You could see 2007 as 365 days of drudgery, punctuated by a fortnight in the sun and a handful of bank holidays, but consider this: most of you work five-day weeks, so you’re already down to 260. Since you’re only at work for eight hours per day, you’re actually employed for only 87 days. Subtract 20 days’ leave, eight bank holidays and a couple of sickies, and you’re working for a mere two months. Lunch and tea breaks account for three weeks, leaving just five weeks’ work in 2007. What’s more, you’ve got 52 weekends to look forward to — and we’ve found the most exciting, inspiring and unusual ways to make every one count.

Unless stated, all packages are per person, based on two sharing on a B&B basis, and, where relevant, include flights from London. For regional options, contact the operator.





JANUARY

Bobsleighing
How difficult can it be? Find out at Norway’s Olympic bob track in Lillehammer, where the daredevil will forgo the protection of the bobsleigh for the face-down, inches-from-the-ice thrill of the skeleton luge. Whydontyou.com (0845 838 6262, www.whydontyou.com) has three-night packages for £799.







Romantic relaxation
Spend a winter weekend cosied up in a Tyrolean castle high in the Italian Dolomites. The Romantik Hotel Turm (00 39 04 7172 5014, www.hotelturm.it) offers roaring fires, candlelit dining and four self-indulgent spa treatments — among them a milk and honey bath — for £220. Fly to Verona from Gatwick with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com).







A snappy break
Got a new camera for Christmas? Read the manual? Of course you haven’t, so join the professional photographer Peter Netley’s Digital Photography for Beginners weekend at the Hare and Hounds, in Tetbury. You will arrive as a photographic amoeba and leave as Homo snapiens. The price is £329, half-board, with Andalucian Adventures (01453 834137, www.andalucian-adventures.co.uk).







Sarasota sales
Why freeze at the New York sales when the same bargains are up for grabs in sunny Florida? Lido Key, in Sarasota, has the same big-name outlets and chain stores as NYC, but sales tax is lower than in the Big Apple — and it’s sunny, so you can wear shorts to the shops. Inn at the Beach (01 941 484 8471, www.inn-at-the-beach.com) has doubles from £80. Fly to Tampa with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com); from £413.







FEBRUARY

Vin jaune in the Jura
Vin jaune is France’s weirdest wine. Made from the savagnin grape, it is aged for six years and three months, acquiring a distinctive yellow colour and losing 38% of its volume. The barrels are broken this weekend and the unusually dry, nutty vintage is decanted into 62cl bottles in memory of the lost wine. Join the party in Salins-les-Bains with VFB Holidays (01452 716830, www.vfbholidays.co.uk). It has two nights, half-board, from £241, including car hire.







Carnival in Venice
After the exclusive Doge’s Ball, the masked extravaganza of Il Ridotto is the most glamorous event in Venice. Tickets, priced at £280, are available from the Club Culturale Italiano (00 39 04 1524 2668,
www.meetingeurope.com). Great Escapes (0845 330 2089, www.greatescapes.co.uk) has two nights at the four-star Hotel Bonvecchiati for £332.







Exterminate Cardiff
Come out from behind the sofa and see what the Daleks did to Cardiff. Series three of Doctor Who is being filmed there, and the Park Plaza Hotel (02920 111111, www.parkplaza.com) is offering inside information on locations, admission to the Dr Who up Close exhibition and a blow-up Dalek in every room. A double costs £140.



Alpine idyll
How about a ski break in the Trois Vallées? The lively Hotel Telemark (00 33 4 79 08 93 49, www.hoteltelemark.com), in the village of La Tania, has three nights, half-board, for £286, including a ski pass, but not flights. Both EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) and Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) fly to Grenoble.

