Foodie things to do this early May bank holiday

Scratching your head for long weekend ideas? Here are some food-filled suggestions that'll get your stomach rumbling.

Food festivals and events

There are loads of food and drink events taking place over the weekend – below is a short list of them. If you want to see more details, either click the links to visit their websites, or see our full list of events occurring during spring 2014.

• Munchies on the Meadow – 3rd May @ Cobham, Kent*
• Artisan Cheese Fair – 3rd-4th May @ Cattle Market, Melton Mowbray
• Dales Festival of Food & Drink – 3rd-5th May @ Leyburn, Wensleydale
• Great British Food Festival – 3rd-5th May @ Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire
• Foodies Festival: Brighton Hove Lawns – 3rd-5th May @ Hove Lawns, Hove
• Scarisbrick Food Fayre – 4th-5th May @ Vincent's Garden Centre, Scarisbrick*
• Lancashire Food and Drink Festival – 4th-5th May @ Lancaster Leisure Park, Lancashire*
• International Bread Festival – 5th May @ Castle Ward, Downpatrick, Co. Down

* = Free entry

Something a bit more unusual

Cheese rolling

In the village of Stilton the bank holiday weekend is celebrated with the tradition of cheese rolling. Teams of four roll a piece of wood shaped like a Stilton cheese over a course, aiming to cross the finishing line first. This takes place on the bank holiday Monday, and it's like a softer cousin of the infamous Gloucester event, which falls on the later May bank holiday weekend.

There are heats, semi-finals and finals for junior, male and female teams. Each member of a team has to roll the cheese at least once during the race for that team to be eligible. You can see footage of the slightly bizarre event here:

There will also be a range of food stalls and live music, and a beer festival is taking place at nearby Stilton Country Club throughout the weekend.

Dorset Knob throwing

If hurling biscuits across a field is more your thing, head to the Dorset Knob throwing at Cattistock on Sunday 4th. Dorset Knobs are hard, savoury biscuits (pictured in the main image above) that are only produced commercially by Moores Biscuits and only in the months of January and February. The furthest recorded throws are as follows for men, women and the under 12s: 

There will also be knob and spoon races, knob painting, and knob darts on the day. Visit their website for directions and further information, and take a look at some genuine knob-throwing below:

I'm staying in...

If you've had a long week and fancy staying in, you could spend your time baking some of these treats or turn to our bank holiday food guide, which is jam-packed with ideas of what to make for family and friends. 

Whatever you decide to do, have a great time!

Main image courtesy of Rupert Cake & Chris Ould. 

You might also be interested in:

Spring 2014 UK food and drink festivals and events

Foods in season in May

Top 10 recipes for rain or shine