Free Shuttle Buses for Portavogie’s Tide and Turf Food Festival

30th August 2024

Food lovers will flock to the beautiful harbour village of Portavogie on 7 September for the popular Tide and Turf Food Festival where celebrity chefs will inspire festival-goers with their delicious dishes.

Photo caption: The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Alistair Cathcart, pictured with celebrity chef Rachel Allen. (Image: Ian Pedlow.)

Open from 12noon until 5pm, Rachel Allen and James Tanner will provide cooking demonstrations through the afternoon at the free-to-attend event that will showcase the best of locally sourced seafood, grass-fed beef, and produce.

Travelling to the event has never been easier with free pre-bookable event shuttle buses operating from Bangor, Newtownards and Portaferry to the Festival in Portavogie. There will be stops in Donaghadee, Millisle, Ballywalter and Ballyhalbert on the Bangor route, as well as Greyabbey and Kircubbin on the Newtownards route, and Cloughey on the Portaferry route.

In addition, a park and ride service will operate from Millisle Beach car park on a continuous loop from 11.30am to 5.30pm. By helping us to make this event even more sustainable by using whatever form of public transport you can, together we can reduce the fumes and traffic jams along the Peninsula.

There will be lots of family fun at the Festival too with a range of free children’s activities, including pedal boats, sand crafts and more. Go on a fishy treasure hunt and find the fish hidden around the event site to claim your goodie bag from the Visitor Information Centre caravan.

You can also quench your thirst at the event bar and pick up a snack from one of the many artisan food stalls, while music lovers can grab a deckchair and enjoy live music from the brilliant Anna’s Number and the acoustic Junior and Corey: The Shoreline Duo.

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Alistair Cathcart, said:

“The Tide and Turf Food Festival is one of the highlights in the Borough’s foodie calendar and it has never been easier to get to the event with the range of dedicated pre-bookable event shuttle buses. They are free and I would encourage everyone to use them and make the most of their day out in Portavogie.”

The Tide and Turf Food Festival is running as part of a programme of free-to-attend and ticketed events taking place during Taste Autumn in Ards and North Down (5-15 September). These events include the Taste Donaghadee Food and Drink Tour (7 September), plus the Tastes and Tales of Comber (8 September).

The Taste Donaghadee event offers a guided tour of the town, with stops at some of the best local pubs, cafes and eateries. Sample the best local produce including the town’s very own Copeland Spirits, a secret Italian recipe ice cream and produce from an award-winning sausage champion butcher. Tickets cost £57 per person and must be pre-booked.

Alternatively, enjoy a September Sunday lunch and guided tour with a local history expert at the Tastes and Tales of Comber. Starting with an appetiser at McBride’s on the Square, you will visit some key sites in the historic town before enjoying lunch at No.14 at the Georgian House. Once refuelled, the second part of the tour gets underway and includes dessert at Sugarcane Café Bistro before the final stop at McBride’s for some brews and the finest cheese selected by Indie Fude. Tickets cost £62 and must be pre-booked.

For more information about these events and the full Taste Autumn programme, go to visitardsandnorthdown.com/tasteautumn.