Jane's Midlife Journey

If you love food, the Bournemouth area does not disappoint. May Bank Holiday Weekend is the turn of Christchurch Food Festival. This popular event usually draws a crowd of around 60,000 visitors. The festival, featuring food, drink, cooking demonstrations and other entertainment takes place on the grass area adjacent to Christchurch Harbour, known as The Quomps.

How to get to Christchurch Food Festival

Christchurch is 5 miles east of Bournemouth along the A35. The Quomps is at the bottom of the High Street, running alongside the River Stour as it flows into Christchurch Harbour. Buses 1a/1b/1c and the 70 Breezer Bus stop at Fountain Way, around a 10 minute walk from the Quomps.

Parking

The festival’s popularity can make parking very tricky. There are several car parks in Christchurch. Details can be found here. If you’re lucky enough to find a space, parking starts at £1.40 for 2 hours.

Alternatively, parking is somewhat easier to find (and free) in the streets on the other side of the River Stour. You can then walk to the venue (around a mile up to Tuckton Bridge and back down the other side of the river) or take the Wick Ferry straight across the river to the Quomps. Ferries cross regularly throughout the day, with a one way fare costing £1.50.

Dates

The festival usually takes place over the late May Bank Holiday weekend. The 2025 dates are as follows:

• Saturday 24th May – 10 am to 8 pm
• Sunday 25th May – 10 am to 8 pm
• Monday 26th May – 10 am to 5 pm

Price

Entry is free.

Food & Drink

There is a wide range of stalls selling a huge choice food for immediate consumption. This year’s offerings include Indian, Moroccan, Paella, Nepali… Plus sweet treats like churros and boozy brownies. It takes us quite a while deciding what we wanted to eat. We opt for fried chicken and loaded fries from Urban Cowboy, which are very tasty.

Note that queues at lunch time can be long. And that although there are picnic tables, finding a seat can be tricky. Be prepared to sit on the grass or bring your own chair.

There are several bars too, including a double decker bus. We wash our lunch down with a nice cold fruity cider.

Local Produce

There are plenty of stalls selling locally produced food and drink for you to wander round sampling/buying the goodies on offer. It’s worth bearing in mind, if you’re looking for something specific, that some of these may sell out and pack up before the advertised closing time. This year’s haul includes plenty of cheese, black garlic mayonnaise, Baileys fudge, raspberry shortbread and freeze dried strawberries.

Chef’s Kitchen

In the Chef’s Kitchen marquee, there is a full schedule of celebrity and award winning chefs demonstrating their culinary skills.

Entertainment

In addition to cooking demonstrations, there is plenty of other entertainment. The schedule contains a diverse selection of local music and dance; bands, choirs, musical theatre…

There is also a sheep show with an opportunity to watch the sheep sheering and even sheep dancing in the “Sheep Show Hustle” There’s something for everyone to ensure an enjoyable day out.

Food Fest Local

New for 2024, Food Fest Local is another food festival taking place in Christchurch High Street on the same weekend.  This second festival, aimed at showcasing very local businesses, will give visitors the opportunity to sample local produce with food traders, makers and local musicians. Food Fest Local runs as follows:

• Saturday 25th May – 10 am until 6 pm
• Sunday 26th May – 10 am until 6 pm

There is no event on Bank Holiday Monday, when the High Street reverts to the regular Market Day.

Christchurch Food Festival for Children

There is some entertainment for children at the festival. The Sheep Show runs at regular intervals throughout the day and is particularly popular with children. In addition, there are Circus Skills Workshops and Face Painting at both locations.

Orla loves food, so she was in her element here – trying samples from the various food stalls and eating ice cream.

There are also two play areas on the edge of the Quomps; a pirate themed Play Park plus a Splash Park with a paddling pool and water play features.

Note: Lots of families choose to base themselves in the surrounding area and it can get rather crowded.

• Updated: May 2025

I hope you found this information useful. For more inspiration on things to do in and around Bournemouth, check out my other ideas for ‘101 Things to do in Bournemouth’ here.