Summer holiday special: Week 2 » 1 - 7 August

Highland games » Glastonbury children's festival » World hen racing championship » Triathlon » Chilli fiesta » Napoleonic muster » Spitfire display

Robin Hood Festival, Nottinghamshire

Archery displays, medieval minstrels and jesters, market, open-air theatre and costumed characters plus falconry displays and jousting tournaments.

Sherwood Forest Country Park and Visitor Centre, Edwinstowe, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire (01623 823202).

Monday 1 August

Engine Room Day, Sunderland

See the inner workings of a lighthouse, hear the power of the foghorn and explore the living quarters of the keeper.

Souter Lighthouse and the Leas, Whitburn, Sunderland (0191-529 3161). Tuesday 2 August

Go Wild Club, Essex

Huge variety of arts and crafts, all with a wildlife twist. Make feeders, nest boxes and bird tables and play environmentally orientated games.

RSPB Rainham Marshes, Purfleet (01708 892900). 3-7 August

Romano-British Craft Week, Gloucestershire

Displays of skills and weaponry that would have been used by people living in late Roman Britain. Takes place at Chedworth Roman Villa, one of the largest in the country with several fine mosaics, a water shrine and latrine.

Yanworth, Gloucestershire (01242 890256). 4 August

Legends of the Rocks, Yorkshire

Free guided tour of the Brimham Rocks. Hear some of the local legends, and learn about the rock formation.

Brimham Rocks, Harrogate (01423 780688).

Flutters, Bugs and Dragonflies Day, Worcestershire

Learn about wildlife at Capability Brown-designed Croome Park. Paint a plate and take it home.

Croome Park, Worcs (01905 371006).

Lake District Sheepdog Trials

Sheepdog trials, hound show, hound and puppy trails, exhibition of shepherds' sticks.

Hill Farm, Ings, Kendal, Cumbria (015242 71584).

New Trafalgar Dispatch, Cornwall

News of Nelson's death arrives in Falmouth, part of the commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

Cornish Coast and National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Falmouth, Cornwall (01637 853428). 4-7 August

Pickering Traction Engine Rally, North Yorkshire

More than 120 steam engines, 600 vintage cars and commercials, 200 motorcycles, 300 vintage tractors, model and craft marquees. Saturday night firework display, funfair, hot air balloons.

Pickering Showground, North Yorkshire (01751 473780). 5-7 August

Portsmouth and Southsea Show

Dog show, showjumping, countryside arena, bandstand, circus, homes exhibition, craft marquee, food hall and floral marquee.

Southsea Common, Portsmouth, Hampshire (023-9282 4355). 5-8 August

24th Glastonbury Children's Festival, Somerset

More than 20 performances each day from theatre companies, puppeteers, clowns, story-tellers, jugglers etc. Plus art and crafts workshops.

Abbey Park Playground, Glastonbur, Somerset (01458 832925). 5-27 August

Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Featuring massed bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines and the Massed Pipes & Drums from Scotland and the Commonwealth.

Castle Esplanade, Castle Hill, Edinburgh (0870 755 5118). 6 August

Circus Skills Workshop, Suffolk

Plate-spinning, stilt-walking, juggling, diabolo and balance beams. Learn the tricks of the circus and explore the Anglo-Saxon burial site.

Sutton Hoo, Woodbridge (01394 389700).

World Hen Racing Championships, Derbyshire

Around 25 chickens race along a 20m track. Bet on your favourite - though pecking can lead to disqualification.

Matlock (01629 583388).

Aboyne Highland Games, Grampian

Traditional heavy events (caber, hammer, weights, shot) and light (flat races, high, long and triple jumps). Plus tug of war, hill race, piping competitions, Highland dancing competitions, funfair.

The Green, Aboyne, Grampian (01333 981209).

Summer Magic Proms, East Sussex

Frank Renton conducts the British Concert Orchestra. Spitfire display and firework finale.

Borde Hill Garden, Haywards Heath, East Sussex (01444 417263). 6-7 August

Chilli Fiesta, West Sussex

Vast collection of chillies grown in restored Victorian glasshouses and displayed in every size and variety, ranging from serene green to red hot.

West Dean Gardens, West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex

(01243 818210).

Sea Britain 2005, Grimsby

Street entertainment, educational activities, displays, seafood festival.

National Fishing Heritage Centre, Alexandra Dock, Lincolnshire (01472 323111).

London Triathlon

Elite athletes and charity fundraisers swim, cycle and run from Royal Victoria Dock to Westminster and back.

ExCel Exhibition Centre, Royal Victoria Dock, London (020-7559 2929).

Woodvale International Rally, Lancashire

Model aircraft competitions, vintage and classic cars, military transport, radio-controlled model car and motorcycle racing, cycle racing, model engineering exhibition, model railways, model boats.

Woodvale International Rally, Woodvale, Southport (01704 876283). 7 August

Blackpool Carnival Spectacular, Lancashire

Carnival parade along promenade. Band competition in the afternoon.

Promenade, Blackpool (01257 462893).

Margate Carnival Parade, Kent

A traditional parade through Margate.

Seafront, Margate, Kent (01843 293733).

Napoleonic Muster, Co Durham

Re-enactment by the 68th Regiment of the Light Infantry in full battledress.

The North of England Open Air Museum Beamish, Co Durham (0191-370 4000). 7-29 August

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Three weeks of theatre, dance, music and comedy, in more than 200 venues.

Various venues, Edinburgh (0131-226 0026).