Seafest Plymouth 2026: what's on across the weekend

Plymouth's biggest maritime weekend is back in a few weeks, so it's worth having a look at what's on before you head down. Seafest runs across Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, from 9am to 5pm each day, and it's put on by the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership and the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park. The whole thing is built around the city's link to the sea, with a real focus on sustainably caught fresh fish and seafood, and it's spread across a good chunk of the waterfront rather than being tied to one spot.

The venues are what make it worth the wander. It reaches from The Barbican and Sutton Harbour round to Royal William Yard, the Mount Batten Peninsula, Tinside Lido, Trinity Pier and Mount Edgcumbe, so you can make a day of it and keep moving. Down at the West Pier, the Cookery Theatre is the place to be if you want to pick up tips from local chefs and watch some impressive dishes come together. For anyone who'd rather be in the water, there's the Seafest Angling Session, a range of swimming sessions — including 90p dips to mark the Lido's 90th anniversary — and trials in diving, snorkelling, paddleboarding, kayaking and sailing. If you're not one for getting wet, the outdoor cinema, billed as 'Seafest presents: The Tinside Motion Picture Show', runs on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday with films like Finding Nemo and The Salt Path.

A few of the more unusual things are worth knowing about. At the Green of Royal William Yard, Circo Rum Ba Ba has set up 'The Whale', where you can climb inside a giant inflatable sperm whale. There are also special trips aboard the Johanna Lucretia, run by The Island Trust. And if you're around the Sound between the 6th and 14th, you'll see the fleet of the 45th J/24 World Championship, which finishes on Sunday 14 September and is run by Plym Yacht Club, Saltash Sailing Club and the UK J/24 Class Association.

Getting around is made easier by the transport that's laid on. There's subsidised and free public transport across the weekend, with Plymouth Boat Trips, the Mount Batten Ferry and Plymouth CityBus's 'Shark and Ride' all playing a part. It's worth noting that the whole event sits within the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, the UK's first national marine park, which was set up on 14 September 2019 and covers more than 1,000 species of fish and other marine life. The Ocean Conservation Trust runs the National Marine Aquarium here and keeps the park going with programmes like 'Sea in your School' and 'Meet the Marine Park'.

And if you're heading to Royal William Yard, there's a bit of extra history to take in. The yard was built in 1825 by the engineer Sir John Rennie and holds Europe's largest collection of Grade I listed military buildings, and it marked its 200th anniversary this year. A free, self-guided history trail opened back in August, with eleven stops and interactive plates that tell the story of the place. It's all part of the same waterfront that Seafest takes over for the weekend, so it fits right in with the theme.