The Extra Mile – Page 2 – The Extra Mile

Posted on 06/06/202505/06/2025 by The Extra Mile

The energy behind our Coastal Café Guide

Hand holding The Coastal Café Guide in a living room.

Introducing: The Coastal Café Guide

Kerry O’Neill is the writer of 2024’s Amazon bestseller, The Coastal Café Guide (a book featured in The Scotsman, Times Weekend and more). Here’s her welcome to the book, to give you a feel for what it and we at Extra Mile Books are all about. Kerry, over to you…

“The coast represents many things to many people. Some head to the coast purely to relax or for fun, holidays, escapes, surfs, swims, and sunbathing. Others go to be uplifted, inspired, and buoyed by the mental health and well-being benefits of being in, near, and on the ocean. Whatever your motivation, you’ll need to eat while there. This guide is a counter-clockwise journey around Britain. It starts in the South West (where we at Printslinger/ Extra Mile Books are based) then heads east and up to Scotland, returning via rugged West Wales.

Food with a view and beach eats

This first edition has around 150 cafés, restaurants, seafood shacks, horsebox pop-ups, beach cabins, bars, and pubs that we hope you’ll enjoy visiting. Often small and independently run, each place is ready to keep your salty self fed and watered while at the coast. If it is food with a view you seek, in many cases: you got it. Love them? Great! Prefer other spots? Tell us for next time. We’ve had some epic experiences while researching this book.

What’s more impressive is the resilience of Britain’s small coastal café owners. Battling the same challenges as the rest of us, they manage to keep that beachy flag flying in the face of increased food costs, difficulties finding staff, and the famously fickle British weather. By visiting the places in this new guide, you are supporting the people that work so hard to make your day memorable, with their splashes of local colour and tasty regional specialities.

May this book be your companion on many foodie and coastal adventures.

Kerry O’Neill

Writer of The Coastal Café Guide and publisher at Extra Mile Books, from Printslinger.

Sound like your kind of book?

If our ethos resonates with you, we have a sneaking suspicion that you might enjoy The Coastal Café Guide, or its sibling books The Farm Shop Guide (which does what it says on the tin) or The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services. Hit the image or button below to browse our current guides, and do let us know if you find any favourite coastal cafés that we’ve yet to stumble upon.

Posted on 05/06/202505/06/2025 by The Extra Mile

Win a Devon escape – last chance!

Win 2 nights in Devon - competition blog post header

Competition ends 8 June. ENTER NOW!

Our competition has been running over on Instagram for a wee while now so we’re giving it a final boost…and you a final chance to enter. Here’s what the prize includes, and it’s a good-un…

Win a pitch for two nights at Ocean Pitch, Croyde; a £50 voucher for Biffen’s Kitchen; a £50 cinema voucher; plus copies of bestsellers The Coastal Café Guide (from Extra Mile Books) and The Salt Path.

🌊🌊🌊 TO ENTER 🌊🌊🌊

1. FOLLOW @extramilebooks on Instagram and LIKE the Competition post
2. FOLLOW @oceanpitch on Insta
3. FOLLOW @biffenskitchen on Insta

🌊🌊🌊 THE PRIZE 🌊🌊🌊

🌊 SLEEP: A pitch for 2 nights for 2 people at Croyde Bay’s Ocean Pitch Campsite, Devon (bring own van/ tent etc)

🌊 EAT: £50 in vouchers to spend at Biffen’s Kitchen Food Truck (on-site at Ocean Pitch)

🌊 WATCH: £50 Cinema Vouchers to see The Salt Path? The Surfer? Your call…

🌊 READ: A copy of #1 bestsellers: The Coastal Cafe Guide from Extra Mile Books, The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

🌊🌊🌊 GOOD LUCK! 🌊🌊🌊

🌊 TERMS AND CONDITIONS
One winner will be chosen at random from competition post ‘Likes’ on @extramilebooks’ Instagram page, on 09.06.25. Deadline for entrants: 23:59 on 08.06.2025. To be valid, the entrant must have ‘Followed’ @extramilebooks, @oceanpitch, + @biffenskitchen on Instagram. The winner will be contacted via Instagram DM and has five calendar days to respond or they will forfeit their right to the prize and a second random winner will be drawn and contacted. The Ocean Pitch and Biffen’s Kitchen prizes must be taken during the same consecutive two-day period. No cash equivalent or part-refunds will be offered. Ocean Pitch camping dates are subject to pitch availability. Weekend availability is very low until September but any available dates including mid-week dates are permitted. Prize valid for bookings with Ocean Pitch for dates until end Sept 2025. No purchase necessary. Entrants must be resident in the UK and be at least 18 years of age. No monetary equivalent offered. No transport or other costs are included. This prize is not transferrable unless agreed with Extra Mile Books. This giveaway is run by Extra Mile Books (www.theextramile.guide). It is not affiliated with Meta, Facebook, or Instagram in any way. Please send any Qs to the organisers: hello@extramilebooks.co.uk.

A Coastal Campsite of the Year

Ocean Pitch is a brilliant, surf’s-edge campsite in Croyde Bay, Devon. This spot is world-renowned for its perfect waves (and Ocean Pitch is renowned for its epic staff!). As if that’s not enough, the competition winner also gets £50 credit at Biffen’s Kitchen. The legend of his pinkled onions alone is enough to keep hungry surfers coming back year after year. We’re also throwing in £50 in cinema vouchers – tell us your closest complex or indie cinema and we’ll sort that bit out just for you.

Click to watch the competition film:

Enter The Coastal Café Guide's competition below

If you need a break and an escape to the edges of the country (whether you win the competition or not!) you might just need The Coastal Café Guide. It’s packed with around 150 places to eat near the sea, from beach eats to fancier, fishier restaurants, to cool, surf-inspired shacks like the hidden gem that is Biffen’s Kitchen, at Ocean Pitch, Croyde. To browse this or any of our other guides, see below.

Posted on 04/06/202505/06/2025 by The Extra Mile

The Joy of Getting Slightly Lost

The lost joy of getting slightly lost: why paper guides still matter

We’ve all been there, following the blue dot on a phone–screen, eyes down, marching toward the next café, viewpoint, or farm shop with barely a glance at what’s around us. Efficient? Maybe. But satisfying? Not always. In a world of digital maps and algorithm-driven reviews, we’ve lost something quietly magical: the joy of getting slightly lost.

