Asfordby Hill

Asfordby Hill sits on rising ground east of the older village of Asfordby, close to the A6006 as it runs between Melton Mowbray and Leicester. Until the 1870s it was little more than open farmland on the brow of a hill; it only became a settlement at all after the Holwell Iron Works was established here in December 1875 by the civil engineer Richard Dalgliesh, drawing workers and cottages up onto the ridge. The old ironstone workings have long since closed, but the pattern of terraced housing they left behind, along with a village primary school built in 1909, still gives Asfordby Hill its distinct, slightly separate identity within the wider Asfordby parish.

The surrounding landscape is classic east Leicestershire wolds: broad arable fields, hedgerow-lined lanes and gentle valleys cut by the River Wreake, which flows below the hill on its way from Melton Mowbray down towards Frisby on the Wreake, Brooksby and eventually the River Soar at Syston. This is quiet, unhurried countryside rather than a tourist honeypot, and much of its appeal lies in that: good walking and cycling routes along old drovers' lanes and the Wreake valley, wide skies, and easy access into Melton Mowbray, England's self-styled "Rural Capital of Food", just a few minutes away by car.

Top things to do near Asfordby Hill

Asfordby Hill itself is a small residential settlement with limited visitor attractions, but it makes a convenient, peaceful base for exploring the food heritage and countryside of the Melton Mowbray area, a short drive to the east.

• Dickinson & Morris, Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe — the oldest surviving bakers of the traditional Melton Mowbray pork pie, on Nottingham Street in Melton Mowbray, with tastings and a museum area explaining how the hand-raised pie is made.
• Melton Carnegie Museum — a small local history museum in a former Carnegie library building, tracing Melton's story from Roman times through to the Victorian era, including displays on the origins of Stilton cheese and the pork pie trade.
• St Mary's Church, Melton Mowbray — a large 13th-century Gothic parish church at the heart of the town, one of the finest in Leicestershire and well worth a look even for a brief visit.
• Melton Country Park — a set of three linked lakes and woodland walking trails built in 1989–90 as part of Melton's flood defences, with paths suitable for walking, cycling and birdwatching.
• The Melton Cheeseboard — a long-established specialist cheesemonger on Windsor Street stocking around 150 regional cheeses, with Stilton, made only within a defined area of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, as its speciality.
• River Wreake and the old Melton Mowbray Navigation — the towpath and river banks around Asfordby, Kirby Bellars and Frisby on the Wreake follow the route of a canal that operated from 1797 to 1877; the old cuts and lock sites are still visible for anyone interested in a gentle riverside walk.
• Great Central Railway — Britain's only double-track main line heritage railway runs steam and diesel services between Loughborough, Quorn and Leicester, a scenic drive of around 30–40 minutes from Asfordby Hill.

Getting to Asfordby Hill

Asfordby Hill lies just off the A6006, roughly midway between Melton Mowbray (about 3 miles east) and Leicester (around 15 miles south-west), with easy onward links to the A46 and A6 for Nottingham, Grantham and the wider East Midlands. The nearest mainline railway stations are Melton Mowbray, on the line between Leicester and Peterborough via Oakham, and Leicester station, which has fast services to London St Pancras, Birmingham and the north. East Midlands Airport is around 25 miles to the north-west, roughly a 40-minute drive. Once here, the village is best explored by car or bike, with quiet country lanes making for pleasant, unhurried driving between the surrounding villages.

Best time to visit Asfordby Hill

Spring and summer bring the Wreake valley and surrounding farmland to life, with good conditions for walking and cycling between May and September, and long evenings for exploring nearby villages. Late July is a particularly good time to combine a stay with a trip into Melton Mowbray for Melton Mowbray Food Festival events and the town's long-running Piefest, a celebration of pork pie making with tastings, workshops and competitions. Autumn brings crisp walking weather and the start of the game and cheese season that this part of Leicestershire is known for, while winter is quieter, favouring cosy stays and short countryside walks rather than long days out.

Where to stay near Asfordby Hill

As a small hilltop settlement, Asfordby Hill itself has no hotels or holiday parks of its own, but its position just off the A6006 makes it a handy, quiet base within a few minutes' drive of Melton Mowbray, where a wider choice of accommodation is available, from town centre inns to farm-based bed and breakfasts scattered through the surrounding villages of Asfordby, Kirby Bellars and Frisby on the Wreake. The gently rolling countryside either side of the River Wreake also supports a scattering of caravan and camping sites, several with coarse fishing on site, making the area popular with anglers as well as walkers and cyclists.

Food and drink near Asfordby Hill

This corner of Leicestershire takes its food seriously. Melton Mowbray is the historic home of the genuine Melton Mowbray pork pie, protected by EU/UK Protected Geographical Indication status, and Dickinson & Morris on Nottingham Street still bakes them using traditional methods. The town also sits within the small defined area permitted to produce true Stilton cheese, and shops such as the Melton Cheeseboard sell a wide range of local and regional cheeses alongside it. Beyond the specialist food shops, Melton Mowbray's market town centre has a good spread of independent cafes, traditional pubs and restaurants, while villages around Asfordby, including Asfordby itself, have their own local pubs serving classic countryside menus.