The Abergavenny Food Festival, Saturday, 21st September, 2013.

Woken up at 5.30 am on Sunday morning, to watch our bats, my head was already buzzing with images of the sites and sounds of yesterday's Food Festival at Abergavenny, and further sleep was simply not possible.

We enjoyed a bright, sunny day, and great warmth, which encouraged the lightest of summer clothing, sandals and ice-cold drinks; we had stunningly good weather which must have enormously delighted the festival's organisers.

Their Show spread itself over the town centre with five ticketed venues at The Castle, The Priory, the Brewery Yard, Lion's Place and Abergavenny's Victorian Market Hall.  The central streets - Neville, High and Cross Street, were alive with activity, and the many indie shops were a delight to enter and explore.

Veggies on Show!

The Guide's Map provided directions, details and very useful assistance for our walk-about, and much illuminating information on the wide range of stall products, producers, chefs and artisan makers and bakers.

We bought meringues from Merangz and Co. of The Little Round Cake Company, in Neville Street, Gluten-free Brownies and Flapjack from Sharon's Pocket Bakery and a delicious gluten-free roasted vegetable and cheese pie from La Mediterranea Food UK, whose gluten-free almond biscuits I love so much, both in The Priory and adjacent to St. Mary's Church.  The dear SO bought a box of hot and spicy Chinese Noodles from their stall, next to The Cherry Tree Preserve stall and another stall selling lovely Turkish Delight, from a small area off Lion Street.

Delicious meringues!

The Pocket Bakery

La Mediterranea Food UK for their Gluten-Free Pies

Cherry Tree Preserves for their scrummy Lemon Curd

I particularly enjoyed visiting Antiques and Vintage and Broadleaf Books in Monk Street, Love, lily and The Wool Croft in Cross Street, and the Abergavenny Book Shop on the High Street, which is sadly going to close down; and H. Shackleton for the Festival's Photographic Competition entry forms, Glad Rags Second Time Around, for a new jacket, and The Cook's Galley in Neville Street, which was far too tempting to enter!  Instead, I dived into the intoxicating aroma of the Deli, just down from the kitchen shop, for a bottle of chilled water, for my voice was beginning to falter!!!

We made the King's Arms our base camp for the day, just in case we lost sight of each other, and enjoyed their coffee and Street Food for a lunch in their Courtyard of their Seafood Casserole, for me, and a Lamb Cawl for Him.

Still so much to see, sample and explore, I can hardly bare the wait for next year's Festival extravaganza.

Do fest yourself - it is a "must-do" Food Festival, the Abergavenny Food Festival!

Daisy