The beauty of the detour

One of the best things about slow travel – especially along Britain’s coast or countryside – is its unpredictability. The winding lane that wasn’t on the route? It might lead to a family-run café with the best crab sandwich you’ve ever had. That missed turnoff? You could stumble across a beach no App has reviewed (yet). Paper guides – the kind you can hold in your hands, scribble notes in, and spill coffee on – invite this kind of discovery. They don’t demand your attention. They suggest, rather than dictate. And they leave space for chance.

Screens don’t make memories

Phones are useful. We won’t deny that. But they tend to flatten the experience: screen glow, search results, star ratings. You arrive knowing exactly what to expect because you’ve seen it all in advance: the buildings, the meals, the platters, the views.

With a paper guide, you arrive hoping for something, often finding more than you bargained for. There’s been no hype, no amped expectation, no Instagram filters. This allows you to discover the place as it truly is, so you’ll meet real people, producers and farmers, often selling their own homemade food for your enjoyment. This isn’t sat-navigation: it’s adventure.

Why we still make printed guides

At a time when almost everything is online, we deliberately make real guides: designed to be enjoyed offline. They are beautiful, colourful, high calibre books: carbon-neutral print products made with vegetable inks and using certified paper from carefully managed forests.

They don’t need signal. They have no batteries to die, no pop-ups to annoy, no notifications to cause you stress. Just pages packed with handpicked, characterful places, some of which we’ve got very lost trying to find.

We believe there’s something grounding about unfolding a map or drifting through a guidebook, circling a café, ear-marking a page, or flipping through pages over breakfast to plan your next stop. It’s a type of travel that invites you to stay present… and sometimes to go off course.

So go on. Get a little lost

Next time you hit the road, leave the SatNav off for a while. Let your finger trace a route across a page. Embrace the scenic way. Look out for high points, viewpoints, nature reserves, picnic bench signs, car parks atop cliffs. And if you take a wrong turn or it takes ten minutes longer than planned, don’t panic; that’s where the best stories often begin.

Gift a guidebook today

Our printed guides, The Extra Mile, The Farm Shop Guide, and The Coastal Café Guide, are packed with brilliant places that are worth getting slightly lost for. They are also ideal gifts, especially for people who prefer the real world to the digital one, or who prefer books to screens.

‘You can’t wrap an app’ as we like to say, but you can gift a lovely guidebook, ready to create countless foodie memories for your recipient as they follow their tummies and noses around Britain in search of good, honest, local food, with a little bit of adventure thrown in.

Explore Extra Mile Books’ full collection of guides below.

Posted on 31/05/202527/05/2025 by The Extra Mile

Why Farm Shops Are the Future of Ethical Eating

Image of the bread and bakery section at Weetons

Why Farm Shops are the future of ethical eating

In an age where supermarket aisles are crammed with plastic packaging and mystery meat, more and more people are asking: Where does my food come from, and what impact does it have?

Enter the modern British farm shop: a haven for ethical eaters, local food lovers, and sustainability-conscious shoppers. Once thought of as quaint countryside stops, farm shops today are pioneering a new kind of food culture: one rooted in transparency, taste, and doing better by people and planet. Farm-to-fork is something that producers strive to offer, and visitors love to experience. Here’s why farm shops are leading the charge for a more ethical way to eat. (Image above (c) Weetons.)

1. You know where your food comes from

Unlike supermarket supply chains that stretch around the globe, many farm shops sell food grown, reared, or made right on site or by producers they know personally. Whether it’s grass-fed beef from the next field or honey from a neighbour’s hives, there’s a story behind every product. That means fewer food miles, fresher produce, and a direct connection between farmer and eater. There are some truly delicious farm-to-fork experiences to be enjoyed.

2. Support regenerative and sustainable farming

Many independent farms and their farm shops are champions of sustainable farming and regenerative agriculture, namely a way of farming that restores soil health, promotes biodiversity, and works with nature rather than against it. By shopping at these outlets, you’re helping to fund regenerative farming that builds a better food system, rather than depleting it. Image below (c) Westerton Farm.

3. Champion small-scale and artisan producers

Farm shops are more likely than supermarkets to stock products made in small batches, which have been crafted by local artisans or by family-run producers. Whether it’s hand-churned butter, heritage apples, or traditionally made cheddar, these products preserve skills, regional flavours, and rural jobs.

4. Reduce waste and packaging

Looking to shop with less plastic? Many farm shops offer refill stations, loose produce, and minimal packaging, especially compared to supermarkets. You’re more likely to find recyclable or compostable containers, and often reusable options, too.

5. Keep money in the local economy

Ethical eating isn’t just about the environment, it’s about people. When you spend money at a farm shop, more of it stays in the community. You’re supporting local livelihoods, helping rural businesses thrive, and keeping Britain’s independent food culture alive. image below (c) Ben’s Farm Shop, Staverton.

6. Seasonal, responsible choices, without the 'greenwashing'

Ethical eating is about more than buzzwords. Farm shops typically stock what’s truly in season, helping you eat in tune with nature’s rhythms… and without the air-freighted strawberries in January. It’s simpler, more honest, and (spoiler) tastes better too.

Ready to eat more ethically?

The Farm Shop Guide is your road-trip companion to some of the most ethical, delicious, and independently run food stops across Britain, from award-winning farm shops at regenerative farms to delis, cheesemongers, bakeries, honey farms, and more.

Wherever you’re heading, there’s a better bite waiting nearby: one that supports the land, the farmers, and the future.

Order your copy of The Farm Shop Guide today.

Posted on 29/05/202527/05/2025 by The Extra Mile

Beyond the Big Chains

Betty Berkins cafe, an independent cafe in The Extra Mile

Why independent motorway stops-offs matter

When you’re halfway through a long drive and your stomach starts to rumble, the default is often a motorway service station: convenient, predictable, and usually forgettable. But what if there were a better way to break your journey? One that supported local communities, served better food, and added character to your trip?

Welcome to The Extra Mile: a curated guide to delicious, independent places to eat near UK motorway and main-road junctions. We believe that taking the scenic (and tasty) detour is about more than just what’s on your plate; it’s also about whom and what you support along the way.

