If you’re wondering what to do this weekend in the Cotswolds, here are five recommendations from us to you...

Great British Life: 'The Tourist' by Lee Acaster, winner of the British Wildlife Photography of The Year award'The Tourist' by Lee Acaster, winner of the British Wildlife Photography of The Year award (Image: Archant)

British Wildlife Photography Awards, Gloucester

October 2 - November 16

Nature in Art is one of only a few venues across the country exhibiting the pictures of this year’s British Wildlife Photography Award winners,

Lee Acaster won the biggest accolade with his photograph ‘The Tourist’, a shot of a greylag goose strutting beside the Thames river in London. Over 100 other pictures by amateur and professional wildlife photographers will also be on display.

Chris Packham said: “Each year the British Wildlife Photography Awards generates an incredible catalogue of splendid, exciting, imaginative and artistic images, proving beyond doubt that we have the richest palette of life to celebrate in our own backyard. Anyone passionate about protecting and preserving wildlife will be inspired by the British Wildlife Photography Awards, which in its fifth year has done more than any other award to raise the profile of British wildlife.”

For more information, visit: www.nature-in-art.org.uk

Great British Life: The Flying Colour RunThe Flying Colour Run (Image: Archant)

The Flying Colour Run, Kemble

October 5

Gloucestershire’s first ever Colour Run event is taking place this Sunday at Kemble Airport, featuring a 5K fun run and 1K Little Paint Dash (for children aged 6 and under).

Runners will receive a bright white T-shirt to wear on the day and cover in colour, a Run Number, an Event Info Guide, a bottle of water to keep hydrated and a sachet of colour at the finish line for a ‘colour explosion’ at the end of the run.

The event will raise money for the Cotswold Care Hospice, helping people with a life-limiting illness.

Registering as an adult

For those raising sponsorship, the registration fee is £20 per person, with a promise to raise £50

For those just wanting to join in, The registration fee is £35 per person

Registering children aged 6-12

The registration fee for any child wanting to raise sponsorship is £8, with a promise to raise £20

For children who’d just like to take part, the registration is £12

Registering for the Little Paint Dash

Free for children aged 6 and under

Accompanying adults £20 per person

For more information, visit: www.cotswoldcare.org.uk/flyingcoloursrun

The Cheltenham Literature Festival 2014, Cheltenham

October 3-12

Established in 1949, The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival is one of oldest literary events in the world. For ten days every Autumn, Cheltenham welcomes over 600 of the world’s finest writers, actors, politicians, poets and leading opinion formers to celebrate the written word.

This year, highlights include popular writers and speakers such as Salman Rushdie, Margaret Attwood, Iam McEwan, Will Self, Ben Okri, David Mitchell, Victoria Hislop, Emma Healey, Nathan Filer, Caitlin Moran and James Naughtie.

Acting talent taking to the stage include Judi Dench, Brian Blessed, Damian Lewis, Helen McCroy and John Cleese.

There will also be comedy by the likes of Katy Brand, Paul Merton, Omid Djalili and Danny Baker, sports talk with Kevin Pietersen, Nicole Cook, Gareth Thomas, fantasy and sci-fi fun with Mike Carey, Clive Anderson, Terry Jones, Ben Aaronovitch, and foodie-themed events with Tom Kerridge, Heston Blumenthal, Yotam Ottolenghi among many others.

For the full line-up and further details, visit: www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/literature

The Devil’s Aquathlon, Cheltenham

October 5

The 5th Devil’s Aquathlon is a tough swimming and running challenge which raises funds for two charities, Sandford Lido Ltd and Cobalt Unit Appeal Fund. It is designed for competitors aged 17 + who enjoy a personal or team challenge.

The event starts with a 2km swim in the lidos 50m main pool. The heating to the main pool will have been turned off at the end of our summer season and the water temperature will have dropped considerably, making this a particularly chilly swim (wetsuits are advisable!).

Competitors then run out of the lido and up to the Devil’s Chimney on Leckhampton Hill over tough terrain, then return to finish in the lido grounds, a round route of 10km.

There will be prizes and trophies to make victory that little bit sweeter.

For more information, visit: www.entrycentral.com/devilsaquathlon

Ai Weiwei Exhibition, Oxford

October 1 - December 14

Blenheim Art Foundation presents the most extensive UK exhibition to date by celebrated Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, showcasing more than 50 artworks amongst the unique setting of the Palace and Formal Gardens.

Artworks will range from photographs taken by Ai Weiwei whilst living in New York during the 1980s, through to a large carpet made especially for the exhibition, which will be on display in the Great Hall.

Further artworks will include a table formed from wood reclaimed from temples dating to the Qing Dynasty (1644 -1911), intricately hand-painted porcelain plates, and Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads: Gold, Ai Weiwei’s reinterpretation of the legendary bronze zodiac head statues that once surrounded the fountain-clock at Emperor Yuanming Yuan’s Beijing imperial retreat.

A Palace, Park and Gardens ticket will be required for this event.

For more information, visit: www.blenheimpalace.com/whats-on/events/autumn/ai-weiwei-at-blenheim-palace.html