Oysters!
Photo: courtesy of Le Pont de la Tour
This year the fall oyster season kicks off with a smack – and the Thames River Festival (12–13 September) gets an early start – when six "oyster smacks" race their shellfish cargo from different beds in Brightlingsea and Whitstable to Le Pont de la Tour on Butler's Wharf, at 1 PM on Friday, 4 September. For the following week, the restaurant will let diners taste the differences between the bivalves from various beds (020-7403-8403; reserve online).