With British Food Fortnight just around the corner (September 18 to October 3) why not visit one of the many culinary festivals taking place across the country and enjoy a real taste of Britain? CHARLOTTE CIVIL reports?

1 The EDP Bidwells Norfolk Food Festival, September 1 to October 3 (01603 617269/www.norfolkfoodfestival.co.uk), features 300 events across the region such as The Moveable Feast on September 28, when more than 600 people will take part in a three-course meal crawl around the city of Norwich. Twenty restaurants are taking part in this charity event in aid of Parkinson's UK. Diners will enjoy each course in a different restaurant. Tickets £32.50pp.

2 Go native in the Welsh countryside at The Really Wild Food and Countryside Festival in St Davids, September 4-5 (01348 840242/ www.reallywildfestival.co.uk).

Click here now for amazing offers to Norfolk!

Exhibitors will be showcasing the best of Pembrokeshire including honey fudge, ice cream and cider. Take part in foraging or, for the more energetic, a five-mile run.

3 Ludlow Food Festival, September 10-12 (01584 873957/www.foodfestival.co.uk) will offer produce from both England and Wales at Shropshire's Ludlow Castle. Follow the trail through Ludlow, tasting new sausage varieties produced by the area's six butchers, who are all competing for the coveted People's Choice Award for The Sausage of the Year. Admission £7 per adult, £1.50 per child.

4 Supporters of all things green should head to The Organic Food Festival, September 11-12 (020 7370 8623, www.organicfoodfestival.co.uk). More than 150 food and drink stallholders at Bristol Harbourside will offer tastings, cooking demonstrations and great produce to buy. There will also be a health and beauty marquee with the best in natural skincare and cosmetics, tips on organic gardening and some fabulous fashion and textiles. Admission £5 per adult, under-16s free.

5 How do you make a traditional Devonshire cream tea? You can find out at The Tavistock Summer Food Festival, September 11-12 (01822 615007/www.tavistockfoodfestival.co.uk) held at the stately Bedford Hotel.

Exhibitors include Langage Farm, which specialises in Devonshire dairy produce including cream, ice cream and frozen yogurt. Visitors are also invited to bring recipes from past generations to create a local recipe book of traditional dishes.
Admission £3 per adult, under-16s free.

6 The Fiery Foods UK Festival, September 18-19 (01273 705606/www.fieryfoodsuk.co.uk) offers the best in hot and spicy cuisine. You'll be able to buy an enormous assortment of chillies and the best recipes in which to include them at one of the many demonstrations taking place in Brighton's Victoria Gardens. Stock up on plenty of curry-infused products including sauces, jams and even chilli beer. For those with a strong disposition there will be a chilli-eating competition. Admission £3 per adult, £1 per child.

Want incredible deals to Norfolk? Click here now...

7 Salisbury Food & Drink Festival (0845 241 9651/www.salisburyfestival.co.uk/food-and-drink-festival) hosts its Sunday Market on September 19. On the menu are ales, chutneys, cheeses, meat and fish and you'll be sure to pick up useful culinary tips at the various cookery demonstrations.

Many restaurants, cafés and pubs will be open offering fabulous dishes and delicacies, all for just £10. Admission to the Sunday Market is free.

8 Head to the Cornwall Food & Drink Festival, September 24-26 (01872 865101/ www.cornwallfoodanddrinkfestival.com).
Truro's Lemon Quay will be packed with stallholders including the Cornish Duck Company and Cornish Orchards, which makes cider and apple juice. There will also be some highly unusual ale to sample in the form of Foodswild's Cornish Stingers, a unique brew made from stinging nettles.

Admission free.

9 At picturesque Balloch the waterside Loch Lomond Food and Drink Festival, September 18-19 (01389 751035/ www.lochlomondfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk) will be teaming up with TV show Come Dine With Me. Try some haggis and venison, complemented by fine Scots ales and whiskies. Children can try their hand at milking Mabel the cow and bands will entertain the grown-ups. If you're brimming with culinary confidence you could enter the cook-off to test your skills against the professionals. Admission free.

10 The pretty town of Cockermouth will be transformed into a foodie heaven at the Taste Cumbria Food Festival, September 25-26 (0151 522 9362/www.tastecumbria.com). Celebrity chefs Antony Worrall Thompson, Aldo Zilli and John Torode will be rustling up mouthwatering dishes using local produce at the Chef's Theatre. Learn how to make jam, chutney and ice cream and pick up top tips and recipe ideas for such Cumbrian favourites as sausages, pickles and preserves.

Admission free.