A Coast for all … food lovers!

It’s English Wine Week 15 to 22 June, so there’s every reason to raise a glass, read on for some of the very best vineyards in the UK and they’re near the coast! 

If you find yourself in Essex, find time to head to Crouch Ridge Vineyard  for tours and tastings, May to September 2024. Try a self-guided wine tasting to sample three of their wines from £15, a more detailed wine tasting led by a trained sommelier from £25 or trade up to The Grand Tour & Tasting from May to September, £35, with a guided gentle walk around the vineyard, learning about the vines and wine-making process, followed by a wine tasting. To go all out, book a private vineyard buggy tour and sparkling picnic at £300 for two people and take home two souvenir glasses.  

You’ll be treated to unrivalled views of the River Crouch at Clayhill Vineyard  as the vines trail down to the Estuary.  Relax in the glazed balcony and wander between the vines, kids will enjoy using binoculars provided from the café to spot the wildlife. Tastings and tours of the vineyard are available during the summer months., contact the vineyard directly to book. 

One of the oldest commercial vineyards in the UK, New Hall Wine Estate has been growing vines and producing wines since the 1960s. Their Barons Lane range won Silver and Bronze awards at the Independent English Wine Awards in 2023. To try its winning wines, visit their cellar door shop where you’ll get complementary samples and special offers.   

For local food experiences, check out the Pub Lunch River Cruise  from April to September, Brightlingsea Harbour to Wivenhoe. In June and July  New Hall’s Open Estate Days give guests the chance to learn about the wine-making process, stroll around the self-guided vineyard trail or try locally sourced food and drink. Also check out Seafood Sundays at Saffron Grange Vineyard,  Smoke and Fire Festival, Maldon,  ‘Jazz in the Vines’ at Tuffon Hall Vineyard   for an afternoon of live music and street food and wine tasting.  

In June take a Two Island Lunch Cruise  from Maldon Quay past Northey Island to Osea Island and back, on board a Thames Sailing Barge with Topsail Charters or try the Afternoon Tea Cruise 

In West Sussex, the Tinwood Estate  just nine miles from Bognor Regis is hosts a range of lovely activities, from Yoga to chocolate  and wine tasting. Better still, stopover in one of its shepherd huts or lodges.  Ashling Park  is another vineyard near the coast which boasts a farm to table restaurant, wine tours and gin making experiences, alongside accommodation with accessible options. 

Tern on Worthing Pier has made it into the Michelin Guide and offers exquisite tasting menus with selection of English wines and the added advantage of seascape views, it’s jaw-dropping at sunset.   

About six miles from Shoreham on Sea, Tottington Manor Hotel now features Terra and focuses on Sussex provenance, come here for Sussex lamb meatballs and trio of South Downs lamb, garlic and chilli clams, Sussex puff pastry tart and local cheeses washed down by local Sussex wines. 

If the sea air has sharpened your appetite, make your way to Crabshack in Worthing, it’s relaxed, unpretentious and you can dine al fresco on the deck. Feast on crispy squid, homemade crab cakes or go all out for its fishy feast for two. 

With a host of new openings, now’s the time to ‘eat local’ on the coast.  From  Lancashire to Kent, discover top new eateries, foodie festivals and hands-on experiences.

In the north east, the Seaham Food Festival returns to the Durham Heritage Coast on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 August. You’ll find sensational street food, local produce, delicious desserts and refreshing drinks at more than 100 independent stalls. Visitors will be treated to a series of cookery demonstrations from a star-studded line-up of celebrity chefs, as well as a packed programme of family entertainment. 

If you really want to push the boat out, head to the award-winning, five-star Dining Room at Seaham Hall, tuck into seasonal favourites celebrating the flavours of the region and the freshest seafood, carefully curated by Executive Chef Damian Broom. 

Seaham Hall is also the place for a quintessential  afternoon tea, indulge in a bite-size selection of sweet and savoury treats. 

For further-flung dishes, book a table at Pan-Asian restaurant O-Zone which serves up punchy flavours with mouth-watering aromas, from warming curries and sizzling stir-fries to tempting tapas, served around a central cocktail bar and open kitchen. 

Continue your culinary coastal journey to Lancashire in the north west. New for May 2024 is Marco’s New York Italian, Blackpool. Celeb chef Marco Pierre White’s latest establishment is set in the heart of the resort within the new Holiday Inn at Blackpool North Tramway, in June new tramlines will make the town even more accessible. 

Looking for a Morecambe speciality? Morecambe Bay Chowder is delicious, using fish from Morecambe Bay, made all the more special by being lovingly served from a solar-powered tricycle on the promenade in Morecambe. A new home for Morecambe Bay Chowder has recently opened at The Bath Tap at weekends, but for an authentic experience head to the tricycle on the prom, check the calendar on their website.  

Where better for a treat than afternoon tea at the iconic The Midland hotel Morecambe. Head to the Rotunda Bar for panoramic views of the Bay and some of the most prominent southern Lakeland fells including Helvellyn, immortalised in TV shows like The Bay.  

Get back to nature through hands-on culinary experiences at The Rewilding Foodie Events Cockerham near Lancaster.  Untamed Supper events offer immersive slow dining experiences, chefs focus on celebrating local, seasonal ingredients and beverages, delivered to a long, candlelit banqueting table.  Go for seasonal foraging walks and lunches, pick your own ingredients and get stuck in with a communal shared meal. 