Image above (c) Betty Berkins

The trouble with chain services

Let’s face it: the average motorway service station is hardly known for its individuality and charm. From lukewarm fries to overpriced coffee, chain-dominated services tend to serve up convenience somewhat at the cost of character.

Many service stations are owned by a handful of large operators, meaning that their profits leave the local area and sometimes the country, even though the services themselves may be located in the heart of Britain’s rural communities.

Why do independent food stops matter?

1. Better food, made with care

Independent cafés, bakeries, and farm shops near motorways often use fresh, local ingredients. Many make everything from scratch, from sourdough toasties to homemade cakes and seasonal soups.

2. They support local economies

When you stop at a family-run café or regional farm shop, you’re keeping money in the local community. That means more local jobs, stronger rural economies, flourishing local food and drinks producers, and thriving high streets.

(Certain services brands, i.e. the Westmorland company’s Gloucester, Tebay, and Cairn Lodge services, act in a way that is more akin to independently run pit-stops, and are notable exceptions to the general rule of motorway services’ profits leaving the area. Each of the Westmorland trio supports hundreds of local farmers and food producers by stocking and introducing their goods to their millions of annual visitors.)

3. A more memorable journey

Nobody reminisces about that generic burger they grabbed at the services just off Junction 18 that time. But taking a one mile detour to stop at a converted barn café or a friendly farm shop with goats and garden tables? That becomes part of the story.

4. Lower your travel footprint

Many of the places featured in The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services keep their eyes sharply on their carbon footprint and sustainability efforts. They buy local produce to reduce food miles, offer EV chargers, or work hard to reduce their packaging use.

Taking the detour is easier than you think

All the venues in The Extra Mile are within 15 minutes of a motorway or main A-road junction (most are a lot closer or within a few minutes). This means better food without a major diversion, plus the satisfaction of skipping limp chips and queues in sterile food halls.

From artisan bakeries off the M5 to coastal cafés just beyond the A30, there’s a better alternative waiting just off your route.

Find your next ‘new favourite’ food stop

The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services is your glovebox guide to over 275 independent, welcoming venues across Britain, including cafés, pubs, farm shops, and delis that are well worth a small detour.

If you’re ready to swap the service station sandwich for something made with love, order your copy of The Extra Mile and discover the tastier side of travel. Extra Mile Books now also publishes The Farm Shop Guide and The Coastal Café Guide, so you can branch out and continue enjoying adventures in local food from the heart of rural Britain to the salty edges of our island.

Posted on 19/05/202519/05/2025 by The Extra Mile

Eye-Opening ‘Ultra-Processed Food’ and Sugar Films

Food Inc. 2: back for seconds. The documentary image featuring a cow with a barcode.

10 food films to make you think twice...

We produce books about cafés and farm shops to help you eat fresh, local food while travelling. Our guides aren’t purely about supporting local businesses though: ultra-processed and sugar-rich foods are bad news for our own health, and that of society at large (and getting larger).

Check out our top ten eye-opening films and documentaries below about the global food and sugar industry. You’ll probably want to buy our book, The Farm Shop Guide, instantly, to bring more unadulterated, farm-fresh goodness into your lives, so find some handy links at the bottom. Let’s start with the most recent film first…

1. Food, Inc. 2 (2024)

A sequel to the acclaimed 2008 film, this documentary delves into how ultra-processed foods dominate modern diets, highlighting their manipulation by the food industry and the decline of fresh, whole foods.

2. Ultra-Processed: How Food Tech Consumed the American Diet (2024)

This CBS documentary explores how ultra-processed foods have infiltrated American diets, linking them to chronic diseases and questioning our reliance on convenience. The UK trails behind The States in terms of food habits but the pattern is clear and we’re heading in a similar direction. Forewarned is fore-armed…

3. Ultra-Processed Food: A Recipe for Ill Health? (2024)

An investigative documentary examining the chemicals in ultra-processed foods and the weak regulations allowing their widespread use, raising concerns about health impacts. Watch it here on Daily Motion.

4. What Are We Feeding Our Kids? (2021)

Dr. Chris van Tulleken’s month-long diet of ultra-processed foods leads to alarming health effects, highlighting the dangers of these convenient but harmful products. Watch it now on Daily Motion.

5. Eating Our Way to Extinction (2021)

Narrated by Kate Winslet, this film exposes the devastating impact of industrial meat production on the planet and advocates for more sustainable dietary choices. Watch it here.

6. That Sugar Film (2014)

This eye-opening documentary follows Damon Gameau as he consumes a high-sugar diet of ‘healthy’ processed foods (including the everyday Australian’s amount of sugar each week). It reveals the harmful effects of hidden sugars on the body, alongside the shockingly short amount of time it takes for the negative effects to kick in.

7. Super Size Me (2004)

In this ground-breaking documentary, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock embarks on a 30-day experiment consuming only McDonald’s food. The film highlights the drastic effects of fast food on physical and mental health. It sparked widespread discussions about nutrition and the fast-food industry. A ‘Supersize Me 2’ is also now out, see next… Find ways to watch it here.

8. Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! (2017)

A follow-up to the original, Spurlock investigates the fast-food industry’s marketing tactics by opening his own chicken restaurant. The film exposes how terms like ‘free-range’ and ‘natural’ can be misleading, while revealing the complexities behind food labelling and consumer perception. Find info on IMDB here.

9. Fed Up (2014)

Narrated by Katie Couric, this documentary examines the role of sugar in the obesity epidemic, particularly among children. It critiques the food industry’s influence on dietary guidelines and the government’s failure to regulate sugar consumption effectively. Watch the trailer here on YouTube.

10. Sugar Coated (2015)

This Canadian film delves into the sugar industry’s history of down-playing health risks associated with sugar consumption. It draws parallels to tactics used by the tobacco industry, shedding light on corporate influence over public health narratives. Find more info here on IMDb.

Depressing, right? Here's an antidote...

These films may make you angry with the industry or with government, or determined to do better for yourself (or both in equal measures). While we can’t arrive at your house to cook you sugar-free, health-first meals every day, we can definitely help you find farm-fresh, local, lower-food-miles food to help you make a start on eating seasonally and more healthily.

