If you’re anything like me, you like to pack a few snacks and a hot drink when you’re travelling by train. Food on the train is fair enough but why not go one step better and take a train ride to one of the UK’s many food festivals? Now that is a tasty adventure by train.

 

 

Food festivals celebrate the very best of our cuisine, our skilled chefs, and our traditional and modern produce. With buying-local coming to the front of everyone’s food-purchase thinking, visiting a food festival is a great way to find out more about how your food is produced, and how you can support local growers and producers.

And what better way to do that than by train?

Summer music festivals you can attend by train

Choosing which food festival to visit however, can get a bit complicated. With seafood festivals, plant-based celebrations and even sausage trails (more about that later), it can be tricky to decide where to get off your train.

It can also be tricky to avoid eating so much you don’t fit back on the train at the end of the day!

It would be really good fun to plan a long train journey that took you around the UK to sample a whole variety of festival food.

But unless you paced your carriage for the whole journey, that would also be fattening!

Instead we’ve put together a list of five UK food festivals you can attend by train. Feel free to visit and eat at as many as you like.

But don’t forget to sneak away a little picnic for the train journey home!

Frome Festival – 3rd – 12th July 2026

 

If you’re a foodie, you’ll have already heard about Frome’s fantastic independent food scene. You can visit Frome by train at any time of year and there’s a food market every month but why not go for the ultimate street food heaven experience and attend @Food Feast at the Frome Festival in July?

• Train station: Frome
• Travel time from London: 2 hours
• Travel time from Bristol: 1 hour
• Festival location: Cattle Market car park, Frome, BA11 1BE
• Walk time from station: 18 minutes
• Toilets: Market Yard Public Toilets, Frome Station (during ticket office hours)
• Ticket price: Free to attend
• Optional extras: Music, plays, children’s entertainers, comedy, dance
• Accessibility information: See individual performance information

Top foodie highlight – Frome Festival

There’ll be an astounding variety of street food @Food Feast but on your way out of the station, don’t forget to call in at Rye Bakery for amazing cardamom buns and coffee.

The Big Feastival – 28th, 29th and 30th August 2026

 

With big name music stages, disco options and even camping, The Big Feastival is so much more than a food festival. But don’t let your tummy rumble, the food will be there too. In abundance!

• Train Station: Kingham
• Travel time from London: 1.5 hours
• Travel time from Bristol: 2.5 hours
• Festival location: Kingham, Oxfordshire, OX7 6UJ
• Walk time from station: 3 minutes
• Toilets: Kingham Station and on site
• Ticket price: £101.50 (adult day ticket)
• Optional extras: Chef’s Pantry, Cotswold Farm Park, up-close table sessions and a vintage fun fair!
• Accessibility information: Big Feastival disabled access

Top foodie highlight – The Big Feastival

Street food! With so much of it available, you’re going to have to pace yourself or learn to eat cookie dough ice-cream for breakfast.

 

Ludlow Food Festival – 11th, 12th & 13th September 2026

Sitting happily in the middle of prime farming countryside, Ludlow is a lot about its food for most of the year. Join in the special celebrations of this food-lovers paradise at the Ludlow Food Festival.

• Train station: Ludlow
• Travel time from London: 3 hours
• Travel time from Bristol: 2 hours
• Festival location: Ludlow Castle, SY8 1AY
• Walk time from station: 13 minutes
• Toilets: Ludlow Castle and Castle Street, Ludlow
• Ticket price: £14.00 (adult day pass)
• Optional extras: The Fire Stage, Slow Food chef talks, brewery tours and cookery workshops
• Accessibility information: Accessibility Ludlow Food Festival

Top foodie highlight – Ludlow Food Festival

The Ludlow Sausage Trail (Saturday). You’ll need to buy tickets!

SEAFEAST the Dorset Seafood Festival – 4th & 5th July 2026

The UK has over 31,000 kilometres of coastline so it would be rude to ignore our amazing fish and seafood communities. And why would you want to? With food, drink and sea shanties a-plenty, the Dorset Seafood Festival is set to celebrate the very best of all things fishy. While you’re on the coast, this one is a great opportunity to visit the beach by train.

• Train station: Weymouth
• Travel time from London: 3 hours
• Travel time from Bristol: 2.5 hours
• Festival location: Weymouth Harbour
• Walk time from station: 12 minutes
• Toilets: Weymouth Station and Cove Street Weymouth
• Ticket price: Free to attend
• Optional extras: Chef’s Theatre, seafood street food and a mind-blowing seafood menu
• Accessibility information: The Dorset Seafood Festival access statement

York Food & Drink Festival – 18th – 27th September 2026

With its wonderful National Railway Museum, York is the perfect place to visit by train. Make sure you leave time for the food though.

• Train Station: York
• Travel time from London: 2 hours
• Travel time from Bristol: 4 hours
• Festival location: Parliament Street, York, YO1 8SG
• Walk time from station: 15 minutes
• Toilets: York Station and Silver Street (charges apply)
• Ticket price: Free festival market and demonstrations (with some ticketed events)
• Optional extras: Restaurant pop-ups, cheese tasting
• Accessibility information: York Food & Drink Festival information

Top foodie highlight – York Food & Drink Festival

The Festival Taste Trail will take you on an indulgent wander to sample local produce.

I almost didn’t walk across the Severn Bridge

https://www.fidarby.co.uk/adventures-by-train/adventures-by-train-sea-swimming-along-south-devons-riviera-line/