The centuries-old tradition that enables women to propose to their boyfriends on 29th February once left any man that refused a marriage offer on this day having to pay a hefty fine!These days there’s no obligation to say ‘yes’, but pick the right spot and he’ll be powerless to refuse.

Here are VisitEngland’s top romantic proposal packages and special locations. Now all you need is that diamond…

Propose to your lover at Lover

There is no more romantic setting than the New Forest for women to make the most of their traditional leap year rights and pop the question to their Valentines. The outstanding natural beauty – with idyllic woodland glades, charming towns and villages and miles of golden, sandy beaches – make it the perfect backdrop for any marriage proposal. It is also home to a place named Lover. You’ll find this peaceful forest hamlet at the northern tip of the New Forest. Lover Post Office used to do big business with cards sent from here in order to get the ‘Lover’ postmark. Why not get down on one knee and propose to your lover at Lover?

Woo at the zoo

Walk on the wild side and take your man to London Zoo, if you want somewhere unusual to propose. Check out the Titi monkeys at the ZSL London Zoo Rainforest, who really know what love is all about. They have incredibly strong bonds with one another, live in pairs and spend most of their time with their tails intertwined. Now that’s love!

Meanwhile, Blackpool Zoo is offering ladies a chance to pop the question at the sea lion show. Book a slot and at the end of the show stand up in front of the crowd and declare your love! If you’re shy, choose a little more privacy by venturing into the beautiful Lemur Wood to go down on one knee in the idyllic surroundings, if you don’t mind an audience of lemurs!

Be a Lady in Shining Armour

Create your own fairytale – complete with knights, damsels and jousting, at Warwick Castle. Its new proposal package offers loved-up lasses the chance to pop the big question on Leap Day, at one of the site’s most romantic spots – The Mound, commanding views over the Castle, historic Warwick and the Warwickshire countryside, or The Waterwheel on the River Avon. The package costs £29.02 per person and includes a glass of Champagne each and and two standard daytime admission tickets.

Don’t tell the groom… propose on a sand dune by the sea

Imagine this… a crisp spring day, the sound of the sea and golden sand. If you’ve dreamed of declaring your love on a beach, The Gallivant Hotel and Beach Bistro in Camber Sands are urging ladies to stop the prodding and take over the proposal duties themselves by popping the question. Every couple that gets engaged on the dunes can claim a complimentary glass of champagne at the hotel on the 29th when the big question has been asked. If you fancy getting married on the spot where you propose, surprise the groom with the venue as well and you can get a whopping 30% off your wedding. Continue with the beach theme and organise your wedding at the hotel where you can take your vows on the beach and enjoy a chic beach wedding at the hotel.

Take a loveboat for lovebirds

London RIB Voyages are transforming their famous speedboats into loveboats. Declare your love in style as you travel down the River Thames at 35 knots. Feel the wind in your hair, drop to one knee, pop the question and grab a kiss under Tower Bridge as you experience a quirky river tour of London’s historic sites. To make it extra special why not have a celebratory meal and book the River to Restaurant experience? Hightail it through London before a super swish drop off at a riverside restaurant for that perfect celebratory meal.

Cost of rib voyage from £60 per couple. The River to Restaurant service runs by private charter and is available all year round. The flat fee is £365 per boat, per hour.

Extreme romance orchestrated by cupid

The Scarlet Hotel in Cornwall will be pulling out all the stops for the 29th February and has recommended three memorable proposal packages plus ‘cupid’ will be on hand throughout the day to make sure that any proposals go smoothly and will be giving a bottle of natural fizz to every lady that proposes on the 29th. Choose from:

· Soak in a log fired seaweed hot tub overlooking the beach with a glass of fizz in hand. The team will leave you in peace for you to pick your moment to pop the question.

· A delicious, fire-side private dinner in a cliff top bell tent. The hotel chefs will prepare a three-course meal and arrange a bottle of fizz for you to enjoy in this special location.

· A candle-lit serenade for your loved one to guarantee a memorable proposal. The hotel’s cloister garden will twinkle with candles under the night sky and a talented acapella singer will help to set the mood with songs of your choice.

Prices start from £390-£430 per room depending on your choice of proposal package. Price is based on 2 people sharing a room on a dinner bed and breakfast basis. N.B Proposal packages are subject to availability and are dependent on the weather- there is a Plan B if the weather does take a turn for the worse!

