Nationwide· 1 min read
Best Foodie Days Out in the UK — 14 Places to Eat, Graze and Explore
Food markets, cheese towns, harbour seafood and brewery taprooms — the UK's best days out for people who plan the day around lunch.
Some of us plan the whole day around lunch — and Britain has become a genuinely brilliant place to do it. Here are 14 foodie days out, from historic markets to seaside seafood and food-town wanders.
Great food markets
- Borough Market (London) — the daddy of them all; free to wander, endless samples, and a proper lunch under London Bridge.
- St Nicholas Market (Bristol) — a characterful covered market with a legendary street-food row.
Food towns & seaside seafood
- Padstow (Cornwall) — Rick Stein's harbour town and a seafood pilgrimage; fish and chips on the quay is the move.
- Ludlow (Shropshire) — a handsome market town with an outsized reputation for independent food and a famous autumn food festival.
Drink (and no-and-low)
Britain's brewery taprooms and cider farms make a great grazing day, and most now do proper alcohol-free options too. Cheese lovers should head for Cheddar Gorge or a farm-shop crawl through the Cotswolds.
Practical notes
Go hungry and go early — the best market produce sells through by lunchtime, and traders are chattier before the rush. Cash still helps at some stalls. Build a walk between courses (a harbour, a riverside, a market-to-park stroll) so it's a day out, not just a very long lunch.
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