Barceló Cheltenham Park Hotel

Waddesdon Manor Gardens is a fine example of High Victorian gardening, with traditional three-dimensional carpet bedding. The summer months here are spectacular and there's lots to do all year round.

Beth Rothschild, Lord Rothschild's daughter, who studied horticulture at Kew, has been at the centre of the garden's recent modernisation. Talented designers have redesigned existing features.

In 2000, American-born artist John Hubbard devised a water-inspired carpet bedding design, and experts also rejuvenated the original Victorian rose arbour, which is planted with the luscious Miss Alice rose (named after Alice de Rothschild).

Beth Rothschild herself has personally designed a children's garden as well as masterminding an ambitious tree-planting scheme with the help of the famous Michael Lear. Each member of the family has had a copse of trees planted in their honour. Lord Rothschild can admire his wood of black poplars, known as Jacob's Wood, and Beth's mother is given a native English wooded copse, while each of her children and nieces have been given their own wood.

The grandest planting of them all is Ferdinand's Avenue, symbolically linking her son Ferdinand with the Baron Ferdinand who built Waddesdon Manor back in the 19th century. The avenue contains oaks on either side to a distance of 2000 paces (one for each year of the millennium) and on either side of this path the individual family woodlands pan out.

Without doubt, Waddesdon Manor has one of the finest Victorian gardens in the country. Don't miss the Aviary, containing many species of rare bird, and take a picnic as there are plenty of places for visitors to enjoy lunch in the grounds.

Discover Shakespeare's world through guided walks around his hometown Stratford-upon-Avon. On the Stratford Town Walk you'll get to see timber-framed buildings and stop off at the Shakespeare Houses, Grammar School, Royal Shakespeare Theatres and Holy Trinity Church.

Local professional guides recount historic tales of fires, the plague, medieval cures, old-fashioned sayings and history of the town. Walks start from Waterside, opposite Sheep Street, near the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and last for approximately two hours. There's no need to book - just turn up!

Stratford Town Walk Website

Discover stories of murder and mayhem on the Stratford Town Ghost Walk guided by The Man in Black. Visitors to Stratford-upon-Avon learn about the Royal Shakespeare Theatre ghost, the 17th-century haunted teahouse and the witch that lived in a slum.

Walks start on Waterside, opposite Sheep Street and near the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and last up to two hours. Please call to check availability.

Stratford Town Walk Website

These Sunday concerts in Oxford began in 1986 and have established themselves as one of the UK's most successful chamber music series. Visitors can enjoy performances by excellent musicians and ensembles in the stunning setting of the Holywell Music Room.

Oxford Coffee Concerts Website

Whether a seasoned racegoer, or a newcomer to the sport, a day at Stratford Races provides fun for all the family. Visitors can spend the day in a private box or avail themselves of one of the group hospitality packages.

Wightwick Manor is a Victorian masterpiece and one of the finest examples of the influence of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement in England. Its vast gardens are also protected and worth a visit in their own right.

The stunning Victorian Edwardian garden of Wightwick Manor is a rare surviving example designed by Thomas Mawson, one of the leading landscape architects of his day. Inside the manor, the many original William Morris wallpapers and fabrics, Pre-Raphaelite paintings, Kempe glass and de Morgan ware help conjure up the spirit of the time.

The Arts and Crafts Movement was one of the most influential, profound and far-reaching design movements of modern times. It began in Britain around 1880 and advocated the reform of art at every level and across a broad social spectrum.

A honey-coloured Palladian mansion, Basildon Park is a National Trust property, with lovely parkland overlooking the Thames Valley. The 18th-century house has some notable plasterwork and an elegant staircase, as well as the unusual Octagon Room.

Fashionistas have cause to rejoice at Bath's Fashion Museum as it once again dedicates a display to The Dress of the Year. An annual occurrence, the dress can vary from decadent to demure but it's always highly desirable.

Each year a fashion-industry expert chooses their dress of the year and their decisions have seen designs by Mary Quant, John Galliano, Rifat Ozbek, Paul Smith, Versace and Tom Ford incorporated into the Fashion Museum collection.

This year, Lucy Yeomans, editor of the prestigious fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar has the honour of selecting her favourite dress from the past year, with the accolade going to a black-and-white trompe l'oeil corset dress designed by Antonio Berardi.

Coventry's St Mary's Guildhall, one of the finest surviving medieval guildhalls in England, was built in the 1340s for the merchant guild of St Mary. It became the headquarters for the mayor and corporation of Coventry until the early 1900s.

Interesting rooms include the Old Council Chamber, used as the meeting place for the City Council from 1421 to the 1860s, and the Prince's Chamber, originally a buttery or pantry, which derives its name from the 14th-century Black Prince's association with Coventry. At the top of the building is Caesar's Tower, believed to be the place where the Scottish Queen was imprisoned in 1569.

The building still occupies a central role in the civic calendar and continues to be used for civic banquets and other ceremonies and occasionally for concerts and other entertainment.

Chastleton House, situated in the heart of the Cotswolds, was built between 1607 and 1612. Remarkably, the house has remained essentially unchanged for nearly 400 years, suffering minimal intrusion from the 21st century.

The National Trust Website