England’s ‘middle’ – which includes counties such as Rutland, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire – plays second fiddle to the likes of The Cotswolds, Norfolk or the Lake District when it comes to cosy winter weekend getaways, but it really shouldn’t.
If you’re in the market for far-as-the-eye-can-see patchwork fields, handsome market towns and centuries-old inns serving hearty Sunday roasts then discount such counties at your peril – they’re destination dupes minus the crowds you’ll find year-round in Chipping Norton or North Norfolk’s Barnham Market.
Even better, your hard-earned cash will stretch a little further in this scenic portion of the country.
On a recent frosty weekend, our multi-generational gang made for Home Farm, a five-bed self-catering idyll hidden deep in rural Leicestershire.
Close to the tiny village of Theddingworth, five miles south of the town of Market Harborough, it sits on 120 acres of rural land that also happens to house – flex – the British Showjumping National Training Centre.
A morning coffee from the property’s roomy kitchen then – complete with a toasty Aga and separate pantry – might come with a view of a decorated Olympian leaping fences on their top-class steeds.
Market Harborough might not have the Beckhams or the Camerons wandering its independent stores and cafes but this ancient town did gift the world the first package holiday company.
Rolling pastures, medieval market towns and great food? Swap out The Cotswolds for unsung Leicestershire and you won’t be disappointed
Pretty Market Harborough – affectionately known as ‘Harbs’ – has independent shops galore
Thomas Cook, working in the town in the 1840s, devised an organised day trip from Loughborough to Leicester and the brand that lives on today was born.
It can also nab a significant moment in British history; it was where Oliver Cromwell resided before The Battle of Naseby in 1645.
Today, ‘Harbs’, as its affectionately known to locals, has everything weekenders need to stock the pantry of a rural country home, from posh bakeries selling sourdough to artisan butchers and farm shops.
We get everything we need for a cracking Sunday lunch from Farndon Fields, recommended by Home Farm’s owners, including locally reared Leicestershire beef and potatoes and greens picked that weekend from the farm the shop is housed on.
No place like Home Farm: Jo’s multi-gen brood stayed at Home Farm, a property sleeping 10-34 in a rural spot close to the village of Theddingworth near Market Harborough
Right next door to Home Farm is the British Showjumping National Training Centre, ensuring there’s some four-legged beauties close by. Right: A winter sunset captured from the self-catering property
Swim when you’re winning: Home Farm, which costs from around £110pppn boasts a heated swimming pool
Back at the ranch – almost literally – we meet a couple of Home Farm’s resident horses.
An early evening stroll around the grounds, just as a pink orange sunset descends, introduces us to two four-legged beauties, one the colour of chocolate, the other a hue of charcoal black, who happily chomp on the apples we’ve brought them.
After, the youngest in our group make straight for the indoor swimming pool, while the grandparents head for the wood-panelled snug with a whisky and a book.
We convene for dinner around a sizeable table in the Orangery and wonder how such weekend grandeur has cost just £110pppn, based on ten of us sharing.
The next morning, breakfast is made all the more entertaining by a fleet of hot air ballooners and paragliders filling the skies above us. We’re in the middle of nowhere but entertainment is everywhere.
There’s a clutch of good pubs if you don’t fancy cooking up a storm; with gastropub The Oat Hill in Market Harborough and The Red Lion closer to the property in Sibbertoft.
Make for Leicester and there’s opportunities for some thrilling history – including the tomb of King Richard III, the Last Plantagenet King, whose remains were found in a city car park in 2012
The National Space Centre – just two miles north of Leicester – is home to the UK’s largest planetarium
Further afield – 40 minutes by car or a quick 13 minute hop on the train – Leicester has become a bonafide tourist city thanks to the King Richard III Visitor Centre, which documents the remarkable story of how the Last Plantagenet King’s remains were dug up in a car park in 2012 – more than 500 years after his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Indeed, Leicestershire’s made for history buffs, says Jackie Ledger, Place Marketing Manager at Visit Leicester.
She tells me: ‘In the city of Leicester, you can explore over 2,000 years of history through Roman architecture and artifacts, visit a medieval Guildhall and a cathedral dating back 900 years – which became the final resting place of Richard III.
‘Bradgate Park offers spectacular views where you can touch rocks dating back half a billion years, there’s castles to discover, a heritage railway taking you back to the age of steam and a beautifully preserved house and garden dating back to 1620s that was home to one of the gunpowder plotters.’
Oh, and there’s the futuristic too. The National Space Centre – just two miles north of Leicester – is a perfect pitstop for a multi-gen brood.
Home to the UK’s largest planetarium as well as interactive exhibits galore, including the Tetrastar Spaceport, which takes explorers on a virtual tour of the stars on a Tharsis spacecraft, it attracts more than 300,000 visitors every year.
You don’t get that in The Cotswolds…