Check out our three best-selling foodie guidebooks below, with The Farm Shop Guide being the best suited to spring-boarding your diet in a healthier direction. Good luck and bon appetit.

Posted on 07/05/202507/05/2025 by The Extra Mile

Wild Beauty: 10 Evocative Coastal Films

Crop of The Salt Path official movie image

10 Films That Capture the Spirit of Britain’s Coastline

There’s something timeless and evocative about Britain’s coastline — dramatic cliffs, windswept beaches, hidden coves, and the quiet charm of seaside towns. It’s no wonder filmmakers return time and again to the shore to tell stories of freedom, escape, longing, and wild beauty.

Whether you’re planning a coastal road trip or just want to soak up some sea air from your sofa, these ten films capture the spirit of Britain’s shoreline in all its rugged, romantic, and windswept glory. Let’s start with the most recent first (so new it’s pending!):

1. The Salt Path (2025)

🎥 South West Coast Path, England

This film of the book of the same name tells the story of how Raynor Winn and her husband, Moth, set out to walk the South West Coast Path — one of the most stunning coastal routes in the UK — after being faced with homelessness and Moth’s terminal diagnosis.
Find The Salt Path on IMDB here.

2. The Outrun (2024)

🎥 Orkney Islands, Scotland

Based on Amy Liptrot’s moving memoir, this intimate drama follows a woman returning to her native Orkney to recover from addiction. With breathtaking shots of cliffs, seabirds, and moody skies, The Outrun captures the wild, healing pull of remote coastal life. This reminds us, if you enjoy remote Scottish island tales, the BBC’s Shetland TV series is an absolute must-watch, too. Find The Outrun on IMDB.

3. Summerland (2020)

🎥 East Sussex coast, England

A wartime story of grief and imagination, set on the chalky cliffs and stormy shores of southern England. The cinematography embraces the raw, windswept beauty of the sea — a perfect metaphor for the film’s emotional tides. Find it on IMDB here.

4. Bait (2019)

🎥 Cornwall, England

A bold, hand-processed 16mm film about a Cornish fisherman clashing with incoming tourists. Visually gritty and culturally sharp, Bait feels as raw and salt-stung as the sea itself — a standout of contemporary British cinema. Find details on IMDB.

5. Fisherman’s Friends (2019)

🎥 Port Isaac, Cornwall

This feel-good tale of sea shanty-singing fishermen turned pop stars celebrates community, tradition, and the charm of Cornish harbours. Heartwarming and wave-lapped. Find details for Fisherman’s Friends on IMDB here.

6. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)

🎥 Devon and Cornwall stand in for the Channel Islands…

A gentle post-war drama set on an island shaped by the sea, with cobbled streets, craggy coastlines, and the comfort of books and baking. It’s a love letter to island life and resilience. Find The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society here on IMDB.

7. On Chesil Beach (2017)

🎥 Dorset, England

This adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel explores love, repression, and regret — all set against the striking backdrop of Chesil Beach’s shingle spit. Quiet, haunting, and emotionally charged, it captures the melancholy beauty of the English coast. Find information for On Chesil Beach on IMDB here.

8. Mr Turner (2014)

🎥 Margate and the Thames Estuary

Mike Leigh’s biopic of the great seascape painter revels in golden light, crashing waves, and brooding skies. You can almost smell the salt in the air as it recreates the scenes that inspired Turner’s most famous works. Intrigued? Find out more about Mr Turner on IMDB.

9. Bhaji on the Beach (1993)

🎥 Blackpool, England

This British comedy-drama is set in the seaside town of Blackpool and follows a group of British Asian women who embark on a day trip to the beach. The film touches on themes of identity, culture, and the complex relationships within the community. Find it on IMDB here.

10. The Edge of the World (1937)

A poetic early classic depicting the evacuation of a remote island. Wind-beaten cliffs, crashing surf, and the tension between tradition and modernity still resonate. It’s a time capsule of wild beauty. Find further info on this 1937 classic on IMDB.

That’s all folks, except…

If these films have stirred a longing for sea air, hidden coves, and slow days by the shore, why not chart your own journey along Britain’s breathtaking coastline? Our lovingly curated travel guides are the perfect companions for slower, more soulful adventures. Browse our guides and start planning a journey that’s as much about the journey as the destination.

SHOP BOOKS

Posted on 01/05/202501/05/2025 by The Extra Mile

Coastal Food Festivals

8 food festivals at the coast you shouldn't miss in 2025

There’s something special about food by the sea. Maybe it’s the salty breeze, the sound of seagulls, or the way flavours seem to come alive when you’re just a few steps from the shore. Across Britain’s coast, food festivals are celebrating the best of local produce — from just-landed seafood to farmhouse cheeses, foraged herbs, handmade bakes, and the passionate people behind it all.

Whether you’re planning a foodie road trip or just fancy a delicious day out, here are eight coastal food festivals that serve up the best of Britain’s shoreline — with a healthy side of sea air.

1. Porthleven Food Festival, Cornwall

2-4 May 2025: A vibrant, community-led event with sea views, street food, chef demos, and a buzzing harbourside vibe. Expect everything from crab tacos to Cornish pasties — and a live music stage right by the water. Visit the Porthleven Food Festival site now.

2. St Ives Food and Drink Festival, Cornwall

16-18 May 2025: A beachside celebration of local food with fire pit cooking, chef masterclasses, and food stalls right on Porthminster Beach. Stay for the sundowners and live music. Visit the St Ives Food and Drink Festival site now.

3. Pembrokeshire Street Food Festival, Fishguard

9-11 August 2025: A joyful family-friendly event with plenty of sea views, good food, and music — a great excuse to make a weekend of it in this postcard-perfect town. Visit the Pembrokeshire Street Food Festival website here.

4. Isle of Wight Garlic Festival

16-17 August 2025: Unusual and unforgettable — a full weekend celebrating all things garlic, with food stalls, live music, and entertainment in a beautiful island setting. Visit the Isle of Wight Garlic Festival here.

5. North Norfolk Food and Drink Festival

30-31 August 2025: Held on the beautiful Holkham Estate, this festival celebrates the region’s best produce — from salt-marsh lamb to Cromer crab — in an elegant, unspoilt coastal setting. Visit the North Norfolk Food and Drink Festival site here.

6. Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival, Suffolk

27-28 September 2025: Set on the beautiful Snape Maltings site, this thoughtfully curated festival champions East Anglian produce. Think oysters, cider, local sea salt, and bakery goods with a backdrop of marshes and estuaries. Visit the Aldeburgh Food Festival website here.

7. Hastings Seafood Wine and Music Festival, Sussex

12-14 September 2025: A laid-back affair featuring locally landed fish, Sussex wines, and coastal charm. Bonus: the iconic black fishing huts and maritime history of the Old Town. Visit the Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival here.

8. Dartmouth Food Festival, Devon

24-26 October 2025: Mixing coastal character with culinary clout, this is one of the UK’s most respected food festivals. Expect serious chef talent, pop-ups, wine tastings, and riverside ambience. Visit the Dartmouth Food Festival website here.

Want to make a meal of it? Try our guide...

Food festivals by the sea offer more than great bites — they’re a reminder of how local produce, landscape, and culture come together in joyful, delicious ways. From harbourside bites to beachside brews, these events make the coast even tastier.

Looking to plan your own road trip to Britain’s best foodie coastal spots? The Coastal Café Guide is full of handpicked, independently run gems just waiting to be discovered.

Explore the guide and our other titles in our online bookshop here.

Extra Mile Books

We’re an independent, South West-based publisher of guides to independent places to eat and drink. Our three guides have each been Amazon #1 bestsellers, and make great gifts for foodies: there’s The Coastal Café Guide, The Farm Shop Guide, and The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services.

Posted on 07/02/202507/02/2025 by The Extra Mile

Beach Yoga in Cornwall

Image of people doing yoga on the beach, by Nick Fewings

Beach Yoga in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly

Here’s our quick guide to beach yoga studios, on-the-sand yoga sessions and sea-view and coast-view yoga in Cornwall. Any we’ve missed? Let us know. Do always check ahead as things can change, such as a given class’s availability, style, instructor, or venue.

Gwithian Beach Yoga

Experience the magic of the sea with Gwithian Beach Yoga, where ocean views meet mindful movement. Flow with the waves, breathe in fresh sea air, and unwind with their memorable silent disco yoga for an immersive, music-filled practice. Perfect for all levels, it’s a unique and restorative way to connect with nature in Cornwall. Visit Gwithian Beach Yoga.

Ocean Flow Yoga Studio: Beach Yoga in Newquay

Oceanflow Yoga Studio offers a variety of classes, including Vinyasa, Hot Yoga, and Yin Yoga, all with panoramic views of Fistral Beach. Their Silent Disco Yoga events on the beach combine movement with music through wireless headphones, creating a unique and immersive experience. This approach allows participants to connect deeply with their practice while enjoying the natural beauty of Cornwall’s coastline. Visit Ocean Flow Studio online.

Shine Yoga: Beach Yoga in Newquay

Experience the serenity of Shine Yoga in Newquay, where instructor Jen Austin leads beach yoga sessions amidst Cornwall’s coastal beauty. Classes are held on Lusty Glaze Beach, offering a harmonious blend of Vinyasa flow and the soothing sounds of the sea. Embrace the elements and rejuvenate your practice in this unique seaside setting. Visit Shine Yoga online.

Mawgan Pause: Coastal Yoga in Mawgan Porth

Experience tranquility with Mawgan Pause in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall. Led by qualified instructors like Billy, Mawgan Pause offer personalised yoga sessions, including Flow, Yin, and Somatics, as well as sound baths. Private classes are available at your location, providing a tailored approach to your wellness journey. Embrace the serene coastal environment to deepen your practice. Visit Mawgan Pause Yoga here (and discover their Yogary Treats, no spelling mistakes there!).

Wavehunters: Beach Yoga in Polzeath

Experience invigorating beach yoga with Wavehunters at Polzeath and Watergate Bay. Their all-level classes, set against Cornwall’s stunning coastline, offer a blend of fitness and relaxation. Join their sessions to connect with nature and enhance your well-being. Discover more about Wavehunters beach yoga and coastal fitness classes.

Elm Yoga: Beach Yoga in Carlyon Beach

Experience the rejuvenating Beach Yoga sessions with ELM Yoga at Carlyon Bay Beach in St Austell. Led by instructor Emma, these classes (often on Saturday at 10am) offer a blend of gentle flow and relaxation surrounded by the soothing sounds of the sea. Participants are encouraged to bring their own mat or towel and consider a sea swim post-practice. Please check their online (their Facebook page is the best bet) for weather updates before turning up. Find Elm Yoga online.

The Zen Den: Beach Yoga in Watergate Bay

The Zen Den offers a unique yoga experience in a cosy yurt overlooking Watergate Bay in North Cornwall. They provide a variety of classes, including Hatha and Yin yoga, suitable for all levels. The space is open daily from early summer until late autumn, welcoming both beginners and experienced practitioners. All equipment is provided; just bring yourself. The Zen Den is also available for private hire. Located at the Top Field Car Park, Watergate Bay, Cornwall TR8 4AA, it’s easily accessible from Newquay via a short drive or a scenic walk along cliff-top footpaths. The venue offers private, safe, and free parking. For more information or to book a class, visit the Zen Den online.

Yoga Ro: Seaview Yoga in Trebah Gardens

Yoga Ro, led by Ro, offers a variety of yoga classes in Falmouth, Cornwall, including Dynamic Vinyasa Flow, Yin Yoga, and Pregnancy Yoga. Ro has been teaching since 2016 and completed her 500-hour advanced teacher training with Quantum Yoga. She also offers live-streamed classes, 1-1 sessions, and corporate yoga/meditation. Additionally, Ro organizes retreats in various locations, providing opportunities to reset and recharge in new landscapes. For info and to book, visit Yoga Ro online.

Love Cornwall? You'll love The Coastal Café Guide

Here at Printslinger books (home of The Coastal Café Guide, The Farm Shop Guide, and The Extra Mile Guide: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services), we love sending our readers to memorable, independent and often family-run and seasonal places to eat and drink across Cornwall and indeed the whole of Britain. To browse The Coastal Café Guide or our other books, visit our online shop today.

