Every July, Coventry's War Memorial Park hosts a lavish festival of free entertainment to celebrate the city's historic connection with Lady Godiva. There's live music and a procession of a scantily clad Godiva, riding through the streets to the park.  Read more

Sniff and nibble more than 450 different cheeses of all flavours, shapes and sizes at Britain's biggest cheese market. The Great British Cheese Festival takes place each year at Cardiff Castle and heralds the British Cheese Awards.  Read more

Hundreds of runners in gorilla costumes jog 7km across the city from the London Underwriting Centre at the annual Great Gorilla Run, in aid of the Gorilla Organisation. Raise a minimum of £400 in sponsorship and don your free gorilla suit.  Read more

South Shields' Great North Dog Walk once again attempts to break its own record of the largest numbers of walkers and their dogs. There are four routes ranging in distance across beautiful coastal paths with breathtaking sea views.  Read more

The Hamstreet Country Show includes rounds of the British Lawn Mower Racing Championships. Watch mowers with names like Weedy Gonzales and the Turfinator as they screech around at speeds approaching 60mph.  Read more

This traditional and quirky Morris-dancing festival in Hastings attracts people from all over the country. Taking place over one wild weekend, it culminates in a procession and a ceremony called Slaying of the Jack on the last day.

Every January, the parish of Haxey engages in a curious custom called Haxey Hood, a rugby-like game and reputably the oldest local tradition in England. Attracting huge crowds, the objective is to push a leather tube to one of four pubs nearby.  Read more

The Hillsborough Oyster Festival at The Plough Inn attracts around 15,000 visitors to this pretty Georgian village for a weekend of slippery shenanigans. As always, the main purpose of the festival is to raise money for charity.  Read more

Banbury's Hobby Horse Festival features everything from Morris dancing and tours to theatrical performances and processions. Locals dress up as white horses and fine ladies, marking the nursery rhyme the event is dedicated to.  Read more

It's horses galore in Hyde Park on Horseman's Sunday as over 100 horses and riders are led to St John's Church by the vicar for a blessing and rosette prize-giving. See horse-drawn carriages, Shetland ponies and other equine beauties.  Read more

MPs and peers from the House of Lords and House of Commons battle it out in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.   Read more

Every February Feast Monday the mayor of St Ives hurls a silver ball from the wall of the Parish Church. Once caught, the crowd compete for it until the clock strikes noon and the winner claims a five shilling reward.  Read more

York is one of England's most beautiful cities, but during Illuminating York it takes on a special glow. For this innovative festival, the city's most impressive buildings become canvases for a series of iridescent and immersive light projections.  Read more

International magicians gather in South Tyneside this spring for another edition of the International Magic Festival. Attended by a host of much-loved British and foreign stars, spellbound visitors can count on a captivating and confounding display of tricks and conundrums.  Read more

Despite man's bipedal state, stubborn fights with gravity have proliferated throughout history. The International Worthing Birdman is a splendid example of human beings defying their natural state by swooping off a pier... and crashing inelegantly into the sea.  Read more

The pungent bulb takes centre stage at the Isle of Wight Garlic Festival, held at Newchurch Showground. Raising money for local charities, there's an entire marquee devoted to garlic cookery demonstrations, garlic-infused foods, music, acrobatics and arts and crafts.  Read more

Get some hands-on experience of what it was like to be a Viking. More than 10,000 visitors turn up to York's annual Jorvik Festival to watch Norse warriors fight to the (mock) death with their enemies, the Saxons.  Read more

One of the best attended daytime events of the year celebrates the monarch's favourite medieval sport. The Knights of Royal England perform twice-daily jousting shows, along with falconry displays, craft marquees and other activities.   Read more

Features a Scarecrow Trail encouraging visitors to identify 100 life-size scarecrows.   Read more

Carnivorous lampshades and pole-dancing robots might sound like elements of a very disturbed person's dream, but Kinetica Art Fair at London's P3 displays exactly these sorts of weird exhibits. See seriously cool kinetic, electronic and new media art.  Read more