Tickets £95pp

include a donation to Rutland Water Nature Reserve, the cruise, supper and wine

Osprey is a much easier tick these days than back when you had to travel up to Loch Garten to see them, but why not see them, and Rutland Water’s myriad wildfowl and wader delights, in some comfort?

Hambleton Hall in Rutland is one of the UK’S greatest examples of elegant country house style. Affiliated to Relais & Chateaux since 1980 and recognised by Michelin since 1982 it is a stalwart of the country hotel scene. It famously overlooks beautiful Rutland Water where Ospreys were reintroduced in the 1990s and now boast a population of 117 since the first breeding took place in 2011. Of the eight Osprey nests in the Rutland area, one is currently in use in the Rutland Water reserve. On Thursday 20 June, Hambleton Hall will host a sociable evening cruise for those who wish to spot the elusive Osprey. While you enjoy a Hambleton Hall-cooked meal of seabream, pea and mint risotto, Iberico ham with artichokes and peppers paired with 2017 Domaine Montrose Rosé and 2017 Brouilly Alain Coudert, a member of the Rutland Nature Reserve Osprey team will point out the diverse bird life and identify any Osprey from the deck of the Rutland Belle. It leaves the pier at Whitwell at 7pm and returns at 10pm. Ospreys and other birdlife also make an appearance in the hotel’s new private dining room. Hambleton Hall’s co-owner and interior designer Stefa Hart refreshed the room in February this year, covering the walls in a luxurious linen print from Adam Sykes at Claremont and commissioning the brilliant local illustrator Ben Perkins to capture the birdlife in 18 new watercolours for the room.