Small but mighty
Janette Sykes finds that England’s smallest county – Rutland – punches well above its weight, with wonderful birds, gorgeous gardens and mouthwatering treats
“HAVE A LOOK at this,” the bird expert said, beckoning me with commendable understatement. “Not many people ever see it live, so you’re extremely lucky.”
So I was – borrowing his high-powered binoculars, I could see a splendid adult male osprey sitting on a tree branch, with a huge trout thrashing about in his talons.
“He’s waiting for it to die,” continued the expert, while I watched nature take its course. It was such a mesmerising sight that I found it hard to step back and let someone else view a scene that could have been vintage David Attenborough footage.
But that wasn’t the only thing I learned about ospreys during our visit to Rutland Water Nature Reserve, just a 10-minute stroll from our campsite, The Paddock.
The magnificent species was introduced there from 1996 onwards, with chicks from Scotland, and since 2001, more than 200 young ospreys have fledged. Adults tend to pair for life, and one avian couple has successfully raised 20 chicks together since 2013. I was saddened to discover that this year, they had hatched four chicks, but only three had fledged, as one had been killed in the nest by a dying pike, deposited as food by the overenthusiastic male.
Migrating south
The chicks had hatched in spring, and we visited in August, but there was no sign of them. The bird expert explained that they had probably already migrated more than 3000 miles to West Africa, and the adults would follow in the autumn.
“Why do the chicks leave first?” I asked. The bird expert smiled and said that when the chicks can fly, the parents stop feeding them, to encourage them to find their own food – another case of nature in the raw.
The Nature Reserve is a great place to spend a morning, taking a leisurely stroll and spotting birds ranging from bitterns and buzzards to sandpipers and shelducks.
A bonus was that dogs were welcome on leads, so our lively Dalmatian, Zara, could join in the fun, albeit from a safe distance – she is a bird-lover in the canine, rather than the human, sense!
Created in the mid-1970s, Rutland Water is the ideal location for a huge variety of leisure pursuits, including walking, cycling, fishing, sailing, watersports and wildlife watching. It lies in the county of Rutland, which, at 16 miles long and 16 miles wide, is England’s smallest.
Tiny it may be, but as its Latin motto, Multum in parvo (‘a great deal in a small space’), suggests, it packs a lot into a modest area. It also has the advantage of being centrally placed in the East Midlands,
within easy striking distance of towns and cities in the surrounding counties, including my own, Derbyshire.
The first thing that struck us when we arrived at The Paddock was its simplicity and wealth of open space, plus its views over Rutland Water and the picturesque Hambleton Peninsula, which reaches out into the lake like an outstretched arm.
Two legs, two wheels
The site, close to the village of Lyndon, is ideally placed for caravanners who want to keep driving to a minimum and concentrate on simply enjoying the countryside on two legs or two wheels. The obvious place to start is the lake itself, where you’ll find a flattish, easily accessible 22-mile (35km) perimeter track that you can tackle in sections – or, if you are feeling particularly energetic, all in one go.
Our favoured section, just minutes from The Paddock, was the one from Lyndon, heading east and ending at Normanton, with its exquisitely situated church and welcoming Waterside Café, where you can enjoy a light lunch and other refreshments, seated inside or outdoors.
When it comes into view, the splendid 18th-century church is an unusual sight, because it seems to float on the water. Closer inspection reveals it is partially submerged, thanks to local people who campaigned against its demolition when the lake was created half a century ago.
The lower level of the deconsecrated church was filled with rubble and concrete, and a floor, causeway and embankment were installed, creating a truly stunning, repurposed building that is now a popular location for weddings.
Normanton has a landing stage, where you can board the charming Rutland Belle for a cruise to other parts of Rutland Water. We opted for the afternoon group sailing, but you can choose morning and evening options, or enjoy afternoon tea or cocktails. Another walking route accessible on foot from The Paddock is the stretch west from Lyndon to Egleton, which takes you away from the waterside and around Manton Bay before rejoining the lake, passing several lagoons in the nature reserve and ending at the Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre, where there’s a shop, refreshments and toilets.
