Bridport Hat Festival

Bridport does not take itself remotely seriously for one Saturday a year, and it's a joy — a town crier's welcome, a mass hatted photo, and a fancy-hat competition with categories for everyone from toddlers to couples, set against live music from local choirs and bands around Bucky Doo Square. Stalls, food and drink fill the surrounding streets.

It's the kind of unpretentious, community-run event that doesn't turn up on most "big days out" lists but is exactly the sort of thing worth building a Saturday around — cheap, daft, and entirely local.