Salt Marsh Lamb at Archers Café, Bolton-Le-Sands offers succulent, tender cuts that taste outstanding, attributed to the salt marshes off the coast of Morecambe Bay, try the salt marsh lamb burger.  Along the coast at Lytham, Sandgrown Spirits is an award-winning gin distillery using ingredients foraged from the Ribble Estuary and the Irish Sea. Take part in a tour and tasting on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Sandgrown were the winners of the Taste Lancashire Producer.

Offshore Hotel, Lytham St Annes, is another new venue on Lancashire’s coast, the latest in The Inn Collection Group’s portfolio. Merging two former hotels on the seafront, this chic hotel uses locally sourced ingredients, dine in the restaurant itself or on the terrace overlooking St Anne’s promenade gardens and seafront. 

The Port of Lancaster Smokehouse in the picturesque village of Glasson Dock, also uses local-only provenance. This family run business focuses on traditional methods of smoking and curing, you’ll find no additives other than salt and smoke. Enjoy Morecambe Bay Potted Shrimp and Smoked Lancashire Cheese. 

Known as the Garden of England, Kent overflows with fresh produce.

So its little wonder that the markets in White Cliffs Country – Deal, Sandwich and Dover – boast excellent stalls, stock up on home-made cakes and artisan breads, preserves, fruit, veg and local wines. 

Pubs, restaurants and cafes champion their local food producers, from Real Deal Roasters selling their coffee beans, to Kent’s hop fields producing local beer and cider-making apple orchards. Sample freshly caught fish from the small fishing boats on Deal beach, enjoy a pint at one of many micro-breweries and forage for seaweed before cooking up a feast with Wild Kitchen. 

Foodies should look no farther than the Great Food Experiences map, take a Breakwater Brewery tour, a cocktail masterclass at The Lane, pick up butchery skills at a course at The Black Pig Butchers or head to one of the oldest vineyards in Kent at Barnsole for a wine-tasting tour. 

White Cliffs’ fast-growing reputation for excellent food and drink comes alive on its Foodie Hero’s Trail, from naturally filtered Kingsdown Water to exotic teas such as Mint Choc Indulgence and Russian Caravan from The Rather Tasty Tea People and the unforgettable Kentish Knockers, award-winning pasties on sale at Deal’s Saturday market. 

From its food and drink festivals, cafes, restaurants, speciality shops and cool pubs, if you’re seeking a fun brunch, seafront supper or a simple Sandwich, this is the place for food-lovers. 

Just a few miles further up the Kent coast and you’ll discover another tempting culinary quarter. On the Isle of Thanet, a cool, new oyster bar opened in April at No. 42 Margate by GuestHouse Hotels . The Pearly Cow Oyster Bar serves beautifully presented fresh Whitstable oysters paired with a choice of Champagnes, wines and beers with stunning sea views.  

Also in Margate, Tins & Fins has now opened at the Selina Hotel on the Eastern Esplanade in Cliftonville serving an exotic fusion of Filipino food and cocktails. The fins (food) bursts with zingy flavours, flash-cured fish and seafood, enjoy Sea Bream with papaya and coconut milk, Tuna Tartare, torched peach and lobster crackers.  For the Tins (drink) you’ll find Asian-inspired flavours, Don Papa 7-Year Rum, horseradish vodka, lemon, chilli and ginger cordial.  There’s a Happy Hour all day Sunday and bottomless brunches by the sea. 

And as if Margate couldn’t get any cooler, Pomus is a new wine bar, restaurant and shop set up by MasterChef finalist Tony Rudd and hospitality expert Ryan Jacovides. Tuck into small plates of Burrata, duck hearts and white asparagus, platters of cheese and charcuterie and mains of Falafel and barbecued onglet accompanied by an extensive wine and cocktail list. 

Wine aficionados have a new event to sample, theLow Margate Wine Weekender from 22 to 23 June 2024, more than 100 wines from the Britain and Europe will be featured across Margate and Cliftonville. Join in the summer solstice party at Faith in Strangers, closing party at renowned Sargasso restaurant beside the harbour wall, and enjoy talks from wine experts. 

Also new is the Sausage and Cider Festival at Quex Park, Birchington, 27 July.  Scouting For Girls will be headlining alongside impressive tribute acts including The Killers, Queen, Abba, Madness and Take That.  There’ll be 30 different ciders, more than 20 different sausages, chilli eating competition, festival market and plenty of family entertainment. 

Local food and drink abounds at Broadstairs Food Festival, 27-29 September, and while you’re here visit iconic Morrelli’s, a nostalgic ice-cream parlour with soda fountain, juke box and leatherette booths plus more than 20 flavours. 

For the classic seafood taste of oysters, cockles, mussels and jellied eels while strolling round the harbour visit  Mannings Seafood Stall in Margate and Cannon’s Fishmongers and Seafood Stall in Ramsgate and to wash it down, Thanet has no less than 12 venues listed in the Good Beer Guide 2024, try The Gadds’, The Ramsgate Brewery or The Northdown Brewery for ciders, perries, bitters and ales, who could resist Dune Buggy, Tidal Moon or Squidly Diddly. Cheers!