Posted on 18/12/202419/12/2024 by The Extra Mile

Get The Extra Mile for Christmas

How to get The Extra Mile in time for Christmas

Well..the quickest and easiest way is to ask for it! In terms of ‘how do you physically get hold of a copy to give as a gift now we’re so close to Christmas’, here are a few ways for you to ensure you get a copy in time. We no longer advise you buy it direct from us for a pre-Christmas delivery, due to handling/ postage timeframes, but fear not: there are plenty of ways to get your copy on time from other in-person and online sellers.

Buy or order The Extra Mile into your local bookshop

Many bookshops already stock The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services, plus our other two books: The Coastal Café Guide and The Farm Shop Guide. Pop in or give your local high street or independent book shop a call to see if they can reserve you their in-stock copy so you have it safely in hand in time for Christmas. If not, you can ask them to order your copies in and they’ll usually arrive very quickly, with bookshops’ mixed orders from their wholesalers and distributors landing daily, especially at Christmas. Do check on the likely arrival date before ordering.

Buy from venues in The Extra Mile Guide

Most of the venues in The Extra Mile (or The Coastal Café Guide, or The Farm Shop Guide) stock the book that they feature in. People love browsing the book and buying their own copy while visiting, and many of our fabulous owners restocked their café’s bookshelves well in advance, in readiness for planned – and impromptu if you’re anything like us! – Christmas gift buying. You can check The Extra Mile’s online map here to see if a venue near you features in the book, then give them a call to see if they have any of 2023’s blue, Edition 4 book (with the bridge on the front) so you can simply pick one up there, supporting them while you’re at it.

Buy The Extra Mile from online booksellers

It’s now too close to Christmas for us to be able to guarantee that orders direct from this website will reach their intended recipient on or before 24 December, but other online book sellers and resellers have different postal arrangements and will be able to get you your books in time. So, thank you for considering buying The Extra Mile direct from us at Printslinger (the small, indie publisher behind the book), and we’re truly only thinking of you when we say so late into the Christmas swing, that you’ll likely have more luck getting things in time if you buy from someone with a next-day/ express delivery option at this point. And don’t feel bad for buying elsewhere; we rise up the rankings when you buy online, which ultimately helps more people see our books and celebrate the nation’s independent and local food networks, so, positives will still come of it!

Happy Christmas and enjoy The Extra Mile Guide

The very best of luck to those of you tracking down copies of The Extra Mile in time to wrap for Christmas. You can always risk it by going direct and simply say ‘your gift is in the post’….I’m sure your foodie friends won’t mind if their gift is a little late! It will most definitely be better late than never in the case of our three top-selling titles.

Have a wonderful Christmas and if you did want to browse our books and great value book bundles, you’ll find them all here on Printslinger’s online bookshop: simply hit the button below to browse all of our current books.

Posted on 27/11/202402/12/2024 by The Extra Mile

CHRISTMAS DIPS, BOXING DAY SWIMS AND NEW YEAR DOOKS IN THE UK: 2024

Once upon a time the New Year’s day swim was the preserve of the crazy or the hardened, lone sea swimmer. But since the national awakening about wild swimming, sea dips, and cold water swimming, they’ve boomed in popularity. And there is something magical about sluicing away the end of the year with an exhilarating communal dip.

This list is far from exhaustive. There are swims – formal and informal – right across the UK so check local listings for your favourite. And given they’re at the mercy of the elements, it’s always worth checking they’re going ahead before setting out.

Remember to stay safe. The Outdoor Swimming Society publish some Festive Swimming Dos and Don’ts and they’re well worth a quick look.

Photo by Big Ladder Photography https://www.bigladder.co.uk/

Photo of Bude by Big Ladder photography

Christmas Day Swims

The White Christmas Dip – Boscombe Pier, 9.45am

A charity fundraiser at Boscombe Pier near Bournemouth. Pre-register on the website.

Exmouth Christmas Day Swim – Devon, 10.45am

Founded in the late 60s by a group of friends and now one of the county’s largest.

Sennen Beach – Cornwall, 11am

Hundreds of dippers descend on one of Cornwall’s prettiest coves.

Bude Christmas Day Swim – Cornwall, 11am

Make your way to Crooklets beach for 11am for a swim with the Bude Surf Life Saving Club. Wetsuits prohibited! (Throw a tenner in the bucket to support the club.)

Polzeath – Cornwall, 11am

The Cornish have a particular penchant for Christmas sea swims, but this Polzeath one is a fairly new addition to the scene. Wet suits are also forbidden but it’s worth checking to see if the sea sauna is open for a warm up before or after.

Weymouth Harbour Christmas Swim – Dorset, 11am

An actual ‘swim’ where participants cross the harbour and back. The RNLI are on hand to supervise but it’s organised by the local Lions Club.

Porthcawl Christmas Swim – Bridgend, 10.30am

A party-like sea swim on South Wales’ Coney beach that’s been going since 1965. Meet at the Hi-Tide Inn.

Felixstowe Christmas Day Dip – Suffolk, 10am

One way to kick off your Christmas. It’s a charity fundraiser so dig deep for the local hospice.

Lowestoft Christmas Day Swim – Suffolk, 10am

Supported by the Coastguard and various local charities, this one features a warm-up on the prom before a bracing dip.

Boxing Day Swims

St Ives Boxing Day Dip – Cornwall, noon

Head to Porthminster Beach to join the throng of sea swimmers. Donations to charity.

West Bay Wallow – Dorset, noon

Held in Bridport’s West bay and celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, this fancy dress swim is followed up with carols round the community Christmas tree.

Deal Rotary Icebreakers Boxing Day Swim – Kent, 1.30pm

Inaugurated in 2018 and rapidly amassing followers. Register in advance for a discounted ticket.

Ventnor Boxing Day Swim – Isle of Wight, noon

Head to the esplanade of the UK’s sunniest shore to join the dippers.

Cromer Boxing Day Dip – Norfolk, 11.30am

Burn off the turkey excesses with a dook in the North Sea at Cromer.

Portreath Beach – Cornwall, 11am

Leave your wetsuit at home – they’re not allowed here. This Boxing Day swim is arranged by the local life saving club and the entry fee covers warming mulled wine and mince pies after the event.

Charlestown Harbour – Cornwall, 11.30am

Run by the local rowing club near St Austell, and fancy dress is encouraged.

