Here at coast we love local food and getting together with the wider coastal community. Read on to discover great culinary events by the sea where you can do just that this September.
1. Taste of Scilly Festival
Around the Isles of Scilly | 12-21 September
The Taste of Scilly Festival brings together local chefs and producers to showcase the isles’ best flavours. Options include savouring morning tea and cake while spotting wildlife from a yacht, and indulging in a sunset lobster feast. This year, the festival coincides with The Low Tide Event, where the sea recedes to expose a sandbar between Tresco and Bryher, allowing people to walk and enjoy a short pop-up festival with food and drinks (visitislesofscilly.com).
2. Stranraer Oyster Festival
Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway | 12-14 September
This festival celebrates the thriving oysters in beautiful Loch Ryan – the last wild and native oyster fishery in Scotland, in the south-west of the country. Come to Stranraer to watch cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs, and cheer on the competitors in ‘The #Shuckoff!’ – The Scottish Oyster Shucking Championships, which promise to be ‘energetic, risky and fast-paced – and great fun to watch.’ The winner will represent Scotland in the world championships in Galway (see right) so there’s a lot at stake (stranraeroysterfestival.com).
3. England’s Seafood Feast
Brixham, Paignton and Torquay, Devon | 26 September – 12 October
Celebrate locally sourced seafood from our shores at this two-week festival along the English Riviera. England’s Seafood Feast will delight fans of fish and shellfish with boat-to-plate eating – expect to tuck into the fresh catch of the day as you enjoy seafood-inspired events featuring local chefs (englishriviera.co.uk/whats-on/featured-events/seafood-feast).
4. Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival
Galway, County Galway | 26-28 September
Fancy yourself a great ‘shucker’? Come along to watch the experts display their skills at the world’s oldest oyster festival, which celebrates the Irish coastal city’s rich annual harvest of the shellfish. As well as watching the prestigious World Oyster Opening Championships, you can enjoy live entertainment and street parades – and indulge in great seafood, of course (galwayoysterfestival.com).
5. Penzance Food Festival
Penzance, Cornwall | 19-21 September
Join the local culinary and creative community in Penzance, as its food festival, ‘PZFF’, returns for a second year of celebrating Cornwall’s vibrant food culture, and Cornish identity and values. Spend the weekend sampling delicious street food, browsing the produce market, and learning a thing or two from the chefs – and one thing you won’t find are single-use plastics (penzancefoodfestival.co.uk).
6. Argyll Food Festival
Oban, Argyll and Bute | 27-28 September
Now in its third year, the Argyll Food Festival is a small community event that showcases local artisan food and drink producers. Come for the live music, ingredients workshops, brewing and foraging sessions, and leave inspired, with a new – or renewed – appreciation for the delicious flavours
of Scotland’s stunning west coast (foodfromargyll.com/argyll-food-festival-2025-27th-28th-september).
7. Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival
Aldeburgh, Suffolk | 27-28 September
This not-for-profit event is not just any food festival. As well as actively promoting the local community and the businesses within it, the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival engages with people to help educate them on how to grow, cook and eat healthy food, and to encourage the discussion of nutrition-related issues. Now in its 20th year, the event and the organisation behind it are well worth supporting – and you’ll have plenty of fun, too (aldeburghfoodanddrink.co.uk).
8. Lyme Eats Boutique
Lyme Regis, Dorset | 19 September
September will be your last chance this year to head to the top of the sea wall at Gun Cliff Walk in Lyme Regis and enjoy an evening at Lyme Eats Boutique, a popular pop-up street food market. Anticipate plenty of sweet and savoury treats from around the world which you can enjoy at a community table, along with panoramic sea views before sunset (uniqueboutiqueevents.co.uk).