MARCH

Arts and crafts
Learn silversmithing in Herefordshire with the master jeweller Ian Buckley, who has worked for Cartier and Mappin & Webb. Progress from initial design to finished product for £140 with Creative Breaks (07813 871019, www.creativebreaks.co.uk). Two nights at the delightful Old Cowshed (01885 482384, www.theoldcowshed.co.uk)cost £60pp.







Dogsledding in Finland
Let your new furry friends haul you 20 miles per day through a winter wonderland of frozen forests and icebound lakes. At four days, you might have to call in sick, so tell the boss you’ve been feeling a little husky. The price is £949 with Explore (0870 333 4001, www.explore.co.uk).





Las Fallas, Valencia
“Only those who have seen it can believe it,” Valencianos say of the baroque festival of art and fire in which the breathtakingly detailed tableaux they call las fallas are paraded, judged and blown to smithereens on Plaza de Ayuntamiento. Great Escapes (0845 330 2089, www.greatescapes.co.uk) has two nights at the three-star Melia Ingles hotel from £195.







Paris by pram
Take a guided tour of the City of Light in a convertible 2CV before clattering up to Porte de Clignancourt for a rummage through the fabulous Les Puces flea market. Spend two nights at the four-star Pont Royale for £299 with the travel club Wexas (020 7589 3315, www.wexas.com). The price includes Eurostar travel; if you’re not a member, a month’s free trial is available online.



Scarecrow-hunting
Every year, an army of scarecrows infiltrates the delightful National Trust village of Lacock, in Wiltshire, lurking among the half-timbered houses and in the surrounding fields. Hunt them down and win a prize, or simply enjoy the festival atmosphere and long country walks. Stay at the Red Lion pub (01249 730456; doubles £80).

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APRIL

Sossusvlei, Namibia
Spend Easter in Namibia, where Scott Dunn (020 8682 5070, www.scottdunn.com) offers three nights at the Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge for £1,055. Easter Sunday could see you searching for ibex among the mountainous dunes of the Namib desert — it beats an Easter-egg hunt any day.







Flamenco in Seville
The Feria de Abril is Andalusia’s biggest party, with more than 1,000 tented bars forming a vast party town in which to find the spirit of flamenco. With Original Travel (020 7978 7333, www.originaltravel.co.uk), two nights at the Hacienda de San Rafael cost £390, including car hire.







Tulips in Holland
If you’ve never cycled through the Dutch bulb fields, your life has a tulip-shaped hole in it that can be healed only by a visit to the colourful gardens of Keukenhof. The bike ride (www.vvvnoordwijk.nl) costs £12, including entry to Keukenhof, and a room at the luxury Palace Hotel (00 31 71365 3016, www.palacehotel.nl), in nearby Noordwijk, costs £107 per night. Airlines flying to Amsterdam include EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), KLM (0870 507 4074, www.klm.com) and BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com).



Adventure journey, Dartmoor
Rouse your inner Action Man with Breathing Space’s Adventure Journey (01271 890037, www.breathingspace.uk.com) — aka the “my mates won’t believe what I did this weekend” trip. Climb, yomp, ride and wade across Dartmoor with the former SAS instructor Mick Jennings, then recover at the lovely Edgemoor Hotel. The price is £270.







MAY

Bear-watching, Romania
Staying at a Transylvanian inn, you’ll hike through dark forests to encounter wild brown bears and, disturbingly, bats. Wildlife Worldwide (0845 130 6982,www.wildlifeworldwide.com) offers a three-night package for £895.







Tandem tour
A bicycle made for two awaits at Windermere station, giving you the whole weekend to explore Lakeland’s leafy lanes. Prices start at £150, including tandem, maps and two nights’ accommodation, with Country Lanes (01539 444544, www.countrylanes.co.uk).

Spa, Budapest
They don’t do singing whales or Hopi ear candles in Hungarian spas, but they will leave you feeling so invigorated and relaxed, you’ll be walking on air. Two nights at the Danubius Grand Hotel cost £226 with Activity Breaks (028 9039 5705, www.activitybreaks.com). The price includes four treatments and full use of the spa facilities, but not flights. Fly to Budapest with Wizzair (www.wizzair.com) or EasyJet (www.easyjet.com).



