When I was a boy I spent my Summer holidays either sea-fishing in Dorset, where we camped on the beach between the mainland and Portland, or fishing and shooting in South Wales where I stayed with my two bachelor uncles and miscellaneous cousins.

One of the delights of staying in Wales was the weekly trip to Carmarthen for market day. The memories I have was of a buzzing collection of market stalls, selling vegetables, meats, cheeses and hardware, with lots of small shops where you could buy fishing tackle, cartridges, ham sandwiches and best of all, the still-meaty hambones that had been used to fill the sandwiches. Branston pickle was also a staple, and warm crusty bloomers that we spread thickly with butter, thick slices of cheddar cheese topped with thin slices of onion still pungent enough to bring tears to your eyes.

These memories flooded back yesterday when we went to a Scottish Farmer’s market in Haddington. Not that there were as many stalls as used to be in Carmarthen, but there were burgers from the well-hung meat company, served with a generous topping of fried onions and wholegrain mustard; the smell made your mouth water, and I confess we shared one, despite the fact we had a meal planned for lunch.

There were wool stalls, with alpaca wool garments and balls of undyed wool from named animals. The wool was incredibly soft, and the three alpacas on show were remarkably restrained, despite a couple of kids pestering them.
The stalls also contained a cheese stall which sold, not Cheddar, but a couple of local cheeses. The smoked fish stall was superb, although the only sample they had on display was a cheese. A pickle and chutney stall with biscuits to try before you buy was popular.

But what really took me back was J S Main and Sons, Saddlers and Agricultural merchants. I spotted a gun slip hanging in the window, and wondered whether they sold guns, so went in. Although there were no guns visible, they did have Hawke telescopic sights, gunslips, and fishing tackle.

If you are fishing up here and need to pick up some fly tackle, or to add to your fly selection, or are looking for a budget fly rod I would heartily recommend popping into the centre of Haddington and finding this agricultural merchant. Take your time looking over the fly selection, or just grab yourself some replacement mackerel feathers if you are sea-fishing; whatever you do, you will enjoy the browse, I guarantee it.