Rutland was absorbed into Leicestershire in 1974, but reinstated as a county in 1997. It's a lovely place, with beautiful villages and two towns, Oakham and Uppingham. It was raining very heavily so we didn't make it out to explore properly (saved up for next time) and thus the slight lack of photos!
Our first stop was Wing Hall (for more info see here). It's actually a camping site as well (we didn't stay here) but also boasts a farm shop and a wonderful cafe, called the Veranda (see here). Sadly we arrived too late for the farm shop, which shuts at three on a Sunday, but we very much enjoyed afternoon tea at the Veranda.
It was very yummy and the cafe was gorgeously decorated, lots of bunting so right up my street!
After afternoon tea we headed to Rutland Water, which is one of the largest artificial lakes in Europe, and one of the biggest reservoirs in the UK.
We walked around to Normanton, a small village, most of which was flooded to make way for the reservoir back in the 1970s. Its parish church was also due to be destroyed, but following public outcry it was ultimately saved (see here). Surrounded by water now it is truly stunning, especially surrounded by storm clouds!!
It started raining heavily after that so we scarpered! We stayed in a small village campsite in Whissendine, but it really rained a lot so no photos. Hopefully next time Bonnie comes out to play the weather will be nicer!
Glad that you had a nice (if dampish) time. How amazing that the church was saved and is just there appearing to float in the middle of the water, it looks very peaceful and quite beautiful though. Afternoon tea looks scrummy too!! xx
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