Paignton Walk into the Sea – Devon, noon

A ‘walk into the sea’ but most like to run and get it over with! £10 entry which goes to the local Lions Club.

Tenby Boxing Day Swim – Pembrokeshire, 11am

A local institution with a bonfire on North Beach and hot soup for warming up afterwards. There’s a ‘superhero’ theme for fancy dressers this year.

Pembrey Country Park Walrus Dip – Carmarthenshire, 10.30am

Make your way to Cefn Sidan beach for the Boxing Day swim and you can claim a certificate to prove you were hardy enough.

Llandudno Boxing Day Sea Swim – Conwy, 10.30am

Organised by the Lions Club, you’ll need to pre-register for this charity fundraising dip.

Whitby Boxing Day Dip – North Yorkshire, 10.30am

Registration for this one is mandatory and fancy dress judging begins the proceedings.

Sunderland Boxing Day Dip – Tyne and Wear, 10am

Open to anyone over the age of 12 with fancy dress encouraged. Organisers recommend bringing an old pair of trainers for the road crossing before the big wet.

Burghead Boxing Day Swim – Moray, 2.30pm

The fearless swimmers here have to hurl themselves from the harbour wall into the waters.

New Year’s Day Swims

Hele Bay Merbabes New Year’s Swim – North Devon, 10am

An RNLI fundraiser just outside Ilfracombe.

Lyme New Year’s Day Lunge – Devon, 1pm

Lyme Regis’ fancy dress fundraiser, organised by the local Rotary Club.

Camber Sands Festive Dips – East Sussex, tide dependent

Also held on Boxing Day; the hardy can do both. Tide times affect timings so check in advance for the latest updates.

Saundersfoot New Years’ Day Swim – Pembrokeshire, 12.30pm

A charity event with prizes for fancy dress. £5 to join in and a fabulous way to sluice off the Christmas excesses.

Porthdinllaen New Year’s Day Dip – Llyn Peninsula, noon

Safeguarded by the RNLI, this new year’s cleanse takes place on Morfa Nefyn beach.

Porty Dook – Lothian, 1pm

A hardcore dook in the North Sea off the Edinburgh coast. One for the brave!

Broughty Ferry Harbour – Dundee, 2.30pm

Hundreds of dookers turn up for this one in a tradition that comes from the fisherfolk of the town. Spectators are welcome but mankinis aren’t.

Like sea swimming? You’ll love our Coastal Cafe Guide! Every salty sea swim demands a warming hot chocolate afterwards. (Click to buy.)

Cover image of The Coastal Café Guide book

Posted on 20/11/202424/02/2025 by The Extra Mile

BEST FOOD FESTIVALS FOR 2025

(c) eat:Festivals. People browsing local food stall at an eat:festival

THE BEST FOOD FESTIVALS FOR 2025

This blog brings together some of our favourite national and regional food festivals, so that you don’t miss a culinary trick in 2025 when looking for something to do with your foodie friends. Thank you to the organisers of the South West’s multi-award-winning food and drink festival series, eat:Festivals, for the use of their evocative, appetite-whetting imagery, above.

Our guidebooks (The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services; The Farm Shop Guide; and The Coastal Café Guide) have one thing in common with these festivals. Our books encourage people to eat local, buy local, avoid boring big-brand food and the monotony of motorway eats, and instead to support smaller, independent producers. You’ll find many of these festivals featured in our newest book (already a #1 Amazon bestseller), The Farm Shop Guide.

Have we missed any festivals? Let us know, we’ll slip them in.

FOOD FESTIVALS IN/ FROM APRIL 2025

eat:Festivals…Year-round events in 2025 (from 5 April until 13 Dec)

eat:Festivals need a whole website of their own, there is so much going on. With local, regional events plus festive and themed markets (think vegan, Christmas, gate-to-plate), their impressive series of day-long markets begin with eat:Bideford on Sat 5 April 2025. They then continue (through Minehead, Weston-super-Mare, Castle Cary, Nailsea, Exmouth, Tavistock, Taunton, Bedminster, Burnham, Portishead, Axminster, Yeovil, Chipping Sodbury Shaftesbury, Honiton, Totnes, Wellington, Tiverton, and Clevedon) until Sat 13 December 2025, drawing a year of South West food festivals to a close with eat:Dawlish. Come along for everything from cider, organic veggies and smoked fish to chocolate, gelato and local spirits. Street performers and sustainability are high on the list of must-haves for every eat:Festival.

Book or attend your next eat:Festival here.

FOOD FESTIVALS IN MAY 2025

Porthleven Food Festival, Cornwall, 2-4 May 2025

Designed as a toast to Cornish food (while raising awareness of the key issues relating to food and the environment), this event takes over the whole town in a weekend of pasties, chef demos, Bloody Marys, ska bands, and comedy skits. It’s a riot.

Visit the Porthleven Food Festival in Cornwall.

Ludlow Food Festival, Shropshire, 9-11 May 2025

The spring chapter of this famed foodie event (set against the Marches’ iconic castle) has bands, beer, music, and motors. Although more beer-focused than the autumn edition, you’ll find a wealth of artisan food producers ready to show off the region’s best street food. A fab food festival in Shropshire.

Follow Ludlow’s Spring Food Festival, Shropshire

Follow Ludlow’s main Food Festival (12-14 Sep 2025)

North Leeds Food Festival, West Yorkshire, May 10-11 2025

A popular menu of tribute bands, street entertainers, artisan traders, indy bars, and delicious street food make this a popular addition to any self-respecting foodie’s calendar. Kids love the fun fair and inflatables, leaving grown-ups free to enjoy innovative chef demos and samples of local tipples.

Visit the North Leeds Food Festival site

Blenheim Palace Food Festival, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, 24-26 May 2025

In this rather dramatic setting, discover new flavours and be inspired by passionate chefs, food makers and bakers, and esteemed culinary guests. For street food, live music, curated food stalls, kitchen and homeware gifts, Blenheim is the place to be. If you happen to have an Annual or Palace and Play Pass, it’s also completely free (else find tickets online).

Head to the Blenheim Palace Food Festival in 2025.

