Culinary holidays in Britain - Telegraph The Orchards School of Cookery near Evesham in Worcestershire (01789 490259; orchardscookery.co.uk) provides one- and two-day courses with an emphasis on no-stress dinner party food. Prices are £165 or £295, including meals, and tuition takes place in a Georgian farm-house. Students can stay in one of three cottages adjoining the school for £40 per person, b & b. If you'd prefer to stay somewhere that feels like more like a hotel than a school, but still want the opportunity to take part in culinary workshops, you might consider The Mistley Thorn Hotel, near Manningtree in Essex (01206 392821; mistleythorn.co.uk). There are eight bedrooms, four overlooking the Stour Estuary, with double b & b starting at £90. Regular one-day cookery workshops take place at The Mistley Kitchen, next door, and cost from £85 per person including lunch and a glass of wine. On non-cooking days, there's plenty to do in the area, including touring Constable Country, visiting The Beth Chatto Gardens or taking a boat trip on a crewed sailing barge. A grander option is Swinton Park near Ripon in North Yorkshire (01765 680900; swintonpark.com), which combines cooking classes with top-end accommodation. This castle hotel and spa in 200 acres of parkland offers 31 rooms with double b & b from £185. Its cookery school is located on the ground floor of a converted Georgian stable block in the hotel grounds. Half-day courses start at £75 per person, rising to £295 for a two-day course. Swinton Park also offers themed packages that might also be of interest to your group, including horse racing and walking breaks plus special events such as garden design days and wine appreciation lunches throughout the year. If you decide that cookery isn't quite what you're looking for, visit a website called britainsfinest.co.uk which allows you to search for four- and five-star hotels offering on-site or local activities ranging from hot-air ballooning and falconry to fossil hunting and llama trekking.