Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival, Snape Maltings, Suffolk

Aldeburgh, a traditional and distinctively English sort of seaside town in Suffolk, lends its name to the Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival this weekend. Taking place at Snape Maltings, rather than Aldeburgh itself, the festival offers a fine selection of fresh produce and showcases products from local producers. The key sponsors Adnams and Aspall takes the most prominent spots at the festival of course but there are also native oysters, wild meat (including squirrels!), organic vegetables and baked goods stalls to plunder.

In Aldeburgh itself, fishing and tourism seem to be the main pillar of the town – no wonder a fish and tourism related conference, chaired by BBC Radio 4’s Sheila Dillon, preceded the festival itself. Shacks selling fresh catch lines its pebbled beach and family hotels with sea view rooms just beyond. There are plenty of nautical artefacts to spot, antiques shops to sift through and book stores to browse along the short walk from the White Lion on one side of Aldeburgh to The Brudenell on the other. Of course, no seaside town would be complete without ice cream and fish and chips shops, both of which are available in abundance.

Below is a selection of photos from Aldeburgh the town and Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival: