2017 marks 125 years since the publication of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first introduced Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson to readers of The Strand Magazine in 1891, but the publication of these twelve short stories, on 14 October 1892, brought the detective and the doctor to the masses.

VisitEngland's Year of Literary Heroes survey showed that Sherlock and Watson's escapades tap into the nation's love of suspense, with crime (38%), thrillers (38%) and mysteries (37%) revealed as the most popular genres to read; everything from recent runaway success The Girl on the Train to classics by Agatha Christie keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Holiday-makers who prise themselves from their page-turners can follow in the footsteps of the Sherlock Holmes books, film adaptations and TV series, play detective at Sherlock-inspired attractions, from code-breaking bars to themed escape games, and delve into the real-life locations associated with the fictional worlds of crimes and mysteries from And Then There Were None to Dracula.

SHERLOCK-ATIONS – ON THE TRAIL OF THE BOOKS, FILMS AND TV SERIES PORTSMOUTH: Where it all began… Sir Arthur Conan Doyle moved to Portsmouth with his wife in 1882 to set up his medical practice, and it was there that he first wrote the world's greatest detective into creation. Head to Portsmouth City Museum and explore permanent exhibition 'A Study in Sherlock', the largest collection pertaining to Doyle and his creation in the world. The gallery explores Doyle's life and career, Sherlock Holmes as depicted in film, theatre, advertising and more, and includes a Sherlock Holmes mystery and narration by the collection's patron, Stephen Fry. Doyle's home, which was destroyed in the Second World War, is commemorated by a blue plaque. Admission to the museum is free.

LONDON: Home of Holmes 221B Baker Street is Holmes' base in the books – however this address doesn't actually exist! Head to 237-41 Baker Street to find the Sherlock Holmes Museum, which features a recreation of the detective's disorderly study. Baker Street underground station has a statue of Holmes, and a short walk away takes you to Madame Tussauds, home to waxworks of both Robert Downey Jr and Benedict Cumberbatch as the detective, plus interactive theatrical challenge the Sherlock Holmes Experience. The BBC adaptation used a townhouse at 187 North Gower Street to play the role of 221B Baker Street, and many scenes were filmed at next-door Speedy's Sandwich Bar & Café, where you can get a Sherlock Breakfast of eggs, avocado and salmon. The Criterion in Piccadilly Circus (now Savini at The Criterion) was where Dr Watson first heard about Sherlock Holmes, sowing the seeds of their relationship; a plaque commemorates the literary claim to fame. Brit Movie Tours runs a Sherlock Holmes Walking tour of London.

Eden Project visitors will be pitted against villains springing from the pages of some of the most popular children's books ever as Roald Dahl's Halloweden is unleashed this October half-term (October 21-29).

The whole family can brave challenges from notorious characters such as the ghastly giants from Roald Dahl's The BFG and those devious practical jokers, Mr and Mrs Twit.

Roald Dahl's Halloweden will consist of a terrifying trail of immersive experiences across Eden based on five of the most iconic stories.

The Witches inspires a scary – but vitally important – training session for spotting real witches while Fantastic Mr Fox's Farm challenges visitors to travel through tunnels and sneak out plump chickens whilst evading capture from Boggis, Bunce and Bean.

Mr and Mrs Twit's house is full of terrible tricks and pranks and The BFG's cave is a magical, mystical wonder – just be sure to tiptoe from the dream-making station so as not to wake the sleeping giants.

Matilda's formidable headmistress and former Olympian Miss Trunchbull has set some demanding sports day challenges which must be mastered to avoid ending up in the Chokey.

Polly Randle, Eden Live Project Lead, said: “This Halloweden is going to be extra special with the addition of some of the scariest and most memorable villains from everyone's favourite Roald Dahl's stories.

“We're delighted to have the involvement of the Roald Dahl Literary Estate in creating this unique and imaginative programme that is all set to delight – and terrify – all our visitors.”

