The bonnie banks are putting on a spread this weekend.

Springfest, the Scottish Food and Drink Festival, has pitched up at Loch Lomond Shores in Balloch for two days of street food, artisan stalls and chef demonstrations — and after a false start earlier this month, the sun has finally cooperated.

The festival was originally scheduled for the first weekend of April, but organisers SHS Events postponed it after forecasts warned of dangerously high overnight winds. "Our number one priority is the safety of our visitors and festival team," Audrey Calder of Loch Lomond Shores said at the time. The rescheduled dates — Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 April — have rewarded the wait with calmer skies.

What's on offer

The format is a free, drop-in festival running 10am to 5pm both days, with the loch as a backdrop and the Ben Lomond Way site given over to a sprawl of street food vendors, a festival bar, and an artisan market stocked with fresh Scottish produce.

Saturday's chef demos were led by Suki Pantal, while Sunday belongs to Tony Alberti — both cooking live and talking through the dishes for anyone who fancies picking up a tip or two before heading home to their own kitchen.

For those who'd rather forage than queue, Sharon from Wander and Wonder is running guided walks through the meadow at Loch Lomond Shores, pointing out edible herbs, plants and mushrooms growing on the doorstep. The walks are bookable in advance and have proved popular in previous years.

There's whisky and gin tasting for the grown-ups, fairground rides and kids' entertainment for the smaller members of the party, and enough seating around the food village to make a proper afternoon of it.

Practical bits

  • Where: Loch Lomond Shores, Ben Lomond Way, Balloch G83 8QL
  • When: Today (Sunday 19 April), 10am – 5pm
  • Entry: Free, but organisers ask visitors to register in advance via Eventbrite
  • Getting there: Balloch railway station is a short walk from the Shores; there's parking on site, though note that paid parking has recently been introduced

Families should know the site is buggy-friendly and the artisan market sits indoors at the Shores complex, so a passing shower needn't ruin the day. The chef demo tent and street food village are outdoors but covered.

A full event guide — with timings for the day's demonstrations, the foraging slots and a vendor map — is available to download from the Loch Lomond Festivals website.

Worth the trip?

Springfest has built a steady following over the last few years as a relaxed, low-pressure day out: less corporate than some of the bigger food festivals, more focused on local producers than on celebrity branding. If you've been meaning to try a Scottish gin you've never heard of, or pick up a wedge of cheese from someone who actually made it, this is a gentle way to do it.

And if the postponement taught us anything, it's that the festival lives or dies on the weather. Today's forecast looks kinder. Worth pulling on your boots for.