London's largest pan-city music festival has been taking place annually each November since 1992 and it has long been acclaimed for showcasing a heady mix of talent from around the world. Widely acknowledged for delivering world-class artists and emerging stars, it continues to take jazz to a massive audience, in one of UK's landmark music events

To celebrate our 100th Tour of the Week, I've selected 6 examples which illustrate our creative flair, knowledge, experience and connections.

The long awaited and much anticipated World Shakespeare Festival was launched on Monday 23rd April, the Bard's Birthday. The odds are that if your local theatre has ever staged a Shakespeare play they'll already know about the celebrations that are now under way all over the UK.

If you take a look at the number of trans-Atlantic flights now heading non-stop into the northern gateway of Manchester, you might like to take a look at how four of Britain's great heritage cities provide the foundations for a really interesting tour to Wales, Scotland and England. It will appeal to a Minister who will welcome visits to the magnificent cathedrals in Chester, Carlisle, Durham and York and to a garden club travel planner who will not object to the addition of 12th century Caernarfon Castle, Beatrix Potter and a drive through James Herriot's Yorkshire Dales.

I've managed to lay my hands on a few tickets for some early October visits to Highgrove, the private gardens of their Royal Highnesses HRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.

With interest in the customised group version of this tour gathering pace, I've now put together a version which will appeal to couples and families who are Beatles fans and who may well want to visit independently.

This travel less, see and sing more tour enables you to get the very best out of visiting the cathedral cities of Chichester, Winchester and Salisbury. Please read it and then ask me for the Word version for forwarding to your Minister, requesting a meeting to discuss it as the basis for a customised 2011 tour to mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible!

Because of filming schedules and other corporate events, Easter to late June 2013 visiting hours to Highclere Castle (aka Downton Abbey) are currently very restricted. There's a 2 week window of opportunity from Easter Saturday and to help you maximise it, I've put together the following small group tour which can run at any time between Saturday 30th March and Saturday 13th April. I've opted for a start date of Monday 8th April so that there's a Saturday night in the 6 night programme.

If you've read Jane Austen's novels or seen the costumed dramas on Masterpiece Theatre, this tour will convert much loved fiction into touchable, memorable reality.

Here's another itinerary that's packed with former winners of the fiercely contested Historic Houses AssociationChristies Garden of the Year Award. Being based in the Cotswolds for 3 nights further enhances its appeal and the tour concludes with a wonderful, colour and scent filled day at the 2013 Hampton Court Flower Show.

In 1962, the Beatles came together to release their first single and their home city of Liverpool is marking this pivotal 50th anniversary with a whole year of events and celebrations.

With Downton Abbey attracting huge viewing numbers on both sides of the pond, today's tour includes an on location visit to Highclere Castle and offers some imginative close encounters with Jane Austen and Sherlock Holmes.

With autumn being the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, October would be a good month for a few days in the Cotswolds and London. Our fall foliage isn't as spectacular as yours but then we can compensate with visits to the Shakespeare Houses, world class performances at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, stunning gardens at Hidcote, Mill Dene and Batsford, a birds of prey flying display, Britain's ultimate castle at Warwick, antique shops, tea rooms and pub suppers and you've still not reached London!

If your local theatre stages Shakespeare plays, the odds are that they'll already be aware that the World Shakespeare Festival starts on the Bard's birthday (23rd April) and runs through to November 2012.

This imaginative tour is the perfect conversation starter for clients of yours who may be involved with fundraising tours for art galleries and museums. Enhanced by special curator led visits, front and backstage tours and evenings of world class theatre in Stratford upon Avon and London, this unique programme will impress and delight small groups of 15 or so with an interest in the visual and performing arts.

Today's Tour of the Week has been created JUST FOR YOU and is an INVITATION to attend the Best of Britain and Ireland trade show at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham in March. If England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are on your 20122013 radar, this unique event will bring you bang up to date and with your newly acquired knowledge give you a huge advantage over your competitors.

Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, C S Lewis, Sir Winston Churchill and William Shakespeare are just a few of the characters that play their part in this tour. The two cathedrals at the heart of the programme are those at Christ Church in Oxford and in Coventry where they are enthusiastically celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. This tour can be enhanced by adding an extra day to include a visit to The Making of Harry Potter, the new Warner Brothers attraction just to the north of London.

Today's Tour of the week starts and finishes in London but spends 3 nights at Wroxall Abbey, a fine country house near Stratford and in Shakespeare Country. It starts with shopping at Portobello Road, Harrods and Petticoat Lane befor a few hours at the huge discount designer outlet shopping village at Bicester near Oxford. Spectacular castles, stately homes and gardens and opportunities to go to the theatre then fill the rest of the 6 night tour.

The internationally famous markets at Portobello Road and Petticoat Lane, sophisticated shopping in Harrods and the boutique stores on Sloane Streetthe Kings Roadplus the Cotswolds, what an intriguingstarting pointfor a UK Girls Getaway. Follow me and let me take you to some special places in our capital city and in the Cotswolds, an iconic destination in its own right and where I live!

Because many gardeners are too busy to travel in the spring, give some serious thought to a UK tour based around the annual Harrogate Autumn Flower Show. It takes place in mid September and to make access really easy, I strongly recommend that you fly your clients into Manchester in North West England.

Featuring the great cathedrals in Peterborough, Ely, and Bury St Edmunds and concluding with Southwark in London, this 6 night tour includes visits to John Bunyan's birthplace, the university colleges in Cambridge, Her Majesty the Queen's country home at Sandringham, American connections at Otley Hall and a fish 'n chip supper in London's Bankside. Amazing Grace also make an entrance on Day 1!

In most tour operator's brochures, a visit to Cornwall might be a day trip from Plymouth, driving by St Michael's Mount, a photo op at Lands End and an hour or so in picturesque St Ives.

Many travel planners are unaware that the north of England is home to some of the UK's finest art collections and this tour shows how some of them can be imaginatively brought together. In addition, it offers the opportunity for painters to bring their sketch books and plant their easels where the famous watercolourist JMW Turner once sat so that they sketch-paint the very same landscape which has changed little since he saw and recorded it.

Having read the books from cover to cover, clients of yours (yourself included perhaps) may have sat glued to the television when Masterpiece Theatre screened all the Jane Austen novels. Now you can offer your clients the chance to convert much-loved fiction into visible, touchable reality. Reversable from HeathrowGatwick to Southampton.

With non-stop flights on the increase to the user friendly Manchester England gateway, here's a 3 country tour that offers value added visits to some of the great castles, stately homes and award winning gardens in North Wales, the Scottish border country and in northern England. Use this as the foundation for a small group, customised tour and offer a 2-3 night London extension pre or post. To make it really special, after Day 4 you could easily include 2-3 nights in Edinburgh!

In June 1612, Robert Dover opened the first 'Cotswold Olimpicks' in the iconic market town of Chipping Campden. Honouring the ancient Games of Greece, then as now the sports included singlestick, wrestling, jumping in sacks, dancing and shin kicking. The tradition continues and to celebrate this landmark event, I've put together this 400th anniversary tour for all those who are unable to visit the UK in July-August.

4 night Silver Package from £279 per person

4 night Gold Package from £579 per person

During February and March each year, Kew Gardens and the Royal Horticultural Society both stage shows that will fully satisfy the expectations of orchid clubs and Friends of botanic gardens and arboreta. With off season air fares and very good London hotel rates, this 'long weekend' to London will go down a treat.

The Ardingly International Antiques and Collectors Fairs are the largest in the south east of England and this tour brings them together with antique hunting in Brighton's 'twittens' and the bustling colourful London markets at Bermondsey, Portobello Road, Spitalfields and Petticoat Lane. The 2012 Ardingly Fairs will take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on 10-11 January, 28-29 February, 24-25 April, 17-18 July, 4-5 September and 30-31 November. Ask me for details of the 3 night Paris Flea market tour that can precede or follow this programme.

