British Isles

The start of the oyster season is marked with a festival at Falmouth, Cornwall, which opens with a cookery master class with Sophie Grigson tomorrow week. The event runs until October 19 and features local chefs, seafood tastings, children's shell painting and much music. Cornish Traditional Cottages offers Bramley Hedge, a house of character for six a ten-minute drive from the town, for a week from this and the next Saturday from £400. Classic Cottages has a flat for four from Saturday on the water's edge in Falmouth for £513 for a week. 01208 821666/ 01326 555555

Newly available and meticulously upgraded is The Lookout, on the first and second floors of a house in Lyme Regis, Dorset, with views over the sea and the Cobb. It sleeps four and costs £600 a week from this and following Saturdays. 01297 678424

Explore the pretty village of Bradford-on-Avon or head the few miles into Bath while enjoying special rates this month at the Georgian Grade II listed Old Manor Hotel. Prices with LateRooms.com start at £60 for standard double rooms with breakfast and £75 for four-poster doubles. 0870 3006969

Opening tomorrow in its new home on the Kings Road, Chelsea, with an exhibition on new Chinese art and 70,000sq ft of display space, is the Saatchi Gallery. Admission is free and the nearest hotel is the revamped The Sloane Square, where rooms for two cost from £165 a night with Pride of Britain Hotels. 0800 0893929

A refurbished 18th-century cottage, beside the River Isla in a peaceful glen on the Brewlands Estate, Perthshire, is available this month with Scotts Castle Holidays. Prices start at £447 for a week from Friday. 01208 821341

Whitewater rafting, canyoning, quad biking and pony trekking on the Lleyn Peninsula and in Snowdonia are among activities available from £35 a time on short breaks with Adventure North Wales this autumn. The holidays are based in cottages sleeping four, which cost from £175 for two nights. 0870 3654265

Short haul

A holiday in Chianti this month and next offers the opportunity to gather the olive crop, visit the press and enjoy wine tastings. For the proprietor of bright and elegant flats in ancient buildings in Barberino Val d'Elsa also owns olive groves, a vineyard and a wine bar. The flats sleep five and cost £482 for a week with Invitation to Tuscany. Travel extra. 0845 8387421

They will be making cider and calvados, not to mention cheese, in the Pays d'Auge in Normandy this month, where a converted cider barn is on offer with holidaylettings.co.uk . Les Bambous, two miles (3km) from Camembert, sleeps up to five, has a heated pool, tennis court, fishing lake and Japanese garden and costs £390 a week from this and following Saturdays. 01865 312000

A week in Luxor for £299 will leave you handily placed to explore the local temples, take a trip on the Nile and leave funds spare for excursions further afield. The deal with Voyages Jules Verne includes a flight from Gatwick on October 13 or 20 and a room in the family-run St Joseph's hotel, overlooking the river and close to the city centre. 0845 1667035

End-of-season packages to the Greek isles with Monarch Holidays include a week in beach apartments in Kardamena on Kos for £195, with a flight from Manchester on October 22, and a week in apartments in Tsilivi, Zakynthos for £189, based on four sharing and flying from Birmingham on October 16. 0871 4238642

A short break from October 25 at Les Juliannes riding centre in the Tarn, southern France, with horse riding for people of all ages and abilities, is on offer with Inntravel. It costs £310 with half-board for four nights, six hours' riding and transfers from Toulouse airport. Discounts for children and non-riders are available. 01653 617913

Long haul

Pangkor Island Resort on the west coast of the Malaysian Peninsula is set in a private sandy bay backed by tropical forest - and can be enjoyed from £785 for a week with Travelbag. The offer includes B&B and Gulf Air flights from Heathrow and is available this month and next. 0800 0087422

It should not need Paul Merton's new TV series, starting tonight, to awaken you to the fascinations of India but should it encourage you to visit, Voyages Jules Verne has a good range of escorted tours. The best value, and currently available with weekly departures, is a nine-night tour of the Golden Triangle, taking in Rajasthan, Jaipur, Delhi and Agra and the Taj Mahal. It costs from £990, with BA flights from Heathrow and B&B. Some single places available without supplement. 0845 1667035

A week on St Lucia from £599 is good value and on offer with Thomson Worldwide. Fly with Virgin Atlantic from Gatwick on October 28 and transfer to the St Lucian by Rex Resort. 0871 2302770

Savings are on offer for holidays beginning between October 20 and November 24 to the four-star Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa, Thailand, with Kuoni. Prices start from £829 with flights from Heathrow and eight nights in the resort. 01306 747008

As the winter sets in, head for the heat of The Gambia and enjoy a week in the five-star Sheraton Resort and Spa. Olympic Holidays offers a flight from Gatwick on November 7 and B&B at the resort on a secluded beach but a short drive from Kololi's nightlife for £569. 0844 5762386

All prices are per person and based on two travelling together and sharing a room unless stated otherwise.

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