FOOD FESTIVAL IN JUNE 2025

Taste of London, Regent’s Park, 12-16 June 2025

This five-day ‘food-fuelled garden party’, as the organisers call it, happens in the heart of the capital’s vast Regent’s Park. It features an impressive number of London’s hottest chefs and restaurants, and introduces movers and shakers new to the food scene. Cocktails, desserts, cook schools, and street food await.

Visit Taste of London for festival map, tickets, and info.

Shrewsbury Food Festival 28-29 June 2025

On the last weekend of June, Shrewsbury Food Festival transforms the town’s park with 200 independent food and drink stalls, street food trucks, and bars. Top chefs offer free talks and demonstrations, while a Chef School inspires budding cooks. A dedicated kids’ zone features free activities like circus skills, have-a-go activities, and inflatables. Enjoy live performances on the Music Stage and Family Entertainment Stage or learn about food and sustainability in the Field to Fork area. Winner of ‘Festival of the Year’ at West Midlands Tourism Awards 2024, it’s more than just a food festival.

Visit Shrewsbury Food Festival.

FOOD FESTIVALS IN JULY 2025

Great Yorkshire Show, North Yorkshire, July 8-11 2025

A 140,000-strong crowd descends on Harrogate each summer to celebrate British food, countryside, and farming at the Great Yorkshire Show. Staged since 1837, this is one of the UK’s oldest, largest agricultural shows. Marvel at the prize animals in the judging ring, sample fine Yorkshire produce, and enjoy the live music.

For FAQ and tickets, visit the Great Yorkshire Show online.

National Geographic Traveller Food Festival, Business Design Centre, London, 19-20 July 2025,

With a food hall, wine and spirits theatre, workshops, master food photography sessions and more, Nat Geo’s fabulous food fest gives you the chance to ‘taste the world’ in the heart of London. Head to the main stage to see decorated chefs, TV personalities, and cookbook writers, and be inspired by their words, wit, and culinary wisdom.

Global gourmets: get your 2025 tickets to the National Geographic Traveller Food Festival here.

Rock Oyster, Dinham House, North Cornwall, 24-27 July 2025

Alongside an artisanal food extravaganza, Rock Oyster has a stellar lineup of musical treats in 2025, from the Ministry of Sound Classical to Rag’n’Bone Man, UB40 and more. Sea, sand, surf, foodie workshops and sessions, salivating over delicious gourmet goods: Rock Oyster 2025 has it all.

Check out the Rock Oyster 2025 schedule and tickets here.

Feast On, Bristol, 24-27 July 2025

Hosted on Bristol’s iconic Durdham Downs parkland, Feast On offers signature dishes from the city’s top chefs as well as a produce market, open fire cooking demos, live music, and tasting opportunities. Bristol is also home to most of this publisher’s staff (it’s where Printslinger is based) so this Bristol Food Festival is of course a huge favourite. See you there!

Get stuck in to Feast On Bristol in 2025

FOOD FESTIVALS IN AUGUST 2025

PieFest, Melton Mowbray, 3-4 August 2025

Does this food festival speak for itself? To eat all the pies – or to see who makes some of the country’s very finest examples thereof – come to pie-central, Melton Mowbray, in early August. Check the suspension on your car before setting off, boot laden with golden-pastry’d goodness…

Visit PieFest in August 2025.

Glasgow Foodies Festival, 8-10 August 2025

Glasgow’s is one in a cracking series of 14 ‘Foodie’ festivals taking place right across the UK, each celebrating the food of its region. Expect fire-pit cooking, an artisan market, street food, award-winning chefs, and great music. If you’re looking for a food festival in Scotland, look no further.

Visit Glasgow Foodies Festival online for more.

The Big Feastival, the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire, 22-24 August 2025

Cross a music festival with a food fest and you have: the Feastival. Hosted at a farm in the Cotswolds, it’s a weekend extravaganza of music, dancing, top-class chefs, finger-licking street food, and family fun.

Get your tickets to Oxfordshire’s Big Feastival here.

FOOD FESTIVALS IN SEPTEMBER 2025

Narberth Food Festival, Pembrokeshire 2025 (date TBC)

West Wales has a burgeoning food scene, and the pretty market town of Narberth celebrates the best of it. Entry is free and the 50-plus stalls are full of creative flavours: perhaps local ferments, whisky, preserved fish, or vegan meals. There’s also a rich menu of music and activities for children. Check online before making any plans, we’re just waiting with everything crossed for the 2025 dates.

Visit Narberth Food Festival in 2025

Abergavenny Food Festival, 20-21 September 2025

The picturesque market town of Abergavenny is the perfect backdrop for one of Britain’s finest food festivals. From inspiring food education to parties in the Dome, meet-the-author events, and every street food and gourmet treat you can imagine, Abergavenny Food Festival really is a treat for all the senses. Full of food? Walk it off with a stroll around the nearby castle or canal.

Visit one of Wales’s best food festivals: Abergavenny 2025.

Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival, Suffolk, 27-28 September 2025

2025 is the Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival’s 20th anniversary: what a year to experience this brilliant event for the first time. it features cooking classes for kids, tractor rides, and over 100 local food and drink producers from across Suffolk. As a not-for-profit outfit, its raison d’être is to reconnect people with the food provided by the nearby landscape, and to champion emerging and established producers. (Exactly what Printslinger guidebooks like to do, too.)

Get your tickets to Aldeburgh’s food festival 2025 here.

FOOD FESTIVALS IN OCTOBER 2025

East Midlands Food Festival, Melton Mowbray, 5-6 October 2025

Rural foodie capital, Melton Mowbray, celebrates its fêted pork pies alongside plentiful artisanal treats every autumn, at this covered food festival. Stalls spill over with farm-fresh produce, while the area’s multicultural flavours wait to be sampled: the Iranian offering is strong. For Pie Fest, you’ll need to be here in August.

Plan your trip to the East Midlands Food Festival 2025 here.

LOVE FOOD? DISCOVER OUR FOODIE TRAVEL GUIDES

If you love local food, and supporting smaller, independent and often family-run food and drinks businesses (and farmers and farm shops), have a look at our three guidebooks on the button below. They’d each make a great gift for your foodie friend, or treat yourself to the trio. Banish forgettable food, and eat better (while buying local) with The Extra Mile, The Coastal Café Guide, or The Farm Shop Guide.