This exciting tour has been created to celebrate the beginning of the 2012 World Shakespeare Festival. The tour takes place inStratford upon Avon over the Bard's Birthday weekend and finishes with a few days in London. Come and join the party.

Greatdays Travel Group is a UK based family-run incoming tour operator established in 1985. We now have guaranteed availability for groups up to 500 persons in modern first class 3 star hotels in London Watford during the 2012 Olympics period. London Watford is located only 20 minutes from central London by regular direct fast trains. Watford town centre has a great selection of shopping, pubs and restaurants.

This one is absolutely perfect for those of you who can use the non-stop services into Manchester from Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Orlando, JFK (Delta and American) and Newark. With fast airside kerbside service, you are quickly on your way to nearby Chester and the great castles in North Wales. With the Lake District, Durham and York still to come, you can return from Manchester or add a 2-3 night London extension flying back from Heathrow or Gatwick. Food for thought...

Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, C S Lewis, Sir Winston Churchill and William Shakespeare are just a few of the characters that play their part in this tour. The two cathedrals at the heart of the programme are those at Christ Church in Oxford and in Coventry where they are enthusiastically celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2012.

This tour lives up to its billing as it showcases many of the iconic sites that go to make the south west of England 'The Land of Living Legends'. Stonehenge, the Pilgrim Fathers, Arthurian Legends, great houses and gardens and even a Birthplace of America tour of the great maritime city of Bristol are all included. Watch out for a Cornish Cream Tea and a Somerset Cider sampling on the way!

Featuring the great cathedrals in Peterborough, Ely, and Bury St Edmunds and concluding with Southwark in London, this 6 night tour includes visits to John Bunyan's birthplace, the university colleges in Cambridge, Her Majesty the Queen's country home at Sandringham, American connections at Otley Hall and a fish 'n chip supper in London's Bankside. Amazing Grace also make an entrance on Day 1!

Castles, gardens both large and small, cathedrals, stately homes, ancient coaching inns and cosy tea rooms are all missed when your clients take the cruise line transfer. Do them a favour and offer them a far better experience and make some valuable extra commission in the process. This tour is available in reverse order.

Created for those who love high quality music and arts festivals, this itinerary has been time to coincide with the internationally renowned, three week Brighton Festival (7th - 28th May 2011) it can also be customised to include a few more of our fabulous and colourful spring gardens and magnificent stately homes. For departures towards the end of the month, when they get to London, you could also offer an optional day at the Chelsea Flower Show!

The problem with a visual arts London programme is knowing quite where to start. There's so much to see and do and often so little time in which to do it but here comes a conversation starter that might just be a little different. For a start it is based in Southwark in what was theatreland in Shakespeare's day. It includes some notable visits, makes interesting use of the river and it can be timed to coincide with the major art exhibition of your choice.

You've read the novels and seen the films screened on Masterpiece Theatre. Now is the time for you to follow in the footsteps of Jane Austen to see for yourself where she lived, to pay tribute at her burial place and to gain a further insight into her life and times.

Few travel planners are aware of the huge potential that's on offer for art lovers in the heart of England. Take a careful look at what's on offer here and I think you'll find that the blend of art collections and theatre performances could be a great interest to a very large number of people. Time it coincide with one of the major art exhibitions in London.

This slightly shorter programme uses Stratford upon Avon as its base for visits to a fascinating collection of award winning and internationally renowned gardens. With reopened Royal Shakespeare Theatre, we can pack the days with memorable visits and offer world class theatre for you on at least one of the 4 nights here in The Bard's birthplace.

Break the habit of a life time and instead of offering your clients a Chelsea Flower Show tour, change the focus to the early July Hampton Court Flower Show. You may also find that in addition to the Rose Society being interested, gardeners who were to busy to travel in May might be ready to head to the UK.

Available in reverse order, this 3 nighter shakes the dust off the history books and introduces the historic towns of Rye and Lewes, the famous 1066 battlefield site, Foyle's War and then, using Brighton, the Seaside City of Culture offers you the exotic Royal Pavilion, imposing Arundel Castle and Fish and Chips on the Palace Pier!

