Best autumn breaks for food lovers

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Best autumn breaks

Get cosy in a cabin

Book a cosy weekend in a cabin for a mini autumn getaway. In the UK, check out our picks of cool cabins for a snug staycation. Stay in a unique treehouse in Hampshire with Wild Escapes and wake up to breakfast hampers curated from Hampshire producers, including small-batch Moon Roast coffee, Nicky’s Kitchen sourdough and Fluffetts Farm free-range eggs. The Mayfly pub is a short walk away for a local ale on the riverside terrace while watching trout jump from the crystal-clear water.

For something back on solid ground, discover the wooden trailer at the bottom of Artist Residence Oxfordshire’s abundant kitchen garden. Inside, quirky fabrics embellish wood-panelled walls and floors, including foliage-patterned curtains, a burnt-orange velvet window seat, and hand-woven cushions in muted tones. Though compact, the tiny space is kitted out with the venue’s signature luxuries – Bramley toiletries to enjoy in the rainfall shower, a flat-screen TV to watch from the double bed, and individual pouches of infusions from Joe’s Tea Co to sip in front of the diddy, tile-backed log burner.

If you want to head further afield, head to Sweden. An hour north from Gothenburg lies West Sweden’s Bohuslän coast, a series of islands and peninsulas home to fishing villages strung between rugged rocks. On the very western peninsula of Orust island sunshine bounces around quirky, colourful fish crate factory turned B&B, Lådfabriken. New for summer 2024 is the EKO Tiny House nestled in the cherry, almond and walnut trees of the waterside garden. Split over two levels, it’s a serene, secluded spot to gaze across the Skagerrak Sea at sunset.

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Experience a vineyard harvest

Autumn is the perfect time to visit a vineyard, with the chance to immerse yourself in the annual harvest. Known for its world-class sparkling wines, Kent’s Balfour Winery is home to lush English vineyards, acres of ancient apple orchards and oak woodlands – perfect for nature and wine lovers alike. Located on the Hush Heath Estate, take a self-guided stroll or book for a full estate tour and tasting experience from £45-£65, where an expert will show you around the vineyards, learning about the secrets and history of Balfour as you stroll. Sign up to hear about the autumn harvest events and check out our best UK vineyards for more stays across Sussex, Devon, Wales and Kent.

Want to go further afield? Check out our picks of the best European vineyards to visit, where you can stay for a weekend to taste local wines in the sun, enjoy long, wine-fuelled lunches and even help out with the harvest. At Il Borro in Tuscany, guests can take part in the wine harvest and feast alongside the workers and owners on the 800-hectare estate. Think bottles of the estate’s wines plonked on long make-shift banqueting tables under white parasols, and a huge porchetta crackling away on a barbecue set up next to vines of San Giovese grapes ready to be harvested for the next vintage.

Go wild on a foraging walk

While spring brings wild garlic and summer offers an abundance of blackberries, autumn is a great time to throw your boots on and head out into the hedgerows to forage for wild mushrooms in the UK, as well as sloes, rosehips and beech nuts. If you’re new to foraging, it’s best to head out with an expert so you know what you’re picking is safe (and that you don’t accidentally collect a rare species).

Forage Fine Foods offers a range of half and full-day courses. Half-day workshops usually take place outside Abergavenny, starting at 10am. After a couple of hours' walking and picking edible weeds and berries, the early afternoon is spent making preserves and cooking lunch with your foraged finds. Homemade wild cake and cocktails are also provided throughout the day to keep you fuelled. In Scotland, sign up to a fungi walk with Galloway Wild Foods with expert forager Mark Williams. On these 1.5-mile strolls you’ll learn to find, identify, process and cook with edible mushrooms. The walks are family friendly and there are tasters and an informal al fresco lunch (using foraged foods) to keep you going along the way.

A basket of foraged mushrooms at the School of Artisan Food, Nottinghamshire

Go truffle hunting

October is prime truffle season in Italy, when the particularly prized white and black winter truffles can be found at the roots of trees in forests and on mountain ranges. Umbria’s Sibillini National Park is a stunning place to forage for these precious natural prizes. Base yourself in the foodie town of Norcia, where a network of paved streets are enclosed within heart-shaped, ancient walls. Seek out truffle-laced treats along with prosciutto, local cheeses, spelt and more in food treasure trove Norcinerias.

Stay at Palazzo Seneca (doubles from £152 per night), a sixteenth-century Umbrian palace restored into an elegant Relais & Chateaux hotel hidden in one of Norcia’s narrow streets. Venture out into the Sibillini Mountains on an educational expedition with local truffle-hunting expert Nicola and his well-trained dogs. After scanning the terrain for truffles, learn more about the most precious varieties over a picnic in the breathtaking mountains – think bruschetta with truffles, Norcia prosciutto, pecorino, ricotta, homemade jam, honey and cakes with a glass of Umbrian red.

