There's a harvest of food festivals to enjoy in the regions this autumn

About Britain

September is harvest time for food and drink festivals around the country.

These events provide an enjoyable way to discover a new destination – sampling the best of local produce, learning how to prepare it, and offering gourmet souvenirs to take home.

Kicking off this week, the Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival (brightonfoodfestival.com), until 7 October, offers an ever-growing list of events, including wine tastings, cocktail and food pairing, and family food workshops.

The Brighton Hotel du Vin is offering wine-tasting sessions, while the Bolney Estate and Ridgeview vineyards will highlight the quality of Sussex wines at sampling events.

Apple Day, at Stanmer Park, includes tours of its orchards, juice making, and cooking demonstrations. And Brighton micro bakery Coachworks is running L'Inferno d'Amour, a wood-fired bread-baking workshop.

And as the foodie festival calendar becomes more crowded, organisers are expanding their programmes. So not only will you be able to fill your boots, but you might even be able to satiate your cultural appetite, too.

The Berwick Food Festival (berwickfoodfestival.com), from 11-12 September, aims to bring to life the food heritage of England's most northerly town, as well as highlighting local produce.

A highlight of the Bidwells Norfolk Food Festival (norfolkfood festival.co.uk), until 3 October, is the fund-raising Moveable Feast, which takes 700 diners around Norwich restaurants in groups of 30, enjoying a course in each venue (book ahead). There's fun, too, with the tallest jelly competition, while local butchers will compete in the Battle of the Bangers.

Others include: The Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food & Culture (penninelancashirefestivals.com), until 14 Sept; Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival (foodfestival.co.uk), 10-12 Sept; and the Alnwick Food Festival (alnwickfoodfestival.co.uk) and Abergavenny Food Festival (abergavennyfoodfestival.com), both taking place on 18 and 19 Sept.

simone.freelance@mac.com