Enjoy some exclusivity in a luxury country retreat

Any lady planning to propose at The Feathers hotel in Woodstock, Oxfordshire on 29th February will have exclusive use of the cosy Winter House, where they can snuggle-up under reindeer furs and indulge in a romantic candlelit dinner. The three-course dinner will be accompanied by a bottle of Laurent Perrier Rose Champagne and served by the couple’s personal butler. During the dinner, a rolling photo montage of the couple’s favourite memories will play on a large screen, so they can take a dreamy trip down memory lane to warm up their loved one before popping that all-important question. Guests can then cuddle-up in one of the Romantic Feature Suites for an overnight stay and wake up to a full English breakfast in bed the following morning.

Overnight package is £265 per person (including overnight stay, three course meal, Champagne, and breakfast). This package will be running throughout the year, from 29 February. It will be limited to one couple per night obviously to ensure “exclusivity”, but the package can booked any night of the year for 2012.

29th February: some ideas for ladies looking to propose in 2012 is a post from UKseries.com's UK Travel Blog

Dickens Country, Kent

Dickens 2012 is an international celebration of the life and work of Charles Dickens, held to mark the bicentenary of his birth on 7 February 2012. Events will take place throughout the year in locations associated with Dickens’ life. Kent is where Dickens spent much of his childhood and where he lived out the final 13 years of his life. It’s where stories like Great Expectations and Pickwick Papers come alive, with many of the original settings surviving into the 21st century. For people in search of a Dickens experience, Kent is a place of tours and trails and of big vistas and little alleyways that inspired some of the world`s most enduring stories.

Shakespeare Country, Warwickshire

The World Shakespeare Festival will run from 23 April to 9 September 2012, celebrating how the world performs, teaches and engages with the works of William Shakespeare. This unprecedented celebration of England’s most celebrated playwright will form part of the London 2012 Festival and is sure to catapult Shakespeare Country to the top of the wishlist for many holidaymakers in 2012. Shakespeare Country has a wealth of things to see and do for all ages. Enjoy family attractions that all ages will love, visit stunning gardens, explore the history of its famous castles at Warwick and Kenilworth and historic houses and take in some heritage and culture. Shop ‘til you drop in quality independent shops and high street names before re-charging your batteries at the many cafes, tearooms, pubs and restaurants. As the sun sets there is plenty to keep you entertained including theatre, evening banquets, cinema and live entertainment.

Bronte Country, West Yorkshire and East Lancashire Pennines

A windswept land of heather and wild moors, it is hardly surprising that this region became the inspiration for the classic works of the Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne. Geographically, Bronte Country consists of the Pennine hills of West Yorkshire, as well as Kirklees and Calderdale. Unlike the pastural limestone valleys of the Yorkshire Dales which begin further to the north, the geology in Bronte Country is predominantly of Millstone Grit, a dark sandstone which lends the crags and scenery here an air of bleakness and desolation. Small wonder then, that this landscape fuelled the imagination of the Bronte sisters in writing their classic novels – including “Wuthering Heights” (which was reputedly inspired by the isolated moorland farmstead of Top Withens) and “Jane Eyre”.

Agatha Christie’s English Riviera

Ever since actor David Suchet tweeted that ITV would be filming the last five of Agatha Christie’s Poirot books in 2012, speculation has been growing about whether the English Riviera would be playing a starring role. This final outing for Christie’s dapper Belgian detective includes Dead Man’s Folly, based on Christie’s own home Greenway at Galmpton, near Brixham. Greenway was her family’s holiday home from the late 1930s until it was gifted to the National Trust in 2000. Greenway’s boat house is where the first victim is discovered, though in the book Greenway becomes Nasse House. The ferry landing, where the second body is found, is where the Greenway Ferry now drops off fans of ‘The Queen of Crime’ to visit the house which is open to the public. The other novels scheduled for filming are: Labours of Hercules; The Big Four; Elephants Can Remember and Poirot’s final case Curtain. Fans can enjoy a huge collection of exciting and glamorous ‘Queen of Crime’ events at the next annual Agatha Christie Festival from 9th – 16th September 2012.

