To music on a Holy Island to Derby’s biggest street festival, read Travel Begins at 40’s round-up of the best UK festivals in September 2023.
UK Music Festivals in September
Lindisfarne Festival, UK – 31 August to 3 September
Few places can have a more beautiful, or historic setting than the Lindisfarne Festival, overlooking the majestic Holy Island. Primal Scream is headlining the 2023 festival which also includes comedy and the arts. And if that is not sufficient then you can always pop across to the island – just check the time of the tides otherwise you might get stuck on the causeway.
UK Food and Drink Festivals in September
Waddesdon Manor Chilli Fest – 1 to 3 September
Set in the beautiful 19th century Baron de Rothschild Waddesdon Manor House in Aylesbury an hour or so north of London, Waddesdon Manor Chilli Fest certainly promises to be the hottest UK food festival in this hottest of British summers. With artisan producers, live music, family fun and salsa – food or music? – lessons, you can add a bit of spice to your life.
Taste East Devon Festival – 9 to 24 September
Inspired by Michael Caines of Lympstone Manor, this is one of the more recent summer food festivals in the UK. Showcasing the best of Devon’s rich array of food and drink produce, Taste East Devon is spread over two weeks, allowing you plenty of time to visit the south westerly county. Invents include: wine and cheese tastings, a gin school, kitchen gardens, streetfood, coastal foraging and some live jazz.
Ludlow Food Festival – 8-10 September
The UK summer seems to be full of more food festivals than hosepipe bans, but some have more staying powers than others. The first Ludlow Food Festival was in 1995 in an attempt to draw visitors to the Welsh borders market Did they know the precedent they were setting? No doubt its success in in part due to its most wonderful location, an open air market at Ludlow Castle.
Abergavenny Food Festival, Wales, UK, 16-17 September
Across the border the Abergavenny Food Festival promises to be about “sensory extremes and subtle contrasts” with more than 150 exhibitors and producers ranging from Tibetan dumplings to seaweed rum. Since 1999 this has become the biggest food festival in Wales.
Cultural Festivals in September
Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, UK – 11 September
Few festivals better sum up how quintessentially weird us Brits are than the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. Performed in a village in Staffordshire since 1226 this is one of the oldest surviving dances in the UK, making my moves on the dance floor seem positively contemporary. Six deer dancers, a hobby horse, a bowman and Maid Marian – all men – dance around the village of Abbots Bromley and its pubs.
Derby Festé Street Festival, UK – 22 to 23 September
In Derby performers wander the streets during the Derby Festé, which attracts some of the top performing companies around Europe. The festival concludes with a vertical ballet over the city’s Silk Street by Delrevés.
More UK Festivals in September 2023
If you are planning for further ahead please visit our Events and Festival page, which we will constantly update as and when information becomes available.
Main image: Lindisfarne Festival 2018, c. James Hughes.