The seven-mile (11km) walk around Hambleton Peninsula is lovely, and on a clear day, you’ll find beautiful views here. It also offers a great excuse to pause for a reviving lunch or relaxing dinner at the 17th-century Finch’s Arms in Hambleton, where you can dine inside or on the terrace.
Honey-coloured buildings
If you also enjoy exploring by car, Rutland encompasses a host of historic towns and villages that you can tour at your leisure, from the honey-coloured buildings, antique shops and regular market at Uppingham to the traditional Buttercross, stocks and Rutland County Museum at Oakham, from where you can join the Heritage Trail.
As a horse lover, I was particularly keen to visit Oakham Castle. Free to enter, this is the great hall of a fortified manorhouse built in the late 12th century, said to be the best-preserved Norman aisled hall in northern Europe.
It is also home to some 200 horseshoes, upholding a charming tradition that visiting royalty and peers should forfeit a horseshoe to the lord of the manor (the de Ferrers family). The oldest one was presented by Edward IV, brother of Richard III, in 1470, while one of the more recent ones was given by the then Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Camilla, in 2014. An intriguing example of English eccentricity!
Stamford stone
Another town well worth exploring is Stamford, 11 miles away in Lincolnshire. Justifiably described as “the finest stone town in England” by Sir Walter Scott, its mellow limestone buildings have a beautiful lambent glow in sunlight and have provided a backdrop for TV series such as Middlemarch and films including Pride and Prejudice.
Stamford is also home to no fewer than five superb medieval churches, including St Martin’s on the High Street, which houses the tombs of the Cecil family, from nearby Burghley House.
You can follow the Town Trail, which takes about two hours and is available from the tourist information point in the Arts Centre on St George’s Street.
Stamford is an excellent place to indulge in some leisurely shopping, with lots of thriving specialist shops – including a music shop, where my pianist husband spent a very pleasant half-hour, while I crossed the River Welland to admire
The George of Stamford, a splendid and venerable hotel that has played host to visitors and diners over many centuries.
‘The seven-mile walk around Hambleton Peninsula is lovely, and on a clear day, you’ll find beautiful views here’
The town is also a good place to break for lunch. As the weather was warm and sunny, we sat outside the Central Café and Tea Rooms in Red Lion Square, enjoying sandwiches and salad while watching the world go by. Said to be the oldest tea rooms in Stamford, the timber-framed building is reputed to be part of a 15th-century wool storehouse, and was first opened to visitors back in the 18th century.
Post-prandial ramble
We then popped into Nelsons Butchers just opposite, to buy one of their award-winning pork pies – a mouthwatering investment!
And if, like us, you have a dog eager to stretch their legs, head for The Meadows, on the banks of the Welland, a short walk down the hill. This is a lovely place for a relaxing post-prandial ramble in an idyllic rural setting, yet only a stone’s throw from the bustle of the town centre.
The final day of our tour was something of a pilgrimage for me, a keen gardener, and took me back more than 40 years to our early married life, when we bought our first house and had little cash to lavish on our postage-stamp-sized plot.
The flagship BBC show Gardeners’ World and its down-to-earth presenter, Geoff Hamilton, provided lots of cheap-as-chips inspiration at the time, so I was delighted to be heading to Barnsdale Gardens, just north of Rutland Water.
Originally established by Geoff and showcasing some of his pioneering work, such as advocating peat-free compost and making reconstituted rockery stone to protect limestone pavements, the garden first opened to the public in 1997.
Now managed by his son Nick, it hosts 38 individual gardens, ranging from the precise lines of the Formal Pool and Knot Garden to the informal Mediterranean garden, and is a feast for plant lovers.
We ended our holiday on a high note, dining at The Fox in North Luffenham, where we enjoyed homemade beef and ale pie and fish pie with seasonal vegetables, accompanied by real ale – delicious!