What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 29 February 2016

Welcome to another week of the Cloud ⁹ blog – Today we are delighted to announce our special guest blog by our friends at Brackenburys Britain.

The East Midlands - the place to be.

Think of English tourism and London, Stratford, Stonehenge (and perhaps the odd place in the North may be York or the Lake District?) will come to mind. But the East Midlands….where?

Think again. The East Midlands is probably one of the most under-rated tourist destinations in the country. 

Is walking and the open air your interest? If so, the Peak District gives some of the most varied and beautiful countryside in which to walk in England. It’s no surprise that the area became its first National Park in 1951. From the peat covered gritstone moorlands of Kinder Scout and Bleaklow in the north of the park to the limestone gorges of the trout-filled River Dove of the South, the Peak District is criss-crossed with thousands of miles of delightful paths.

What about history and heritage? Most people have heard of Lincoln Cathedral, one of Europe’s finest. Not so many will have heard of Southwell with its beautiful Norman Minster but, sitting in the midst of a small country town, it is a delightful place to visit. Historic houses abound.  Chatsworth, Kedleston and perhaps Hardwick will be known to many outside the region but what about Bolsover, and Belvoir Castles, Belton House or Haddon Hall? They are all fascinating places to visit and there is enough to keep the house-bagger busy for months, never mind a few days break.

Historical sites abound. King John died at Newark Castle in 1216. Lincoln Castle, 15 miles away, houses one of the few surviving copies of Magna Carta that he was forced to sign the year before. Richard the Third had a bad time in Leicestershire at the end of the War of the Roses and now rests in the city. The English Civil War started in Nottingham in 1642 and came to an end in the County four years later. Excellent new museums have been built to showcase these events in the last few years in Newark, Leicester and Lincoln and there is a massive project underway to redevelop Nottingham Castle.

If culture is more your “bag”, then there is plenty with which to engage. Leicester and Nottingham have excellent classical music scenes with Nottingham, in particular, “punching above its weight“ with its international concert series and regular visits from first rank opera, ballet and theatre companies. Those interested in art, whether contemporary classical, have a wide choice of venues no better illustrated by the “East Midlands Grand Tour” linking the collections of Nottingham Contemporary, Derby City Gallery, Chatsworth house and the Harley Gallery at Welbeck this summer.  

If all of this seems a little worthy, then the fact that Nottingham, Leicester, Lincoln, Loughborough and Derby all boast universities leads to a vibrant environment for students and the young. The nightlife of Nottingham is legendary attracting groups from across the country. The cities and towns offer excellent shopping facilities often with regional specialities. Sport is a huge “draw” with Nottingham possessing the iconic Trent Bridge cricket ground and Leicester a football team taking the Premier division by storm as well as one of the best rugby teams I the country.

 

So, why wait? Pay a visit.