England Guide
The East Midlands
Many tourists bypass the four major counties of the East Midlands – Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire – on their way to more obvious destinations, an understandable mistake given that the region is short on star attractions. Nevertheless, embedded in the modernity are a few historical landmarks, notably the castle in the county town of Nottingham and, just over the border in Derbyshire, Hardwick Hall, an especially beautiful Elizabethan country home built by the redoubtable Bess of Hardwick.
Lincolnshire is very different in character from the rest of the region, an agricultural backwater that remains surprisingly remote. This was not always the case: throughout medieval times the county flourished as a centre of the wool trade with Flanders, its merchants and landowners becoming some of the wealthiest in England. Reminders of the high times are legion, beginning with the majestic cathedral that graces Lincoln, in part at least a dignified old city which, with its cobbled lanes and ancient buildings, well deserves an overnight stay. Equally enticing is the splendidly intact stone town of Stamford, but the county's urban attractions pretty much end there. Out in the sticks, the most distinctive feature is TheFens, whose pancake-flat fields, filling out much of the south of the county and extending deep into East Anglia, have been regained from the marshes and the sea.
Highlights
1 Rufford Abbey Country Park Well off the usual tourist track, Rufford offers a ceramic gallery, a bird sanctuary, a mill and a sculpture garden with lots of relaxed strolling in between.
2 Hardwick Hall A beautifully preserved Elizabethan mansion that was once the home of the illustrious Bess of Hardwick.
3 Lincoln Cathedral One of the finest medieval cathedrals in the land, seen to fine advantage on a rooftop guided tour.
4 Stamford Lincolnshire's prettiest town, with narrow streets framed by old limestone houses.