Let the beer flow, the trains choo and the folk bands play as the Victorian hop pickers’ holiday is celebrated at the Faversham Hop Festival

Folk fans and ale lovers are preparing for a weekend of fine Kentish food, beer and entertainment as 20,000 people celebrate the 21st Faversham Hop Festival.

The free festival, which takes place on Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4 recalls the days when hop pickers travelled from London by train to take their annual working holiday, bringing in the harvest and ending their stay with huge parties.

It’s likely that funding from Swale Borough Council for the Hop Festival will be gradually phased out over the next two years which may put the event in jeopardy. So organisers are appealing more than ever for the people of Kent to line Faversham’s streets for the event.

The carnival-like atmosphere offers something for all tastes. Music lovers will be spoilt for choice with three live music stages in the town centre, showcasing folk groups, rock bands and local musicians throughout the weekend.

Faversham pubs will also host live music and entertainment from Friday evening. The Albion Taverna, Railway Hotel and Market Inn boast outdoor stages, and other pubs hosting bands include the Chimney Boy and Sun Inn.

From being a predominantly folk orientated festival, the event now covers all types of music. French favourites Sur Les Docks – a Gallic Pogues-type outfit, and the classy Cocos Lovers from Deal perform on the Shepherd Neame stage, outside the Brewery on Saturday, with the Hot Rats on Sunday. The main stage sees Redeye, Green Diesel, Irish and morris dancers on Saturday, culminating on Sunday with Maidstone folk band Wheeler Street.

On Friday, September 2, there is a Eurodance with Angles at the Queen Elizabeth School (tickets £10) and Saturday sees Hoppers Ceilidh at the Alexander Centre with the Selkie Ceilidh Band (tickets £6).

The Spitfire Steam Train will make a return trip to Dover, via Canterbury, on Sunday afternoon for people attending the festival.

Visitors from London on Sunday can choose to travel by the steam train from Victoria, retracing the route of hop pickers decades earlier. Passengers can enjoy a long afternoon in Faversham soaking up the sights and sounds of the Hop Festival, before returning to London in the evening.

The train, made up of historic carriages from the 1950s and 1960s, features a real ale bar with casks of Shepherd Neame beer, and buffet car serving soft drinks and snacks. Ale fans can enjoy a pint of Shepherd Neame’s Hop Festival Ale at pubs and bars outside the brewery in Court Street, brewed especially for the weekend and made using fresh, green hops.

Visitors looking for a bite to eat can choose from traditional inns and superb restaurants. The Sun Inn, in the conservation area of Faversham, offers contemporary British dishes with local and seasonal influences, while the Anchor Inn in Abbey Street has a new seafood restaurant, the Crabshack and Grill, which serves fresh seafood from the Kent coast.

There’s also the Railway Hotel, a Victorian pub featured in the Good Beer Guide 2010, the ideal spot to enjoy a pint of ale.

The 21st Faversham Hop Festival runs from Saturday, September 3 to Sunday, September 4. Details at www.favershamhopfestival.org.