14 March          St Patrick's Day Festival           London

A celebration of Irish culture in London, usually on the Sunday nearest to St Patrick's Day (17 March). There is a parade starting at 12 noon which passes down Piccadilly, Regent Street and Trafalgar Square before finishing in Whitehall Place There is also a festival of music and cultural performances in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Covent Garden.

To check full details of this year's event, see: http://www.london.gov.uk/stpatricksday.

26-28 March          Chocolate Festival         London

Chocolate-related activities behind the Royal Festival Hall (nearest Tube: Waterloo). Friday 11am-8pm, Saturday 11am-8pm, and Sunday 11am-6pm. Admission is free.

For details, see: http://www.festivalchocolate.co.uk/index-london.html

27 March                 Head of the River Race         London

A boat race on the river Thames in London for "eights", which each have eight people who row and one person (the "cox") who directs the boat. There are several hundred boats competing, setting off at 10-second intervals (the strongest teams row first), and the times to finish the course are recorded. It is expected to start at 1:15pm and end at about 2:30pm; the fastest boats can complete the 4.25 mile (7 kilometre) course in about 20 minutes. The race starts at Chiswick Bridge and ends at Putney Bridge. You can watch it from any accessible point along the river, but the best views are probably on the east bank of the Thames (the side which is in Surrey) just north of Chiswick Bridge (near the railway station Mortlake).