Taste of Wickham: a free Hampshire food day out

If you are after a day out that is easy to reach from Portsmouth, the Taste of Wickham Festival is worth keeping on your radar. It comes back to Wickham Square in Wickham, Hampshire, on Sunday 13 September, running from 11:00 to 16:00, and it is free to get in, which makes it an easy one to drop into without much planning. The festival is built around Hampshire produce, and the scale of it is the first thing that stands out: there are more than 75 to 80 unique local stalls, so it is a proper browse rather than a quick walk-past.

The stalls are not all food, which is part of the appeal. Alongside the street food, real ale and local cider bars, you will find hand-made jewellery, artisan home goods and plants, so it works as much as a little shopping trip as it does a lunch. The food and drink are the headline, of course, and the real ale and cider bars are where a lot of people end up settling in for the afternoon. It is a good way to sample Hampshire produce you would not normally come across in the supermarket, all in one place.

There is a lot going on around the stalls, too. The live entertainment runs across the day and takes in music and performances, local community choirs, local dance groups, family circus shows and sea shanties, with the Force 10 Shanty Crew and Spinnaker Brass both on the bill. The shanties, in particular, tend to be a highlight, and they fit the Hampshire coast setting well. It is the kind of line-up that keeps the atmosphere going even when you are not eating.

Families get a fair amount of attention here. There is a dedicated children's area with free circus skills, practical craft workshops, face painting and small rides, and The Bubbles Man, with his Gazillion Bubble Show, puts on giant bubble displays alongside all-day circus performances and a meeting with a real princess. It is set up so younger visitors have something to do while the adults browse the stalls, which is half the battle on a family day out.

Getting there and getting home is straightforward. Parking is available through a park and ride service, and there is also parking at £1 a car, which is cheap enough that you do not need to worry about it. The festival is sponsored and supported by the Wickham Parish Council, Welborne Garden Village and TJ Waste, and the organisers have put out a full programme and more information at www.tasteofwickham.com if you want to plan your day around a particular act or stall. For anything else, you can reach them on 07527 596701 or 01329835495. The postcode is PO17 5JQ, though some sources list it as PO17 5JN, so it is worth double-checking your satnav before you set off. For a free day out not far from Portsmouth, it is a solid shout for a Sunday in September.