What's the best way to ...

What's the best way to ...

Look and learn about preparing food around Britain? Three options of many: at the Goldstone Hall Country House Hotel in Market Drayton, Shropshire (tel 01630 661202), a culinary masterclass course with Carl Fitzgerald- Bloomer costs pounds 27.50 for a morning, including lunch.

You can make your own Melton Mowbray pork pie at an evening course in the eponymous Leicestershire town, if you arrive in a group of at least 15. At Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe (016646 2341), you get a demonstration followed by the chance to taste pies and make your own. It is then baked and jellied overnight, and can be collected the next day. During normal shop hours, individual visitors can see a demonstration of making pies.

For the whole of April, the island of Guernsey will stage its annual month-long festival of food and wine. Forty hotels, restaurants and pubs will take part in the event. It culminates in a salon culinaire competition, in which you can watch professional chefs demonstrate their skills. More details from Guernsey information centre (01481 723552).

Stay safe from the sun on the slopes? Send an SAE to Sunsafe, Imperial Cancer Research Fund, PO Box 123, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX, for a free copy of a leaflet explaining how to avoid getting burnt on the piste.

Drift off behind the wheel? Indulge in a bit of stress therapy and book a waterways holiday along some of Britain's 2,000 miles of canals with Drifters (0345 626252), a consortium of independent boat operators