Jane Austen’s Bath

If you’ve ever lost yourself in the adventures of Emma Woodhouse and Harriet Smith or lusted after Mr Darcy as he emerges sopping wet from that lake, you might well appreciate getting better acquainted with their creator, Jane Austen. There’s no better place to get an insight into the great author than in Bath, where she lived between 1801 and 1806. The city’s perfectly preserved Georgian architecture remains unchanged from the streets depicted in Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Head to The Jane Austen Centre, located in a Georgian town house just a few doors down from where she once lived. Inside, an exhibition of costumes, manuscripts, and film clips brings the author’s world to life and explores the city’s influence on her work. And after you’ve celebrated the life and times of Bath’s most famous resident, it’s time to travel deeper into Regency times by heading up to the second floor and the Regency Tea Rooms. There, you’ll find fifteen varieties of loose leaf tea to sample – after which you’ll just have time to nip into the gift shop and pick up that ‘I Love Darcy’ T-shirt.

Keats House, London

Poet John Keats lived in this house with his friend Charles Brown from 1818 to 1820, and this is the setting that inspired some of Keats’ most memorable poetry. Here, Keats wrote ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, while sitting under a plum tree in the garden; he fell in love with Fanny Brawne, the girl next door. It was from this house that he travelled to Rome, where he died of tuberculosis aged just 25. The Heath Branch Public Library occupies the space where various outhouses once stood. The library was opened on 16th July 1931, and displays some artefacts from the house, including the engagement ring Keats offered to Fanny Brawne and a copy of Keats’ death mask.

A.A Milne’s East Sussex (Ashdown Forest)

AA Milne was a humourist and playwright who is remembered for his children’s books featuring Winnie-the-Pooh in Ashdown Forest. When Milne was just eight years old his first article appeared in the school magazine, describing a walking tour of Sussex and Ashdown Forest. Ashdown Forest became the setting for Milne’s stories inspired by his son and his toy animals. In Ashdown Forest you can find the setting of many of Christopher Robin and friends’adventures, including Roo’s sandpit and the North Pole. Owl’s tree in Hundred Acre Wood was really a beech tree in 500 Acre WoodPoohsticks Bridge was originally called Posingford Bridge and was built in 1907; it can be found in Posingford Wood near Upper Hartfield. Disney helped fund repairs to the bridge in 1999. A memorial to Milne and Shepard can be found near the ‘enchanted place’. To visit the places from the Pooh stories, download a map from the Ashdown Forest website or take a tour of Pooh Country.

Beatrix Potter’s Lake District

Beatrix Potter is best known for her beautifully illustrated children’s books of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and friends. She spent many childhood holidays in the Lake District, an area that was a huge influence on her later writing. Squirrel Nutkin sailed on Derwentwater, while Hawkshead was the setting for The Tale of Johnny Townmouse. With the profits from her highly successful publications, Beatrix Potter bought Hill Top farm, as well as other hill farms and estates in the Lake District. When she died in 1943 she left 14 farms, sheep and 4000 acres of land to the National Trust. To follow in the real-life Potter’s footsteps, take a trip to Brockhole, The Lake District Visitor. This was the home of Beatrix’s cousin Edith who married merchant William Gaddum. According to letters, Beatrix Potter and her husband came to Brockhole for the Gaddums’ golden wedding anniversary celebrations in 1936. The film “Miss Potter”, available on DVD, and starring Oscar winner Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, has brought a surge of interest in the writer’s Lake District connections especially in the filming locations of Loughrigg Terrace and Loughrigg Tarn, Grasmere and Yew Tree Farm, Coniston.

Bram Stoker’s Whitby

With its imposing Abbey looming from the cliff tops, age-old cobbled streets, Dracula-inspired sights, sea mists drenched in folklore, and picturesque houses, the northeast fishing town of Whitby was the atmospheric inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. For a guided-tour with extra bite, join the Bram Stoker Dracula Experience and hear spooky stories about Whitby and Stoker trivia on this walk-through attraction. Alternatively, you could load up on garlic at dinner and climb the 199 steps to St Mary’s Churchyard by moonlight. Dracula fans will love the Bram Stoker International Film Festival, held this year from 25th – 28th October 2012. This festival of scary flicks is held every year and haseverything a gore enthusiast could want – including screenings of classic and new horror movies, Q&A sessions with directors and an awards ceremony (think the Oscars, but scarier). Climax to the four-day scare-fest’ is the Vampire’s Ball – an extravaganza that promises illusionists, magic and distinctly dark surprises.

