England's social season: from Chelsea to Cowes Week The Chelsea Flower show is the summer season opener What I found was that if you gather any set of humans together, for whatever reason - opera, plants, racing, rowing, literature, - the early adopters will feel an intense sense of ownership that quickly turns to resentment when newcomers join in. In the case of today's music festivals, this can take less than five years, if they survive that long. With traditional season events it's usually decades, possibly centuries. As someone who is never an early adopter and was a first-timer at most of the things I went to - from the Audi (then Cartier) International Polo Day at Smith's Lawn to the pithily named Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week - I was invariably the invader. Being ignorant of the delights I had missed in the past meant I had a great time, unencumbered by bittersweet memories. I committed one solecism after another, from using my mobile in the Stewards" Enclosure at Henley (I forgot) to being unable to climb onto the huge straw bales at SGP (age). Yet despite all the huffing and puffing an awful lot of old hands manage to stifle their feelings of outrage sufficiently to keep on coming. In two weeks" time there will be up to 80,000 people at Royal Ascot's Ladies" Day. Roughly a tenth of them will be hatted and badged in the hallowed confines of the Royal Enclosure and about half of those will feel the other half shouldn't be there. That's all part of the fun. And before anyone gets on their high horse about elitism, you can go the Royal Ascot for a tenner on the Heath (no dress code) or from £17 in the Silver Ring (where there are no rules about hats or hems) and watch the same world-class racing as the Queen. Is there any other top level sporting or musical event where you can do that? I reckon that around 1,300,000 people go to the traditional season events, either as paying punters or watching free from hills or riverbanks or seashores, and that's not counting the Boat Race or Cheltenham or the Grand National (these were too early in the year for my season, which ran from the Chelsea Flower Show in May to Cowes Week in August). Their contemporary equivalents - music, arts, literature, motorsports and so on - must be approaching similar levels. They are important to our economy and important in that they say something about us and about our history. I wanted to find out what. That summer I went to 12 events, including Secret Garden Party, several of them more than once. I had a lot of fun at SGP and a lot of fun at Ascot. I plumbed the startling depths of my ignorance about sport, art, flowers and almost every other speciality involved, but I also realised how many more things there were to see. Here are my wish lists, old and new, for the coming year. And no, they're not cool. The Season: A Summer Whirl Through The English Social Season by Sophie Campbell is published on June 6 by Aurum Press at £20; available from independent bookshops or from Telegraph Books at £14 + £1.35 p&p. Call 0844 871 1515 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk Ranelagh Gardens, Chelsea, SW7 (rhs.org.uk) Over for this year, yes, but time to plan for 2014: there's a winter ballot for Gala Preview tickets - the hens" teeth of the season - and normal tickets always sell out. Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey (epsomdowns.co.uk) Always known as the "Londoners" Day Out" but no longer the great, city-emptying half day holiday it used to be, so easier to attend, unpretentious and fantastic fun. Nr Lewes, East Sussex (glyndebourne.com) A latecomer to the season, founded in 1934, but one that effortlessly combines wonderful, world-class opera with slightly batty picnicking in formal dress. Most cheaper tickets (from £15) are long gone: join the Returns Club for free email alerts. Burlington House, Piccadilly, W1 (royalacademy.org.uk) The largest open submission art show in the world and an incredible annual feat of logistics undertaken by Academicians and art handlers. Ignore the critics and go. From £10 adults, from £6 aged 12-18, under 12s free. Tickets still available. Ascot Racecourse, Berkshire (ascot.co.uk) Glossy, glamorous, occasionally brash, Ascot grabs fashion headlines but also offers spectacular sport, with seven Group One races pulling in around £400 million in bets. From £10 on the Heath, from £20 in the Enclosures. London SW19 (wimbledon.com/championships) Top tennis action crammed onto 19 grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Sold out, but camp in The Queue for the show courts, or by day for ground admission. Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (hrr.co.uk) A knockout competition on one the few straight stretches on the River Thames that attracts some of the world's top rowers. Up to 90 races a day early on in the week. From £20 in the Regatta Enclosure. Free on the riverbank. Saturday sold out. Laze around at Henley Smiths Lawn, Windsor Great Park (guardspoloclub.com) The last hurrah of the English polo season each year, with a correspondingly festive atmosphere, more than a smattering of celebrities and a huge after-party scene. From £45 in the North Grandstand. West Sussex (goodwood.co.uk) A much-loved meeting that traditionally ends the season - on land, at least - and takes place on a stunning course high on the Sussex Downs. From £14 in the Lennox Enclosure. Free on The Trundle. Isle of Wight (aamcowesweek.co.uk) Another feat of logistics, this time on The Solent, where around 4,000 sailors take to the water during the week to compete in small day boats or much larger yachts. Free, but paid entry to events and parties. Boconnoc House, near Lostwithiel (cornwallgardensociety.org.uk) Chelsea refuseniks love this two-day show - 8,000 visitors as opposed to 160,000 - run by the Cornwall Gardening Society in a stunning setting. Prince Charles is patron. April 5-6 2014. Ticket prices to be announced. The Cornwall Spring Flower Show Carmarthenshire, Wales (thelaugharneweekend.com) Luminaries from Tracey Thorne to Sir Peter Blake turned up this spring for the mini-festival on the Taf estuary where Dylan Thomas wrote for four years. Next year will be big: it's his centenary. 2014 dates and prices (£75 approximately) to be confirmed. Eastbourne, East Sussex (aegontennis.co.uk) The tennis buffs" grass tournament, played in Devonshire Park. Once a ladylike, pre-Wimbledon outing, it opened to men in 2009, attracting big names and rising stars. Ground entry from £15. Cowdray Park, Midhurst, West Sussex (cowdraypolo.co.uk) The climax of the British Open Polo Championship pulls in La Martina-wearing polistas in their droves. Missed the John Cowdray enclosure? Dash for the Gazebo Line when the gates open. Price: Adults £20, under 12s free. The world's largest "car culture" event is followed two months later by a celebration of vintage motors. Tickets in advance only: £25-£57 per day for FoS; £38-£60 for the Revival. Discounts for 13-21-year-olds and under 13s free. Newmarket Racecourse, Suffolk (newmarketracecourses.co.uk) A little too far from London to catch the non-racing crowd, this three-day meeting has all the other season characteristics, including great sports and swish hats. Tickets from £10 in the Family Enclosure, all three days from £34.50. Near Salisbury, Wiltshire (larmertreefestival.co.uk) An easy-going festival that started with six bands in 1990 and offers everything from circus skills to comedy. The massive line-up includes Bellowhead and Seasick Steve. Tickets start from three days and include camping: £140 adults, £90 11-17 year olds, £45 children 5-10. Cherry Hinton Hall, Cambridge (cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk) Fashion has caught up with this legendary festival, which hits 50 in 2015, but it's big enough to shrug it off. Famed for huge names, new acts and impromptu sessions. Single day tickets from £20, full festival £126, children 5-15 £37, under 5s free. Oulton Park, Cheshire and Laverstoke Park Farm, Hampshire (carfest.org) Chris Evans is a car nut and his motor festival last year in aid of BBC Children In Need was such a hit it's split into two: look out for dancing diggers, jousting and hill climbs. North is sold out but more day tickets will be released. South day tickets from £55 adults and £10 for 6-14 year olds, weekend tickets from £105 and £25 (£210 family). By Beauly, Inverness-shire (tartanheartfestival.co.uk) This year is carnival themed at the 10-year-old festival on the Gibbs" estate in the Highlands, with magic, music - including a Seedlings stage for up-and-coming Scottish musicians - art and local food. Caravans and campsite are already sold out. Day tickets from £65 for over 13s, free for up to three under 12s per adult. Prussia Cove, Cornwall (i-m-s.org.uk) A treasured opportunity for classical musicians to escape to a private estate on Cornwall's Atlantic coast and make music. The benefit for the rest of us are the Open Chamber Music Concerts held across West Cornwall every September. Tickets from £9, under-25s free.