If you look at the map, Heathrow-Gatwick, the Cotswolds, Southampton (or vice versa) makes an excellent routing for a pre or post cruise add-on. Just confirm the dates of travel and we'll offer you a customised 'seasonally adjusted' tour to one of the loveliest corners of England.

For many, London is a case of 'so much to see, so much to do and so little time'. Responding, I'm suggesting a 6 night 7 day land only outline that ticks many of the boxes and presents our capital in a thoroughly enjoyable manner. It also delivers it in a very cost efficient way. We also have restaurants and theatre shows that we can recommend. Email or call and let's give your London-bound families an experience that matches their expectations, budget and time frame.

The great cathedrals of Christ Church Oxford, Gloucester, Hereford, Worcester and Cardiff take centre stage in this slightly longer 9 night England and Wales programme. Also included are the Cotswolds and a look at the Shakespeare Houses in Stratford and a wander around the black and white villages in the largely undiscovered county of Herefordshire. Also included is inspirational Tintern Abbey, a Welsh Male Voice Choir in rehearsal, the city of Bath and before reaching London, Saslisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge.

With so many people busy in their own gardens and attending their own local shows in May, its a relief to know that for those of you looking for a UK spring garden tour, the remarkable gardens of Cornwall will be in their full resplendent glory during March and April of next year. The cause of this explosion of colour and fragrance is the Gulf Stream as it works its magic on the micro climates in Cornwall 's numerous river valleys.

Take advantage of the non-stop flights into Manchester and use this user friendly gateway, for a closer look at the Bronte sisters, William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter. The cast list also includes historic castles, fascinating stately homes, remarkable gardens and a dramatic conclusion at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre.

Packed with 7 winners of the Christies-Historic Houses Association garden of the year Award winners, this version concentrates very much in and around the Cotswolds, an area that every gardener should visit at least once in their lifetime! As to timing, this one works very well with the Hampton Court Flower Show.

This source of inspiration tour will take a look at Jane Austen, the largley unchanged Dorset landscape that so inspired Thomas Hardy and some of the many literary links in the university city of Oxford. There's also an entertaining look at Roald Dahl and a literary tour of London.

This is a perfect 'conversation starter for garden clubs, rose and herb societies and groups of Master Gardeners, especially when you add the bells and whistles that my local connections can provide.

Using Geoffrey Chaucer and Charles Dickens as its guiding literary lights, this action packed 8 nighter combines 3 magnificent cathedrals (Southwark, Rochester and Canterbury) and 4 of our very finest castles (those at Windsor, Leeds, Dover and Hever). It finishes with an actor led tour of the theatre Royal Drury Lane and an evening at the theatre performance of your choice.

We've taken the London, Bath, Stratford, London routing and have given it a drama-filled makeover. The Theatre Royal in Bath is magnificence personified and we've added a performance here to 2 more at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford. Back in London, there's the choice between the Globe Theatre and a West End musical. You'll like the other 'cast members' on this tour as well.

During February and March each year, Kew Gardens and the Royal Horticultural Society both stage shows that will meet the expectations of orchid clubs and botanic gardens from all over the world. With off season air fares and very good London hotel rates, ask for details of the following tour which can be customised to meet your client's timeframe and budget.

If you're looking for a fund raiser programme for your museum-art gallery contacts, take a close look at what Brighton, the capital city of culture can offer. This itinerary runs well during early September each year but it can be customised to suit your client's preferred date of departure. The month of May would be another good time to consider because that's when their internationally renowned Arts Festival is in full swing.

This itinerary takes as its focus the Isle of Iona, Incholm Priory aka the 'Iona of the east' and across the border, just off the Northumbrian coast the often wild Holy Island and Lindisfarne Priory. Also included are the great castles in Stirling and Edinburgh, the 15th century Rosslyn Chapel, Hadrian's Wall and Traquair, Scotland's oldest inhabited castle.