Lewis Carroll’s Oxford

The famed author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll spent much of his life teaching Maths at Christ Church College in Oxford. Here he met the Dean of the College and his family. He built up great friendships with the Dean’s daughters and it was Alice Liddell, the younger daughter, who is said to be the inspiration behind his magical stories. Besides touring Christchurch College, visitors can see Alice’s Shop, where Alice Liddell, used to buy sweets. Additionally, the Museum of Oxford has some of Alice’s personal items on display alongside the first edition books and the original illustrations. Meanwhile, the University Museum of Natural History is a monument to the natural world, and has stone statues of various animals and plants on display – these creatures inspired the author to include them in his famous stories, most notably the dodo. Carroll began to tell tales that we now recognise as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on boat and picnic trips on the River Isis with Alice and her family. Intrigued by the stories he told, Alice asked Carroll to write them down. Years later the complete Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published, much to the world’s delight. Each year, Oxford turns into Wonderland for a day to mark the first telling of Alice’s Adventures of Wonderland on 4th July 1862. 2012 marks 150 years from the first storytelling and so a full programme of special events, walks and talks are being planned for the city over the weekend of 7th/8th July 2012.

The inspirational settings behind some of the country’s best-loved literature is a post from UKseries.com's UK Travel Blog

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Win a Cornish garden break for two! is a post from UKseries.com's UK Travel Blog

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A pretty, stone-built village with an eclectic mix of shops and attractions, Allendale is the gateway to the picturesque Allen Valleys where you’ll find stunning scenery, wonderful views and rare wildlife including red squirrel and black grouse.  Nestled in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, you could spend hours wandering its many walking tracks without meeting another human.  Sounds tranquil, doesn’t it!?  But don’t worry about being bored, what with the great restaurants, interesting crafts and amazingly large number of festivals.  Whether you like walking, beer and wine, flowers, or carrying flaming tar barrels on your head, they’ll definitely have a festival for you!

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Allendale – a Northumbrian hidden gem is a post from UKseries.com's UK Travel Blog

But for those that don’t own any sports equipment, don’t have the skill or aren’t ready to commit to the training required to succeed in Olympic disciplines, England has plenty of less conventional competitive activities on offer. VisitEngland’s Chairman Lady Cobham says: “This year is a fantastic time to be in England, and not just for Olympic and Paralympic sports enthusiasts. The range of alternative sports taking place across the country is evidence of this – there is something for everyone and these unusual events really bring to the fore some of our country’s quirkier heritage and culture. In addition to these annual competitions, there’ll be hundreds of events and festivals taking place in a jam-packed cultural and sporting calendar. There’s really no better time to take a break in England!”

So grab your wellies, gravy-proof clothing and your pea shooter and get involved in some of the country’s alternative sporting events. Here, VisitEngland describes ten of the best…

1. Pancake Dashing - 21st February 2012 (Shrove Tuesday), Olney, Buckinghamshire

The unique Olney Pancake Race literally stops traffic as, once a year, energetic local ladies in traditional housewife attire (including skirt, apron and scarf), run through the streets of Olney. The 415-yard dash is started by the church warden at 11.55am prompt using a large bronze ‘Pancake Bell.’ Pancakes are tossed at the start of the race and the winner is required to toss her pancake again at the finish. The race has been run since around 1445 and since 1950, the contest has been an international event between Olney and the town of Liberal, Kansas in America. The race is run on a timed basis and the winner is declared after times are compared during a transatlantic telephone call.

2. Coal Carrying - 9th April 2012, Ossett, West Yorkshire

Held each year on Easter Monday, the World Coal Carrying Contest is a great test of strength and stamina in which participants carry 50kg (men) or 20kg (women) of coal over a mile-long uphill course. The World Coal Carrying Contest dates back to 1963 when a local coal merchant and the president of the Maypole Committee were enjoying a pint together. A friend burst into the pub and bet that he could race them with a bag of coal on their backs. Not to let a good idea go to waste, the secretary of the Maypole Committee decided to set the race for Easter Monday. The current world record, held by David Jones of Meltham, is 4 mins 6 secs. But will he hold onto it?

3. Shin-Kicking - 1st June 2012, Dover’s Hill, near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire

Started by local barrister Captain Robert Dover in 1612, the annual Cotswold Olimpicks attracts thousands of spectators and features some well-known countryside games such as tug-of-war, obstacle races and wrestling as well as a few stranger events – including shin-kicking. The two contestants first fill their trouser legs with straw – to help reduce the pain – before holding one another’s arms and kicking each other wearing steel toe-capped boots. The loser is the competitor that gives in to the pain and bruising first. 2012 marks the Olimpicks’ 400th anniversary, so expect some special celebrations this year.