Photo safari, Kenya
Spend the bank holiday snapping big game in the wilds of the Masai Mara. The Kicheche Mara camp, in Big Cat Diary country, offers aspiring wildlife photographers everything they need for that award-winning shot. Prices start at £1,000, with Safari Consultants (01787 228494,
www.safari-consultants.co.uk).

JUNE

Blackpool Pleasure Beach
It’s tantamount to neglect to deny your children the combination of end-of-the-pier charm and abject terror on offer at Europe’s finest family theme park. The Big Blue Hotel (0845 367 3333, www.bigbluehotel.com) is right next door, and offers family rooms from as little as £45 per night (mention The Sunday Times when booking). The price includes admission to the Pleasure Beach and the spectacular Hot Ice show.



Heavenly blooms, Sissinghurst, Kent
The roses at Sissinghurst castle (www.nationaltrust.org.uk), in Kent, where Vita Sackville-West grew England’s finest collection of old cultivars, are at their heavenly best; stay next door at Sissinghurst Castle Farm
(www.kent-esites.co.uk/ sissinghurstcastlefarm) for as little as £31pp.



GoldCoast Oceanfest, Croyde, Devon
Watch world-class professionals compete at surfing, beach volleyball, BMX, skateboarding and a host of other action sports, then have a go yourself. Rooms at the Penhaven Country House hotel (01237 451711, www.penhaven.co.uk) start at £50.







Angling, Devon
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and his car will start to smell, but if that’s an attraction, join the beginner’s fly-fishing course at the Arundell Arms (01566 784666, www.arundellarms.com), near Dartmoor, where £475 buys two nights, half-board, as well as tackle hire and tuition from the champion fisherman Roy Buckingham.







Turf’n’surf
Evening meetings at Newmarket are as famous for their party atmosphere as for the racing. The Cambridge Garden House hotel (01223 259988, www.cambridgegardenhouse.com) offers room, transfers, a gallops tour and tickets for the members’ enclosure from £211; if you fancy a punt, they’ll throw in an afternoon on the Cam.

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JULY

Umbria Jazz
You might see Clapton or Santana jamming here, but the main reason for coming to Perugia is to soak up a weekend of free gigs in this delightful medieval hill town. Two nights at Villa de Monte Solare cost £345, including car hire, with Real Holidays (020 7359 3938,
www.realholidays.co.uk).







Survival, North Wales
Need to learn how to make fire, build a shelter, gut a rabbit and find your way in the wilds? Of course you do, so sign upfor ProAdventure’s Survival and Bushcraft Experience (01978 861912, www.proadventure.co.uk). The price is £185, including all the ditchwater you can drink.







Cave hotel, Turkey
Experience neanderthal living in the Dali-esque landscape of Cappadocia. Go trekking, riding or ballooning, or simply sit in your luxury Stone Age suite and reinvent the wheel. Two nights at A Room with a View start at £629, with Exclusive Escapes (020 8605 3500,
www.exclusiveescapes.co.uk).







Whitstable Oyster Festival
Be at the heart of the seafood celebrations by booking a couple of nights in one of the highly prized fisherman’s huts, right on the seafront. Six of the huts are big enough for a family of four, with prices starting at £300 for two nights through the Hotel Continental (01227 280280, www.hotelcontinental.co.uk).



AUGUST

Traditional seaside, Isle of Wight
If you’ve never been to the Isle of Wight, you’ve never seen England as God intended, but a stay in the Wellington Hotel, in lovely Ventnor, will set you straight. Two nights in a sea-view room cost £129, including return ferry crossings, with Red Funnel (0870 444 8890, www.redfunnel.co.uk).