Further north in Italy, Alba’s white truffle festival attracts enthusiasts from all over the world. The town is filled with heady aromas as truffle hunters sell their foraged goods at stalls and chefs shave the aromatic fungi over pastas, bruschetta and more. Plus, you can meet the intelligent dogs trained to seek out the main event.

Embrace Sunday roast season

A perk of the weather getting cooler is that it's the perfect time to seek out a Sunday roast. Head out to the countryside for a weekend, combining walks to see autumn foliage with the ultimate pub lunch as a reward. We've chosen some of our favourite walks in the UK along with pubs to visit either en route or at the end. Our guide to the best country pubs has plenty more inspiration and many of these also have rooms to stay for a weekend. The menu at the 17th-century Harcourt Arms in Oxfordshire has nods to Spain through bar snacks such as Friggitelli peppers, an enthusiastic use of rabbit as both chops and in rice dishes, and steaks cooked in a Josper charcoal oven, all alongside local beers, roasts on Sundays and a room to book upstairs.

In the chocolate box village of Harome in North Yorkshire, 14th-century pub with-rooms The Star focusses on using hyper-local produce, much of it grown in the abundant kitchen garden. It's the perfect base for a weekend exploring the Yorkshire Moors, then return to the Michelin-starred menu. Sunday menus include local game when it’s in season and a Yorkshire Pudding Royale which is stuffed with black truffle shavings and foie gras, and served with aged madeira gravy.

A thatched white cottage with greenery growing on the outside

Extend the sunshine

If you're not ready to let go of long summer days just yet, head to southern Europe to extend your time in the sun a little longer. Autumn is the perfect time to visit popular destinations once the school holiday crowds. September is considered to be one of the best months to visit Sicily, where the temperatures stay balmy (but won't be scorching) and the evenings will be long. Visit Palermo and spend days exploring the Mercato il Capo for street food, feasting on gelato brioche buns at Gelateria La Delizia and enjoying pasta at traditional trattoria Ferro di Cavallo.

Fancy some Spanish sunshine? Try Menorca. Unlike its neighbouring party isles, this small Balearic island has managed to stay relatively unspoiled – in everything from the landscape to the food and culture. As on mainland Spain, tapas is big here (try some at the Mercat des Peix – fish market – in Mahon), but thanks to numerous occupations by the Moors, Brits, Catalans and French, the local cuisine is a melting pot. Go luxe and book into Hotel Torralbenc for your stay. Set in 70 hectares of vine-draped countryside in the south west of the island, it recently introduced wine tasting experiences at its winery, on foot or by bike. Check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com.

Head to a food festival

Autumn sees a great range of food festivals across the UK celebrating local produce, small businesses, top chefs and restaurants. The Aldeburgh & Drink Food Festival takes place 28-29th September, celebrating the best of Suffolk's food and drink with two days of demos, masterclasses, street food, local market producers and more. In York, the York Food & Drink Festival runs for an impressive 10 days from 20-29th September, with free admission alongside city-wide events including wine tastings, chocolate tours and river cruise dinners.

Head to the Welsh market town of Abergavenny over the weekend of 21-22 September for a celebration of food and drink, based around the Victorian market hall, surrounding streets and ancient castle grounds. Discover local and global treats, from Wales’s oldest Caerphilly cheese, Gower Brownies and craft gin to Tibetan dumplings, edible flowers and seaweed rum. Activities include vineyard wine tastings, talks by Anna Jones and Meera Sodha and a night market filled with street food.

Stay at the Angel Hotel, an elegant yet homely Georgian former coaching in in the heart of Abergavenny. The dinners here focus on quality, locally sourced ingredients whilst breakfast is a lavish home-cooked spread and award-winning afternoon teas are enhanced by a dedicated tea sommelier.

Join Portuguese chestnut feasts

Early November boasts mild temperatures and plenty of sunny days in the south of Portugal, making it the perfect destination for an autumnal break. Sweet aromas of roast chestnuts fill the air, along with the cries of 'quentes e boas' (get them hot) as street vendors hand out these seasonal treats. Take part in the Lisboan ritual and enjoy as a warm snack in paper cones while crunching through fallen leaves, or try them on menus at the local tavernas. Chestnuts are enjoyed with sweet wine to celebrate the harvest and maturation of the year’s wine vintage on St Martin’s Day (11 November). Locals gather around fires for Magusto feasts and wine tastings, while many restaurants offer special menus and fun events. While you’re in the city, warm up over a bica (Portuguese espresso) and a pastéis de nata at A Manteigaria, tuck into a juicy suckling pig sandwich at casual canteen Nova Pombalina, and join locals and tourists alike in shotting the iconic cherry liqueur at hole-in-the-wall bar A Ginjinha.

We have visited Lisbon to discover the best bars, cafés and restaurants here.