4. Cheese Rolling - 4th June 2012, Brockworth, Gloucestershire

A passion for cheese is a must for this annual event, which involves daredevils hurling themselves down the steep, grassy slopes in pursuit of Double Gloucester cheeses. The race starts with the master of ceremonies rolling a 4kg Double Gloucester cheese down the hill. On the whistle, competitors run, roll and somersault down the hill after it. It’s impossible not to fall over due to the rough uneven nature of the slope, which has a dizzying 1:2 gradient. The winners take home the cheeses as well as a few cuts and bruises. The event dates back to medieval times and is popular with international competitors.

5. Egg Throwing - 24th June 2012, between Helpringham & Swaton, Lincolnshire

In the annual World Egg Throwing Championships, contestants must construct a gravity-powered egg-hurling device to launch an egg to a waiting team member. To achieve points, the team member must either catch the egg unbroken or get struck by the egg. As the egg can be traveling at speeds of up to 120 mph this is particularly tricky and can be painful. Distances to be achieved start at 30 meters but can be extended up to 150 in the knock out competition. Event competitions include basic throwing, catching relays and egg roulette.

6. Pea Shooting - 14th July 2012, Witcham, Cambridgeshire

This international event brings challengers from as far as New Zealand and the USA to compete for the World Pea Shooting trophy. Accuracy, not distance, is the aim of this competition, with contestants shooting a pea through a 12-inch tube, 12 feet towards a 12-inch target. Competition is fierce and laser-guided shooters for specialists are not uncommon. Pea shooters and peas can be bought at the event.

7. Toe Wrestling - 25th August 2012, Fenny Bentley, Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Each August the Bentley Brook Inn in Derbyshire hosts the Ben & Jerry’s World Toe Wrestling Championship. The event was conceived in 1976 in a pub in Wetton, when the locals of ‘Ye Olde Royal Oak Inn’ thought it would be a great idea to hold a toe wrestling competition. Competitors locked their big toes together, and attempted to force their opponent’s foot to the ground. The organisers have big intentions for the sport, and applied in 1997 for its inclusion in the Olympic Games. Unfortunately for fans, it was not accepted.

8. Gravy Wrestling - 27th August 2012, the Rose & Bowl Inn, Bacup, Rossendale, Lancashire

The World Gravy Wrestling Championships take place annually as part of the Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food & Culture and celebrate their 5th anniversary in 2012. In this saucy challenge, teams slide around in lukewarm gravy and attempt to wrestle one another to the ground. Team members win points for pinning the opposition down in the gravy.

9. Black Pudding Throwing - 9th September 2012, Royal Oak, Bridge Street, Ramsbottom, Lancashire

Lancashire is famous for the production of this regional delicacy – along with tripe (cow’s stomach) and elder (steamed cows’ udder) – and so is a fitting home for the World Black Pudding Throwing Championships. The aim is to throw a black pudding that has been wrapped in a pair of ladies tights at a collection of Yorkshire puddings on a plinth 20 feet up a tower built in the middle of the main street in Ramsbottom. Whoever knocks down the most, wins!

10. Conker Knockout - 14th October 2012, Ashton, near Oundle, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

The game of conkers has been a popular pastime for British schoolchildren for decades. The rules are simple. Each player is given a conker (horse chestnut) attached to a piece of string and they take turns to swing their conker at their opponent’s and try to break it. The World Conker Championships are held each year on the village green in Ashton, Peterborough and attract over 300 competitors attempting to become the King or Queen of Conkers. There are various categories for the knockout competition – ladies, men, teenagers and children. The world tournament came about after a group of local friends had to cancel their annual fishing trip one year. From the pub, they saw conkers falling from the trees onto the village green. They went out and had a game…

Who needs the London 2012 Olympics when we already have shin-kicking and gravy wrestling?! is a post from UKseries.com's UK Travel Blog

Cornwall Spring Flower Show
JP Morgan Asset Management Finn Festival Helston Flora Day
Daphne du Maurier Festival
Golowan Festival
J Class Regatta
Pendennis Cup
Port Eliot Festival
Boardmasters Skate, Surf and Music Festival
Festival of Sport Cornwall
Bude Jazz Festival
Falmouth Oyster Festival

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Top 12 events in Cornwall in 2012 is a post from UKseries.com's UK Travel Blog

Simon Fujiwara is a young artist who grew up in Carbis Bay, just a mile from St Ives. He has been building a strong reputation over the last few years and returns to West Cornwall for his first major UK exhibition in which he has created powerful installations that mix fact and fiction to compelling effect.

The Daily Telegraph gives it 4 stars and writes “One of the most intelligent and entertaining new voices to emerge in British art for some time.”

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