Cosy up to winter markets

Heading Down South or across to the Great Southern in the coming weeks? You simply must make time to discover a local farmers market or two. Stalls are brimming with amazing produce from the paddocks and kitchens of local people and small businesses. Grab some hot coffee or warm soup to keep cosy as you peruse the stalls looking for something delicious for lunch or a gift to take back home. Bread, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, olive oil, cakes and preserves. There is something for everyone.

Farmers markets in the South West are held in destinations such as Mandurah, Busselton, Dunsborough and Margaret River.

In the Great Southern region, you will find markets in towns such as Albany, Denmark, Walpole, Mount Barker and Pemberton, although many of the smaller markets operate only across the warmer months so it’s best to check before you head out.

Here are just a few of the regular winter markets we think are worth visiting:

• The Mandurah Boardwalk Farmers Market, Mandjar Square, Mandurah. Every Sunday, 8am until 1pm.
• Busselton Community Garden Local Produce, Corner Strelly Street and Roe Terrace, Busselton. From 8am until midday. Every second and fourth Saturday of the month.
• Busselton Rotary Railway Markets (pictured), Signal Park, Busselton. From 7am until 12:30p. Every second and fourth Sunday of the month.
• Vasse Markets, 8 Kaloorup Road, Vasse. From 7:30am until midday. Fortnightly from June 18^th, 2016.
• The Shed Markets, 12 Caves Road, Abbey. Various day-long hours Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
• Dunsborough Central Markets, Lions Park, Dunsborough. From 7am until midday. Every second and fourth Saturday of the month.
• Margaret River Farmers’ Market, Education Campus 272 Bussell Highway, Margaret River. From 8am to midday. Each Saturday.
• Albany Farmers Market, Boatshed on Princesss Royal Drive, Albany. Every Sunday, 10am until 1pm.

If you’re simply looking for a diverse range of local produce en masse and can do without the charm of individual stallholders and a rustic market vibe, you can also visit the permanent and very diverse Bunbury Farmers Market (representing 150 local growers!) that operates all day, every day of the week. It’s located  on 2 Vittoria Road (Corner Forrest Highway), on the northern outskirts of Bunbury, on the main highway as you travel south from Perth.