Fi-fi-fo-fum I smell the blood of an Englishman.

Whether it’s Cinderella’s glass slipper, Aladdin’s lamp or Dick Whittington’s cat, you will find them all this Christmas season in Britain. Pantomime (or Panto as we fondly call it) is one on Britain’s favourite Christmas pastimes. Witty scripts are combined with song, dance, slapstick, satire, cross-dressing and plenty of audience participation. Don’t forget to join the fun and warn Little Red Riding Hood with ‘He’s behind you!’ as she looks in the wrong direction!

Experience the very best Scottish talent at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections the much acclaimed winter festival celebrating folk and world music. The event takes place annually and is celebrated over 19 days. The focal point of the festival is The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, where performances will take place in every available space. For the energetic don your dancing shoes and get involved in a traditional Ceilidh (a Scottish dance evening).

The delightfully picturesque village of Lacock lies on the southern edge of The Cotswolds and is owned by The National Trust. The village is popular with film makers, as it appears frozen in time. The village has no overhead cables or television aerials and its magnificent Abbey and medieval cloisters has featured in productions such as ‘Pride & Prejudice’, ‘Moll Flanders’, ‘Emma’ and ‘Harry Potter’.

At one time Lacock Abbey was the home of William Henry Fox Talbot, the photography pioneer. Today Lacock’s medieval barn is home to a museum of photographic history.

Wolsey Lodges offer a stay like no other. Be welcomed as a friend into what are arguably some of the most beautiful homes in Britain. Enjoy elegant regency townhouses or period farmhouses oozing rustic chic. Or relax in one of their palatial stately homes with an abundance of history tiptoeing into your consciousness from every corner.

Beautiful gardens to enjoy in summer and roaring log fires to welcome you in winter make Wolsey Lodges a perfect retreat at any time of the year.

Arthur Lasenby Liberty borrowed £2000 from his future father-in-law to open his first shop in 1875. He employed one young girl aged sixteen and a young Japanese boy.

Liberty imported ornaments and objet d’art from Japan and the East. His business became so successful that in 1924 he expanded to the Tudor building on Regent Street that has become a famous London landmark. The impressive structure was built from the timbers of two ships: HMS Impregnable and HMS Hindustan.

Liberty today continues to import exotic homewares and clothing.

Scraped and ravaged by glaciers, beaten by rain and trammelled by river, the Snowdonia National Park in Wales is a landscape so raw that people were once frightened to look at it. Today, adventurers who take the time to explore it on foot enjoy the rugged beauty of Wales. Magical moors, sea, sand and wild places are yours to explore allowing you to get to know the personality of Wales and its people.