spins all weekend and you can stretch out on the bank being lightly mesmerised, wondering where all the city stress and fast lane attitude has dissapated to.
I could go on, guess you could say I was a fan! After you’re all consumed/​relaxed out you can follow the pretty river path up to Morden Hall Park and beyond for a lovely wander.
Go find it!

Merton Abbey Mills is a shopping center that resides around an historic London landmark, a true 19^th century era watermill. The site has seen its fair share of everything life can throw at a building: being broken down, being rebuilt, world wars, change of ownership and more. Currently it focuses on the arts with a music store, magazine, crafts market and holistic stores making up some of the tenants.
The restaurants are interesting and include Caribbean, Italian, a pub and a Café. Merton Abbey Mills is definitely worthy of a relaxed afternoon visit, a romantic dinner or family day. Periodically you’ll even find live music and a market, all set on the green riverbanks of the slowly-​meandering River Wandle. Also look out for the annual ‘Abbeyfest’ festival hosted by Merton Abbey Mills.