Excess, Nice
Take the Learjet to the exquisite Château de la Chèvre d’Or, in Eze, a village in the hills above Nice, where the views of the shimmering Mediterranean from your private terrace should be enough to make you stay put. If not, a hire car is provided. It’s a Ferrari Monza. The price for two people is £9,391, with Jeffersons (0870 850 8181, www.jeffersons.com).



Atonement, Cotswolds
Restore the Norman moat in the Cotswold village of Whichford. You’ll be staying at Holycombe (01608 684239, www.holycombe.com), a B&B billed as a house of healing — which will do wonders for those blisters. The price is £90, with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (01302 388888, www.btcv.org).







Feasting, Franschhoek
With more than 30 wineries and a stack of fine restaurants, Franschhoek is renowned as the food and wine capital of South Africa. Add a setting so beautiful that passing angels weep, and you have an epicurean paradise that’s yours for the bank-holiday weekend. Original Travel (020 7978 7333, www.originaltravel.co.uk) has three-night packages from £940, including car hire.



Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival, County Cork
Join Cape Clear’s blarney fest, where wild-eyed Celts weave fabulous yarns around a weekend of dancing and romance on an island eight miles off the Cork coast. Airlines flying to Cork include Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) and Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com). Then get the ferry to Cape Clear (£8 return) and stay at Eileen Leonard’s place (00 353 28 39160) for £25 per night.

SEPTEMBER

Gold prospecting, Sutherland
Britain’s great gold rush was in Helmsdale, on Scotland’s rugged northeast coast, and local guide Ronald Dunnett knows where you could still find enough to make a wedding ring. A double room for two nights at his fabulous Bridge Hotel (01431 821100, www.bridgehotel.net) costs £160. Gold accepted in lieu of cash.







Fête de Gastronomie, Provence
The village of Mougins takes food seriously, and this weekend the Provençal hamlet becomes a giant tasting table. Two nights at the Michelin-starred hotel/restaurant Le Mas Candille (00 33 4 92 28 43 43, www.lemascandille.com) cost £530 for two. Fly to Nice with EasyJet (www.easyjet. com) or BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com). And don’t ask for ketchup.







Land & Legend walk, Somerset
Stroll through autumnal orchards and ancient villages with the award-winning guide David Howell. Walking at a leisurely pace, you’ll have plenty of time to stand and stare before falling into the Queens Arms, in Corton Denham — a perfect English country inn. The price is £226, with Foot Trails (01747 861851, www.foottrails.co.uk).







The great lobster safari, Sweden
Locals call lobsters black gold, and the season starts in late September in the fishing village of Flaton, a 90-minute drive from Gothenburg. The Handelsman Flink hotel (00 46 304 55051, www.handelsmanflink.se) offers the chance to catch ’em, cook ’em and wash ’em down with pink lobster ale for £219 per night. Fly to Gothenburg with FlyMe (www.flyme.com).

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OCTOBER

Barcelona by rail
Catch the 3pm Eurostar to Paris (0870 518 6186, www.eurostar.com; from £59 return) on Friday, then board the 8.32pm Trenhotel for £143 return, with Rail Europe (0870 837 1371, www.raileurope.co.uk). Dine and sleep on board in a private cabin, arriving in Barcelona at 8.24am on Saturday morning. Spend the night at the Grand Hotel Central (00 34 93 295 7900, www.grandhotelcentral.com; doubles from £99), then catch the 9.20pm home on Sunday, arriving back at Waterloo at 11.55am on Monday.







Kitesurfing, Wales
It’s not easy, but the sensation of skimming across the surf like some dolphin/pelican hybrid is worth working for, and with empty beaches and the ocean still warm, it’s a perfect time to learn. Big Blue Kitesurfing (07816 169359, www.bigbluekitesurfing.com) charges £180 for two days’ tuition. Richmond House (07974 925009, www.richmond-house.com) has doubles for £60, and it’s right next door to the pub.







