May is a magical month , and there are a host of events to help you enjoy it to the full . Here Katie Rowe explores just some of them . East Lancashire Railway ’ s award-winning 1940s Weekend is a highlight in many a vintage enthusiast ’ s calendar . Lancashire ’ s wartime weekend . Pull on your glad rags and be transported back to wartime Britain over the late May bank holiday weekend . East Lancashire Railway ’ s award-winning 1940s Weekend is a highlight in many a vintage enthusiast ’ s calendar , and this year ’ s event is expected to be the best yet with more activities than ever . Spot Captain Mainwaring lookalikes in the battle re-enactments , do your best lindy hop to the sounds of 1940s-style bands , ogle vintage cars and indulge in a cream tea on a steam train . Wander on the Isle of Wight . There ’ s no better way to discover the Isle of Wight ’ s many beauty spots than walking – and the island ’ s Walking Festival offers the ideal chance to pull on your boots and go exploring . The event is spread across two weeks from May 2 to 17 and there are over 200 walks to choose from , including a hike through the walled garden , pleasure grounds and terraces of Osborne House . Alternatively , you could join the Taste of Wight Walk to visit top gourmet spots while soaking up serene coastal views – or how about an exotic alpaca trek ? The Cotswolds Olimpicks can be dated back to 1612 after being started by local barrister Robert Dover . See the eccentric Cotswolds . For English eccentricity at its very finest , head to the Cotswolds Olimpicks . Started by a local barrister , Captain Robert Dover , the world ’ s inaugural ‘ Olimpick Games ’ were staged on a Cotswold hillside in 1612 . Today , the annual event near Chipping Campden – this year held on May 29 – attracts thousands of spectators as ‘ athletes ’ take part in obstacle courses and tugs-of-war , as well as the extremely peculiar sport of shin-kicking . Seven cars hang from giant clothes pegs on a wire in Brighton as part of the annual Art Festival Fringe street theatre . Fringe benefits in Brighton . No one does flamboyance quite like Brighton , and you ’ ll see this unique city at its very best every May when the Brighton Fringe and Brighton Festival paint the place every colour of the rainbow . Cabaret , comedy , club nights , burlesque , street performance and theatre combine to make up an eclectic programme of events for the world ’ s third-largest fringe festival . And if that wasn ’ t enough , the Brighton Festival – the largest multi-arts festival in England – runs alongside from May 2 to 24 . Highlights include appearances from ventriloquist Nina Conti and award-winning author Margaret Atwood . Norwich Cathedral will be expecting to shine bright this summer as it hosts the Norfolk & Norwich Festival . A masterful display in Norwich . With a plethora of high- profile exhibitions and festivals taking place in Norwich throughout spring and summer , the East Anglian city is proving to be England ’ s latest cultural heavyweight . You can see priceless Van Goghs , Cezannes and Picassos sitting side by side at The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art until July 26 . Francis Bacon And The Masters is the biggest exhibition of its kind to take place in Norwich , showcasing 100 works , many of which are on loan from the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and have never exhibited in Europe before . Visit between May 8 and 24 and you ’ ll be able to enjoy everything from theatre in a country house to classical music in Norwich Cathedral as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival . For more ideas on days out , go to VisitEngland.com .
Experience wartime UK with an ice cream and a lindy hop . Or take part in one of the oldest competitive sporting events in the Britain . The Brighton Art Festival will display the best of quirkiness .