Since starting our Telling the Bees project in 2023, we have become ever more passionate about food that tells a story; that feeds your soul as well as your body. This year you'll find opportunities to connect with real food, its folklore and its part in local history.

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You'll catch a waft of sweet smoke on the breeze that will guide you to a pop-up smokehouse producing delicious kippers. The herring trade was once a staple of the Hartlepool economy, with several smokehouses on the Headland alone. You'll meet Janet, one of the Herring Lasses who once travelled up and down the coast, following the herring fleet and processing the catch by hand as it came in to the Fish Quay. She'll tell you all about her life in this incredibly tough industry, and might even share one of her work songs.

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You and your family can go on a coastal foraging walk with our experienced guides, learning about the natural foods of the coastline and cooking your finds over an open fire when you return. 

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You can join Jim Causley to find out about a new Wassailing tradition at Grey's Cider Farm in Halstow, in his home county of Devon, which has a unique approach to celebrating the harvest - and sample cider, cheese and bread from the farm.

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Damien Barber will be on hand to answer your questions about beekeeping, including tasting some of the different honeys that Telling the Bees, our school beekeeping project, has produced. If it's not too cold, you might even get the chance to meet some of our bees! He'll also tell you about his new project 'Pure Honey - Raw Folk' in which he combines his work as a folk singer with his passion for beekeeping - and he might share a song or two. 

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