Christmas! MAKE A START ON

BEST FESTIVE FAIRS

• Diwali is one of the most important festivals in Indian culture – and Leicester’s Diwali Celebrations are widely acknowledged as the biggest and best outside India. The festival features two weeks of festivities, culminating in Diwali Day on October 19, an extravaganza of showstopping Bollywood dance routines, fabulous music and breathtaking fireworks. Leicester, October 8-19. WWW.VISITLEICESTER.INFO/WHATS-ON/ DIWALI • Celebrate the changing season at the Autumn Festival at Hughenden. Find out more about charcoal making, apple juicing, foraging and wildlife spotting with National Trust experts or simply browse the produce and craft stalls in the Victorian mansion where Benjamin Disraeli once lived. Buckinghamshire, October 9-20. WWW. NATIONALTRUST.ORG.UK/HUGHENDEN • No prizes for guessing the tipple of choice at Killerton’s famous Cider & Apple Festival! Help out with the apple harvest, treat yourself to a taste of the orchard’s finest produce and dance the day away to great live music. Devon, October 14-15. WWW. NATIONALTRUST.ORG.UK/KILLERTON • Treat the kids to a day at the Loogabarooga Festival of Children’s Illustrated Literature. As well as talks by top children’s authors, including Lauren Child, creator of Charlie and Lola, there are book trails, storytelling sessions, a comic fair and lots of advice on writing and illustrating books. Loughborough, October 18-24. WWW.LOOGABAROOGA.COM • Discover top-of-the-range craftsmanship and delicious local produce at Levels’ Best Craft & Farmers’ Market in the Old Stable Yard at Montacute, a beautiful Elizabethan mansion in the heart of Somerset. With 30 stalls selling artisan, traditionallymade food, drinks and gifts, there’s lots of inspiration for Christmas shopping. Somerset, October 28. WWW.NATIONALTRUST.ORG.UK/ MONTACUTE-HOUSE • The Banks of the Foyle Carnival is Europe’s largest Hallowe’en Festival. Over 40,000 people attend this three-day celebration of the supernatural. Highlights include the traditional – if slightly unsettling – “Awakening of the Walls”, a fancy dress street carnival and a spooktacular fireworks display. DerryLondonderry, Northern Ireland. October 29-31. WWW.DERRYSTRABANE.COM • Remember, Remember the fourth of November… Because that’s when Bridgwater – the town which has been celebrating the failure of the Gunpowder Plot for longer than anywhere else – is holding its 2017 Guy Fawkes Carnival. Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival features live music, dancing, theatre, Europe’s largest procession of illuminated floats and the simultaneous firing of 150 large fireworks. November 4, Somerset. WWW.BRIDGWATERCARNIVAL.ORG.UK • Watch muchloved fairytales come to life at Longleat’s fabulous Festival of Light. This year’s theme is ‘The Magic of Storytelling’, with mermaids, princesses, dragons and firebirds all lighting up the sky above Longleat. Wiltshire, selected dates from November 5 onwards. WWW.LONGLEAT.CO.UK/WHATS-ON/ THE-FESTIVAL-OF-LIGHT • Enjoy a leisurely browse for unique Christmas presents and indulgent treats at the Handmade & Artisan Fayre at Hanbury Hall, accompanied by live music

that’s guaranteed to get you in the festive mood – or at least humming along! Worcestershire, November 11-12. WWW.NATIONALTRUST.ORG. UK/HANBURY-HALL-AND-GARDENS • As well as hundreds of opportunities to munch and sip to your heart’s delight, the festive edition of Taste of London features The World Cheese Championships! Competing for the title are 3,000 cheeses from 30 different countries – and after judging is over, cheese lovers can indulge their fromage fantasies! London, November 16-19. WWW.LONDON.TASTEFESTIVALS.COM • What better combination

than a spot of retail therapy, a bracing walk along a beach and then warming up in a cosy tea room? Colby Woodland Garden’s annual Winter Fair offers all three! Pembrokeshire, November 18/19. WWW.NATIONALTRUST.ORG. UK/COLBY-WOODLAND-GARDEN • Love vintage dresses? Yearn to drink from proper china cups? Addicted to antiques? On the hunt for a 1960s Sindy? Well, the Fancy That? Vintage Bazaar in Edzell features clothing, furniture, jewellery, ceramics, toys and homewares from days gone by – come along and step back in time! Angus, Scotland, December 3. WWW.ANTIQUES-ATLAS.COM/ ANTIQUE_FAIR/FANCY_THAT/OR3441