Steam Trains, 70 Stalls and 200 Real Ales: 5 West Kent Food Events to Catch This Autumn

Summer's winding down, but West Kent's food and drink calendar is only just getting going. From village-hall-sized farmers' markets to a beer festival you travel to by steam train, here are five events across the patch worth building a weekend around.

A genuine fixture rather than a one-off: this market sets up in the playground at Seal CE Primary School on the last Saturday of every month, 9.15am to 12.15pm, with the next dates running through autumn and into winter. It's the reliable option if you just want a regular supply of local veg, meat and baked goods without waiting for a festival weekend.

Maidstone & Mid Kent CAMRA's annual showcase returns to the Research Centre in East Malling on Saturday 5 September, running 11am until 7pm or until the barrels run dry, whichever comes first. Expect around 70 real ales and 35 ciders and perries, plus live music and food vendors. Free hourly shuttle buses run from Maidstone East, Aylesford and West Malling stations, so it's entirely possible to do this one without a car.

The same weekend, Tonbridge Racecourse Sportsground hosts its autumn food and drink festival, with more than 70 stallholders selling everything from artisan cheese and bread to fudge, coffee and specialist teas, alongside cooking demonstrations from local chefs and a Street Food Café for something more substantial. It's free to attend. Between this and East Malling, the first weekend of September is shaping up to be a genuinely busy one for anyone into food and drink in the borough.

New for this year: as part of Leeds Castle's Festival of Craft & Design, the Cedar Lawn transforms into a fair with more than 80 artisan makers and 10 street food sellers this September, plus workshops, live music from a bandstand, garden games and face painting for kids. It's included in normal castle admission rather than a separate ticket.

The one to be a bit unhinged about: from Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 October, Spa Valley Railway's West Station in Royal Tunbridge Wells hosts around 200 real ales, 40 of them made with this year's freshly picked Kent hops, alongside 70 ciders and live music - and the festival spans multiple stations along the heritage line, so getting between venues means riding a steam train. Entry is free, gates open 6pm on the Thursday.

Five events, four boroughs, one very good excuse to eat and drink your way around West Kent before the weather turns.