You may think that June is a long way off, but if you're thinking about attending Rock Ness, now is the time to snap up early bird tickets for next year.

Scotland's Highland rock festival, beside Loch Ness, bills itself as the world's only rock festival with its own monster. It regularly attracts 35,000 to 45,000 fans. Tickets as well as camping places go fast.

This year, the organizers have launched an early bird, buy now - pay later, fan-friendly plan to ensure that fans have a good chance of securing tickets and don't have to shell out a bundle all in one go. For a deposit of £30, plus a booking fee, fans can ensure that they will be able to secure tickets to this very cool music festival. But you have to act before the end of September, when the early bird special ends. If you've always wanted to visit Scotland, this £30 investment may be just the stimulus you need to start planning for next summer.

• Find out more about Rock Ness
• Get in on the Early Bird Special for Rock Ness Tickets

Althorp House, Princess Diana's birthplace and the site of her grave, closes for the season on August 30 this year. But if you miss the summer opening there's still a chance to visit and see a very special exhibition about Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire and the "Princess Diana" of her day.

Born in 1757, Georgiana grew up at Althorp and, at the young age of 17, married a much older man - the Duke of Devonshire who was an important figure at court. She was beautiful and charismatic with extravagant tastes. A fashion icon, doting mother, shrewd political operator and darling of the common people she never found happiness in love.

Sound familiar?

_{"Georgiana was a typical Spencer woman – strong-willed, stylish, and compassionate," Earl Spencer, Diana's brother commented. "She is certainly one of the more interesting of my ancestors – this year, when we put together an exhibition at Althorp to celebrate my family living here for 500 years, she was one of the key personalities that we built the exhibition around. She is pure Hollywood, so it's not surprising that her life has finally been made into a movie."}

That movie, The Duchess, based on a best-selling biography by Amanda Foreman, starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes, opens in September. In conjunction with the opening as well as the 500th anniversary of the house, Althorp will be open for a special "Georgiana" weekend on September 27 and 28.

Meanwhile, tickets for this summer's opening of Althorp are still available.

• Find out more about visiting Althorp
• Watch a trailer for The Duchess
• Buy Amanda Foreman's best-selling biography, Georgiana:Duchess of Devonshire direct

_{Keira Knightley in "The Duchess", Pathe/BBC Films}

Consider coming with only carry-on luggage if you are arriving in the UK Bank Holiday Monday, August 25, through Gatwick or Stansted airports. Unions representing more than 300 baggage handlers and check-in employees have threatened a 24-hour strike at those airports over a pay dispute. A second strike is planned for August 29. Workers at Manchester Airport are scheduled to vote on the dispute on Monday and votes could take place at Birmingham and Newcastle airports later.

Before you go into panic mode, just keep in mind that Bank Holiday Monday is still nine days away and a lot can happen between now and then. Best advice - keep checking with your airline and look at the airport websites regularly to monitor developments.

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Dust off the family heirlooms - BBC One's Antiques Road Show is coming to town. Dundee, in Scotland, will host the popular television program on September 4, at Caird Hall. Bring along treasures for inspection by the experts - or just come along to watch, between 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

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