Above: Malton Food Festival

Go to food and drink festivals

This weekend must be the weekend for drinking and dining festivals as there’s at least three going on in North Yorkshire.

Close to home is the Great British Food Festival that’s happening at Harewood House, then on the fringes of the Yorkshire Dales is Yorkshire V’s The Rest Beer Fest and slightly further up is the Malton Food Lovers Festival.

The latter is especially well known as Malton is often hailed as the Yorkshire food capital, and the food festival celebrates some of the region’s finest produce with live cooking demonstrations.

Great British Food Festival: Tickets from £14, 10am-5.30pm (until 5pm Sunday), May 25-27, Harewood House, Harewood, Leeds, LS17 9LG.

Yorkshire V’s The Rest Beer Fest: Free entry, 3-9pm, May 24, Exelby Green Dragon, B6285, High Row Exelby, Bedale, DL8 2HA.

Malton Food Lovers Festival: Free entry, various times, see the website for details, May 25-27, Malton Town, YO17 7LX.

Discover the latest in electric vehicles and technology

Wanting to learn more about all things powered by electric, especially cars? Then visit Everything Electric, which is happening this weekend at Yorkshire Event Centre for the second year running.

Featuring e-bikes, scooters, skateboards and more, you can find out everything you need to know about the latest electric vehicles coming to market and the latest home energy technologies. Other must-mentions include the 50 live panel discussions and live cookery demonstrations.

From £16.25, 10am-5pm (4pm on Sunday), May 24-26, Yorkshire Event Centre, HG2 8NZ.

Ride aboard the gin train

There will be time to stretch your legs and enjoy a free tour of the restored 1920s station building at Leeming Bar, before reboarding the train for the return journey to Leyburn. But your experience doesn’t end there as the final stop is a tour of the distillery and a presentation about its gins.

Tickets cost £60 and includes four full-serve G&Ts from the Taplin & Mageean range, a return Wensleydale Railway train journey, branded Taplin & Mageean glass and a distillery visit and presentation. The train will depart Leyburn at 12.30pm, May 25, Station, Wensleydale Railway, Harmby Rd, Leyburn, DL8 5ET.

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Go on a bike ride

Harrogate’s leisure cycling club, Wheel Easy, has introduced a new series of ‘Wheel Easy Intro’ rides aimed at adult cyclists who are considering joining, but are unsure if they can manage the club’s short rides of around 20-25 miles.

The introduction rides will be 12-20 miles at a gentle pace, along the traffic-free Nidderdale Greenway, a former, mostly flat, railway line from Bilton to Ripley. There will be a coffee stop in Ripley, with a possible extension to Hampsthwaite.

Regular and electric bikes are both welcome. 

Free, the rides start at 9.30am in the car park by the Squash Club at the Yorkshire Showground, Hookstone Wood Road, HG2 8PN, May 26, the group will have a maximum of eight riders so booking in advance is advised, email intro@wheel-easy.org.uk for more information.

Go on a full day canoeing trip from Ripon to Boroughbridge

How Stean Gorge is offering four full-day canoeing trips this spring and summer, with the first one happening this Sunday.

From the serene Ripon Canal, you’ll join the faster-flowing River Ure which will take you through picturesque countryside including traditional villages and Newby Hall, eventually leading to Boroughbridge.

Whether you’re a competent canoeist, or simply seeking a new exciting outdoor adventure, the expedition is set to be an adventure through the heart of Yorkshire’s stunning landscape.

£85 per person, 10am-3.30pm May 26, for more details and to book, click here.

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