Last held in 2019, Guitars on the Beach was Lyme’s free rock festival showcasing local bands and singers on a specially erected stage on the sandy beach. The crowd had the opportunity to participate with a special play along set during the event. 

An array of great bands played live on stage from 10am to 10pm with the much-anticipated play along set usually around 4pm where hundreds of guitarists of all ages and abilities came together to simultaneously play a selection of well-known songs and form Britain’s biggest band.

Large crowds enjoyed 12 hours of free entertainment where they chilled out on the beach, listened to some great music and had a boogie on the sand.

The event featured several local and young performers demonstrating their talents.

Guitars on the Beach was the inspiration of Geoff Baker who had been asked by chef and restaurateur Mark Hix to come up with an event that could run alongside his "Food Rocks" festival. The event was originally held in September and set the UK record in 2013 for the largest guitar band playing simultaneously with 2,267 guitarists performing Buddy Holly's Rave On.  In 2014 this record was smashed when a reported 3,000 guitarists turned up to play along to the Deep Purple classic “Smoke On The Water”, led by Deep Purple’s front man Ian Gillan himself. In recent years the event has been less about breaking records, more about enjoying great music and paying tribute to rock legends.