Local Attractions

Two hundred acres of ancient woodland, limestone grassland and old ironstone quarries — one of the last surviving fragments of the original Rockingham Forest. There is no car park, just laybys on Sulehay Road, and dogs need to stay on a lead for the grazing livestock.

Your nearest village. A thirteenth-century church, the western terminus of the Nene Valley Railway, and the Angel Inn — a proper traditional pub with a serious cider list. It takes no bookings and no groups over six.

A Grade I listed twelve-arch bridge of 1577 once carried the Great North Road over the Nene here. The Haycock Manor and The Paper Mills both do lunch, and the Nene Valley Railway has its headquarters just up the road.

The Prebendal Manor is the oldest surviving dwelling in Northamptonshire, with roots back to the reign of King Cnut. It is now open for pre-booked guided tours only. Elsies Vintage Tea Room on Church Street opens Thursday to Saturday, cash only.

A National Nature Reserve and one of the most botanically rich woods in Britain, with over 450 plant species recorded and Roman iron-smelting remains under the trees. Free parking at the north gate, but only eight spaces.

Seven and a half miles of heritage line from Wansford to Peterborough. Wansford station is open daily to look round the engines; running days vary through the year, so check the calendar first. Dogs travel for £2.

The limestone village our address comes from. Church, almshouses, William Law’s eighteenth-century library and the Cross Keys Inn, which took the county Rural Pub of the Year title in 2024.

Coco the Clown is buried at St Mary’s, and a wooden carving of him stands in the village park. The White Swan is the dining pub — book ahead, and note it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Apethorpe Palace has some of the most complete Jacobean state rooms in England, and both James I and Charles I stayed here. It is a private home: English Heritage runs pre-booked tours on selected dates in July and August only. The King’s Head reopened in the village in 2025.

One of the grandest Elizabethan houses in England, built for William Cecil, Elizabeth I’s Lord Treasurer. Eighteen state rooms, a Capability Brown park, a sculpture garden and a very good adventure playground. Open mid-March to early November — the house is closed on Fridays.

Richard III was born at the castle here in 1452; Mary, Queen of Scots was executed in its hall in 1587. Only the earthworks survive, free to walk at any time, and the church of St Mary and All Saints is open daily. The Falcon Inn next door is the best lunch for miles.

A Gothic-revival house still lived in by the Proby family, whose library holds Henry VIII’s own prayer book, given to him by Katherine Parr. Afternoons only, on set days from late May to the end of August. Booking is recommended.

Home of the Brudenells for five hundred years, including the 7th Earl of Cardigan, who led the Charge of the Light Brigade. Open Sundays and Tuesdays through the summer, gardens from 1pm and the house from 2pm.

A roofless Elizabethan showpiece finished by Sir Christopher Hatton, with peacocks roaming the gardens. James I stayed here nine times. Open most days in summer, weekends only through the winter.

Sir Thomas Tresham’s garden lodge, left unfinished when he died in 1605 and covered in coded Catholic symbolism that nobody has fully explained. Free to National Trust members.

Nine hundred years of history on a ridge above the Welland, commissioned by William the Conqueror. Dickens stayed here often and used it as Chesney Wold in Bleak House. Open Tuesdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays, May to September.

A Bronze Age causeway of more than 60,000 timbers, driven across the fen around three thousand years ago and still preserved in the waterlogged peat. Open daily in summer, fewer days out of season.

A working farm with a Grade II* listed eighteenth-century watermill, an indoor playbarn and miles of rambles through the grounds. Open seven days a week, free parking, and well-behaved dogs are welcome on leads.

A Green Flag country park on the Nene with lakes, three play areas, kayaks and paddleboards, and two cafés. Open every day of the year; free on foot, parking charges apply.

Forestry England’s local site, with a café, five play areas, cycle hire, a family cycle trail and a free wildlife hide. Red kites were reintroduced to England from here — you will almost certainly see one.

Thirty-seven acres of lakes and riverside with three short waymarked trails, off-lead areas for dogs and the Kingfisher Café. Free to enter; £3.50 to park. An artificial nest bank here brought breeding kingfishers back to the river.

A reservoir big enough to feel like a coastline. Ospreys nest in Manton Bay and are watched from the Lyndon centre; the Rutland Belle cruises across to Normanton Church; there is cycle hire all the way round, and an inflatable aqua park at Whitwell in summer.

Around a hundred rare and endangered species across 25 acres, from big cats to bears, with a picnic area overlooking the cheetah paddock. Free car park, and open every day except Christmas and Boxing Day. No dogs.

One of the oldest amusement parks in Britain, opened in 1921 and spread over 281 acres. Walking into the parkland is free; the rides are a wristband or pay-per-ride. Car parking charges apply.

England’s first designated conservation area, with more than six hundred listed buildings in honey-coloured limestone. A big street market fills the centre on Fridays. You will recognise it from Pride and Prejudice, The Da Vinci Code and The Crown.

Independent shops and cafés round a stone market place, a general market every Thursday morning, and one of the country’s oldest public schools, founded in 1556.

The cathedral is the reason to go: Katharine of Aragon is buried there, and its painted wooden nave ceiling of around 1240 is one of only four left in Europe. Entry is by donation. Queensgate and Cathedral Square are a few minutes’ walk away.

A Rutland market town that has held a charter since 1281. Friday market, antiquarian bookshops, and good places to eat around the square.

Worth giving a whole day to. King’s College Chapel has the largest fan vault in the world, there is punting on the Cam, and the Fitzwilliam Museum is free.