The best time of the year for this unique programme is June and the early part of July when the strawberries, the lavender and the roses are at their peak. The gardens, both large and small are at their best at this time of the year, you'll enjoy the lavender flavoured scone and you'll be absolutely delighted with what Chef Lockyer does with strawberries!

This is something of a Grand Slam, featuring some of the best bits in Bath, the Cotswolds and London. High points might be the ancient Stone Circle at Avebury, the Thermae bath Spa in Bath, our Sunday Nosey Parker look at privately owned gardens, the evening at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the pub evening and the demonstration of how to correctly prepare and serve English Afternoon Tea in a private home.

This programme brings together some of the finest spring gardens in this south east corner of England. At their peak in May, they make a perfect partner for the annual Chelsea Flower Show.

Based in the iconic cities of Salisbury, Bath and Oxford (or in reverse sequence) this imaginative itinerary introduces Arthurian legends, Jane Austen and Georgian England, Inspector Morse and his faithful Sergeant Lewis, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and quite a lot else besides.

Since 1984, the Historic Houses Assocation and Christies, the fine art auctioneers have sponsored a competition to find their Garden of the Year. The list reads like a who's who of great British gardens and this tour celebrates no fewer than 8 of them located in the south of England. The itinerary is timed to coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show.

This travel less, see and sing more tour enables you to get the very best out of visiting the cathedral cities of Chichester, Winchester and Salisbury. Adding extra interest to the programme are visits to the open air Weald and Downland Museum, the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth home to HMS Victory, some stately homes and gardens and a good look at Old Sarum and Stonehenge. In London we've included a number of the 'must sees' as well.

This is another Quilting tour that you might like to look at. The main attraction here is the 4 day Festival of Quilts which takes place annually at the National Exhibition Centre just south of Birmingham. To it has been added the V and A's quilt collection in London and some time at the Quilt Museum in York.

There are 75 million Methodist worshippers worldwide but this Christian denomination only began in the mid 18th century here in Britain. This tour celebrates the strong leadership, extensive travelling and organisational abilities of its founding father, John Wesley

Another version of the Footsteps of John Wesley itinerary. As we have very good connections with all the Methodist sites, each visit can be enhanced so the trip can be made even more memorable.

An exciting few days which concentrates on the Imperial War Museum's outstanding collections in London. In the countryside we've included their site at Duxford which gives an unforgettable experience of aviation in times of war and peace. In Bedford all will be revealed about why the town became the focal point for measures against the Nazi war machine.

This one's a real winner if your preference is for a few utterly pleasurable days in the English countryside. The word COTSWOLDS usually does the trick and being based in ancient market towns like Chipping Campden or Broadway will leave you feeling that you will have experienced the real England.

The Cotswolds AND the Hampton Court Flower Show! What a combination especially when you look at the quality of the castle, stately homes and gardens experiences I've lined up. Barnsley House (1988), Sudeley Castle (1996), Kiftsgate (2003) and Bourton House (2006) are all former winners of the Historic Houses Association-Christies Garden of the year Award and Hidcote Manor is arguably one of the finest gardens in the Cotswolds.

This programme makes a good starting point for a 7 night visit to London that can be tailored to include what YOU want to see while you're over here. If you want a 4 night version with or without Paris, just ask!

Some of you reading this will have clients who go to the annual Quilt Show and Contest in Paducah. Others may also be going to the 2011 International Quilt Markets in Cincinnati and in Salt Lake City while others will be taking Quilting cruises, hopefully booked through you! While our UK Quilting Festivals are smaller, they are rich in quality you might like to give this one serious consideration.

For many travel planners, Stratford upon Avon is a one night, possibly 2 night stand. If on the other hand you look at it as a hub for a performing arts group, you will see that in addition to the theatre components, there are outstanding art and sculpture collections at Ragley Hall and Compton Verey and award winning gardens at Coughton Court. Add in 'Shakespeare in love' at moated Broughton Castle and the treasure filled Waddesdon Manor and you'll begin to see Stratford in a very different light.