Riddells Creek Farmers Market

Riddells Creek sits on the Melbourne side of the Macedon Ranges, close enough to the city for a commuter town and far enough out to be surrounded by farmland. Its farmers market trades in the grounds of Riddell Primary School at 69-77 Main Road, on the third Saturday of the month from 9am to 1pm, and it carries accreditation from the Victorian Farmers' Markets Association.

Accreditation is the point of difference

That accreditation does real work. The VFMA is the state peak body for farmers markets, and its accreditation process verifies that the people behind the stalls actually grew, raised or made what they are selling. Plenty of markets use the words farmers market loosely; an accredited one has been checked. For a shopper trying to buy directly from producers rather than from resellers, it is the most reliable signal available in Victoria.

The school ground venue suits the format. It gives the market flat, enclosed space with existing parking and facilities, and it ties the market to the community that runs alongside it. The Macedon Ranges catchment supplies the stalls, so what appears on the tables tracks the seasons in a district that grows cool climate produce rather than year round glasshouse crops.

Market at a glance

3rdSaturday each month

11Morning markets a year

VFMAAccredited

9am–1pmTrading hours

The December exception, and other practicalities

The one thing worth noting before you plan a visit is December. Rather than running its usual third Saturday morning, the market shifts to a twilight format on the second Friday. That is a different day, a different week and a different time of day, so a December visitor working from the standard pattern will arrive to an empty school ground. Every other month, January through November, the third Saturday holds.

Riddells Creek is around fifty minutes from central Melbourne and sits on the Bendigo train line, so the market is reachable without a car, which is not true of most markets in the ranges. The market posts to Facebook and Instagram, and the VFMA maintains its own profile page for the market, which is a useful second source if you want to confirm dates independently.