Can’t cook, want to cook?
Take a beginner’s course at the award-winning Ashburton Cookery School (01364 652784, www.ashburtoncookeryschool.co.uk), in Devon, where you’ll learn how to prepare dishes like pan-fried loin pork steak with caramelised apples and mustard sauce, leek and bacon tartlet or classic crème brûlée. The price is £323, B&B.



Cork Jazz Festival
Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie have headlined here, and while the 2007 line-up has not yet been announced, more than 1,000 musicians will play at dozens of venues. A double at the central Gresham Metropole (00 353 21 450 8122, www.ryan-hotels.com) costs £535 for three nights. Fly to Cork with Aer Lingus (0870 876 5000, www.aerlingus.com) or Ryanair (0871 2460000, www.ryanair.com).



NOVEMBER

Chocs in Portugal
The Chocolate Festival in the Portuguese town of Obidos is dedicated to perfection in confection. See the wonders of the world sculpted in chocolate, and fashion shows with dresses made from...you get the picture. Two nights at the Castelo da Pousada (www.pousadasportugal.com) start at £127pp. Airlines serving Lisbon include Monarch (0870 040 6300, www.flymonarch.com) and EasyJet (www.easyjet.com).



Truffles, Tuscany
“They can, on certain occasions, make women more tender and men more lovable,” Dumas opined, so try your luck on a truffle-hunting trip to the Fattoria Barbialla Nuova, a farm near Pisa, where a two-night stay and loan of the farm’s sniffer dog costs £167, through i-escape (0117 942 8476, www.i-escape.com). Fly to Pisa with Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) or BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com).



Down the pub, Monmouthshire
Take a good book and stout boots, and spend a couple of nights in the Michelin Pub of the Year 2007: the Bell at Skenfrith (01600 750235, www.skenfrith.co.uk; doubles £105). If it’s sunny, take a walk with a hawk in the company of a falconer; if it’s raining, you’ll just have to stay in with the roaring fire, real ales and award-winning cuisine.

Golf, Normandy
“If you drink, don’t drive. Don’t even putt,” advised Dean Martin, but Your Golf Holidays (01277 824100, www.yourgolfholidays.com) wasn’t listening. Its two-night package at the four-star Normandy Barrière, in Deauville, includes two rounds of golf, a bottle of champagne and VIP tickets to the dinner show in the town’s casino; from £425.



Northern lights, Lapland
Enjoy the splendour of the aurora borealis in a glass igloo 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Discover the World (0870 060 3288,
www.arctic-experience.co.uk). has a three-night package, staying at the Kakslauttanen Igloos, from £695.

DECEMBER

Winter sun, Tunisia
Need sunshine? Findit at Dar El Medina, a beautifully decorated 19th-century house with traditional terraces and courtyards in the maze of Tunis’s medina. Doubles start at £74 per night with i-escape (0117 942 8476, www.i-escape.com). Fly to Tunis with BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) or Tunisair (020 7437 6236, www.tunisair.com).



Christmas market, Erfurt
Catch the yule vibe at Germany’s loveliest Christmas market, where you can stock up on traditional fare while warding off the winter cold with a glass of gluhwein. Dertour (0870 403 5442, www.dertour.co.uk) has two nights from £329.



Viva Las Vegas
Blow the Christmas bonus in Lost Wages, rolling snake eyes at Caesars or stacking your chips on black at the Bellagio. Virgin Holidays (0870 220 2788, www.virginholidays.co.uk) offers you an outside chance to become a millionaire by Christmas for £1,000, staying at Caesars Palace.



Hogmanay in Havana
Smoke hand-rolled cigars, cruise the barrio in a Buick, sample mojitos in the Hotel Nacional and say hola to 2008 from the dancefloor of some steamy salsa club. Beats karaoke in your local pub hands down. With Black Tomato (020 7610 9008, www.blacktomato.co.uk), four nights at the Hotel Parque Central start at £799.