Bernie Hall, Marketing Director at Roald Dahl Literary Estate, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Eden during the Halloweden event this year as it provides the perfect opportunity for some of our most infamous villains to be a part of one of the most popular events in the UK and at Eden, and for visitors to be able to experience this enchanting event.

“It has been fantastic to further our relationship with Eden which began with the Biomes hosting Lego Billy for Roald Dahl Day this year.”

Roald Dahl's Halloweden takes place every day from October 21 to 29 and is included in the price of admission to Eden with no booking required.

For an evening of fang-tastic fun the popular party extravaganza Little Monsters' Ball returns to Eden on Saturday, October 28, at 6pm.

Everyone can don their favourite Halloween costumes and shake their bones on one of two dancefloors before indulging in some ghoulish grub such as eyeball pizza or roasted bat wings.

They can then enjoy a spine-tingling skate on the eerie Eden ice rink which will be open throughout half-term week.

Celebrate in true British style this festive season and serve one of England's finest wines.  Named as a favourite by many of the country's leading drinks writers, the innovative Lyme Bay Winery has a selection of wines for every occasion, a perfect pour this Christmas and New Year.

Having painstakingly prepared a delicious selection of canapés for a stylish Christmas drinks party, the drinks offering needs to be carefully considered to ensure it enhances the flavours and adds elegance to the occasion.

A serious wine which will appeal to the discerning wine audience, the recently launched Lyme Bay Blanc de Noirs is made using 100% Pinot Noir grapes and provides a wonderful accompaniment to food.  The red fruit characters have a strong presence in this white sparkling wine.  It has a light copper hue in its appearance with fine, consistent bubbles.  On the nose it is rich and earthy with forward strawberry and cherry notes and a delicious richness on the palate is offset by a crisp acidity and a light toast finish.  There is no doubt that guests will be impressed.

The wine to have in the fridge which offers great versatility is a bottle of Lyme Bay Sandbar 2015.  Fresh and zesty with a range of characteristics including grapefruit, guava, box wood and a hint of blackcurrant, this makes a great alternative to Sauvignon Blanc.  It is produced from 100% Bacchus, a grape which is rapidly growing in awareness and popularity.  Light to medium in body, Sandbar has a beautiful balanced acidity with a great affinity to food pairing, particularly light, citrus-led fish or chicken pasta dishes.

Make your guests feel special this New Year's Eve, serve Lyme Bay Classic Cuvée.  Blended from the noble Champagne varieties Pinot Noir (81%) and Chardonnay (19%) this sparkling wine, with its delicate fine bubbles, golden colour and slight blush tint, has a refined finish.  Underlying lemons, peach and apricot are accompanied by cooked apples, breadcrumbs, honey and almond on the nose.  It has a crisp finesse and a classic look.

Looking ahead to Valentine's Day, Lyme Bay Sparkling Rosé is a stunning choice.  With its vibrant soft pink colour with notes of wild strawberries, pepper and redcurrant on the nose and a bright, fruit-driven palate with a richness of honey and hits of brioche and almond it is utterly divine.  A perfect gift for a loved one and a delicious wine to serve to create a romantic mood.

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is searching for four choirs from the Midlands area to be part of an event to mark the Twelfth Night of Christmas on Saturday 6 January 2018.

Coinciding with the RSC’s forthcoming production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the Company is holding a Wassail in Stratford-upon-Avon.  Roughly translated as ‘be in good health’, wassailing is an English tradition taking place on the Twelfth Night of Christmas, which involves singing the health of apple trees in the hope that they might yield a good harvest.

Choirs of any size, whose members should be aged 18 or over, will be provided with the music for six wassailing songs in advance for them to learn for the big day.  The songs will be arranged by Paul Sartin, founding member of award-winning folk ensembles such as Belshazzar’s Feast, Faustus and Bellowhead.

On the day of the Wassail itself, the choirs will need to spend a full day in Stratford, arriving for rehearsals at 11am and singing between 2-5pm.  The choirs will perform in outdoor locations near the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, including Shakespeare’s New Place.

