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ot interested in the The Games? Not to worry, there are plenty of exciting non-sporty events happening across England in summer 2012. Here are just a few to get you started, and not a sports vest in sight... 

July: York Festival of Rivers, Yorkshire

York celebrates 800 years of freedom from those pesky Vikings this year. So as you’d expect there’ll be a spectacular array of street parties and exhibitions through 2012.  Monday 9 July sees a flotilla of over a hundred boats taking to the River Ouse as part of weekend-long celebrations to commemorate the anniversary of the granting of York’s Charter. Check out the website for a full list of festivals, including the brand new Chocolate Festival in April.

August: Enid Blyton’s Birthday Party, Dorset

Pack lashings of ginger beer, ham rolls and a birthday cake, and make your way to Dorset for Enid Blyton’s birthday. The 1,000-year-old Corfe Castle – which has featured in the author’s adventure stories – will be the centre piece for a mass-picnic party adorned with lots of storytelling, arts and craft, Morse code, lacrosse and twee nostalgic activities like paper plane making and rubber-and-ruler twanging. Here’s to the Famous Five, the Six Cousins and the Secret Seven too. Cheers!

September: Agatha Christie Festival, Devon

Grab a flapper dress or a fedora and mosey down to sparkling Torquay for the annual Agatha Christie Festival. Celebrate the queen of murder mysteries with other Christie fans dolled up in their finest 1920s threads at a themed tea party, with dinner on steam train or on a vintage bus tour. And while you’re in the area, check out Greenway, Christie’s riverside holiday home and the place where two of her characters met their maker in the garden and boat house.