All good things must come to an end, but the Whitstable Oyster Festival has certainly saved the best to last.

The annual event, which has been attracting massive crowds since it kicked off last weekend, is cramming four superb events into just one final day of festivities on Friday, August 1.

The morning begins with a bracing and educational guided group walk. The Harbour Trail explores why Whitstable Harbour became the world’s first railway-connected port. It leaves from the RNLI lifeboat station at 11am and returns at 12.15pm.

One of the loveliest traditions of the festival is the grotter-building session on the Reeves Beach. Grotters are small structures made with empty oyster shells and furnished with a candle inside. Building takes place between 2.30pm and 4pm, with each participant encouraged to use no more than one bucket full of oyster shells. When they are lit up at sunset, the village of glowing grotters will create a superb impact.

And by sunset another spectacle will be in full swing – the Venetian Carnival which gathers on the seafront at 5pm is a brand new, fancy-dress event for this year’s festival. Spectators are invited to bring their own masks and cloaks to become part of the celebration themselves.

The final hurrah is the much-loved firework display which will light up the skies above the town at 9.45pm.

All events are free except of the guided walk, which costs just £2.50. Tickets available from the Whitstable Improvement Trust’s shop in Harbour Street.

For full details of events visit www.whitstableoysterfestival.co.uk