Louisa Davies from the RSC Events and Exhibition team said, “Given that we are performing Shakespeare’s great comedy, Twelfth Night, over the festive period, it felt the perfect moment to stage the RSC’s first wassail.  We are looking for choirs from within a 25 mile radius of Stratford to get involved, learn new arrangements of some rousing wassailing songs, and sing their hearts out here at this very special time of year.”

Charities in the City of Wolverhampton have shared £20,691 courtesy of former Mayor Cllr Barry Findlay.

Cllr Findlay was the city’s first citizen during 2016/2017 and throughout his time in office he and his wife Margaret, the Mayoress, raised money for four good causes.

His chosen charities were Wolverhampton Samaritans, The MS Therapy Centre, Help for Heroes and the Wolverhampton United Ex Service Council.

Over the year, Cllr Findlay and Margaret organised a variety of fundraising activities including an online auction, quizzes, concerts and coffee mornings.

They presented the charities with their cheques at a ceremony last week.

Cllr Findlay said: “It is a dilemma for any Mayor to select the charities they will raise money for during their year of office. There are so many deserving causes out there and we would want to help them all if we could.

“However, the charities I did choose do superb work for our communities and Margaret and I were proud and delighted to fundraise for them.

“I would like to personally thank everyone who donated or attended one of our events. These contributions have now been passed over to the charities and will be used to help people.”

Vernon Dodd, from Wolverhampton Samaritans, said: “We were absolutely delighted that Cllr Findlay nominated us as one of his charities. We take around 2,000 calls a month, day and night, from people in Wolverhampton and all our work is done by volunteers.

“We have to raise 100% of our running costs ourselves, so this help is much appreciated.”

Paul Nicholls, from Wolverhampton United Ex Service Council, said: “It’s a great honour to be nominated as a chosen charity. We will use the money to pay for a new flag known as a standard. We can now go out and people will recognise Wolverhampton Ex Service Council and it will bring us closer together.”

The MS Therapy Centre will use the money to enable it to continue offering various treatments such as oxygen, reflexology, aromatherapy and physiotherapy to people suffering with MS. Help for Heroes, will use the money to look after wounded, injured and sick service personnel.

A local charity has created a new marathon challenge that everyone can get involved in – whether they’re a running novice or a busy, working parent.

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice has launched the ‘i-Marathon’, a new sporting event which allows running enthusiasts to cover 26.2 miles across the month of October.

The unique challenge allows participants to choose how far, how often, when and where they run – so long as they finish the marathon distance within one month.

So whether that’s one mile on the treadmill for 26 days or six miles in the local park every weekend, the i-Marathon is perfect for beginners who want to get into running, people with busy lifestyles, or those who simply want to get more fit and active.

Measuring the distance is easy, which can be done via activity trackers on watches and phones, apps such as Runkeeper, and a paper progress chart which is available in the charity’s free welcome pack.

Those runners that cover the 26.2 miles and raise a minimum sponsorship will also be rewarded with their own commemorative medal.

Created by Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, the DIY-style marathon will help raise crucial funds for the Selly Park-based charity which provides expert care to individuals and families living with terminal illness.

Lucy Watkins, events manager at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, said: “With Birmingham gearing up for its first-ever marathon this October, our very own i-Marathon is the perfect alternative for those who want to go the distance but do so at their own pace.

“Marathons are tough but by spreading the distance across the month of October, we hope that more people feel like they can take on the challenge.

“As well as the satisfaction of completing such a gruelling distance, participants will also be helping to make a big difference to local families living with terminal illness. It costs £22,000 to run our Hospice each day and so we rely on the generosity of local people to help us continue to provide our services. All sponsorship money will go towards the Hospice, helping us reach even more individuals, families and carers living in Birmingham and Sandwell.”

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice offers a wide range of services in a number of settings, providing free care and support to over 1,200 local families living with terminal illness.