Barton in the Beans

Barton in the Beans is barely a hamlet at all: a scatter of farms and cottages around a Baptist chapel and a post box, tucked into the rolling arable countryside of west Leicestershire near the Warwickshire border. There is no pub and no shop here today, but the name itself tells a story — this was once bean-growing country, and the parish records even referred to the settlement in Latin as 'Barton-in-Fabis', Leicestershire once being noted nationally for its broad bean harvests.

What the hamlet lacks in amenities it makes up for in setting. It shares its civil parish with the neighbouring village of Shackerstone, and the surrounding landscape is classic Midlands farmland — hedgerowed fields, gentle ridges and slow lanes — within a few miles of the market town of Market Bosworth and the site of the most famous battle in English history. In the 18th century Barton was, unusually for somewhere so small, an important centre for the Baptist Church in the county; its minister for many years was Samuel Deacon, a locally celebrated clockmaker whose longcase clocks are still sought after by collectors today. It is that kind of place: easy to pass through, worth knowing about.

Top things to do near Barton in the Beans

Barton in the Beans itself is a place to enjoy the quiet, but within a short drive there is a genuine cluster of things worth the detour, most of it built around the story of the Battle of Bosworth.

• Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre and Country Park — the multi-award-winning visitor centre telling the story of the 1485 battle that ended the Wars of the Roses, with eight interactive galleries, a free discovery zone for younger visitors, guided battlefield walks and a busy events calendar through the year.
• Battlefield Line Railway — a five-mile heritage steam and diesel railway running from the Grade II listed Shackerstone station, through Market Bosworth, to Shenton near the battlefield itself; Shackerstone's Victorian tea room and small railway museum make a good stop in their own right.
• Market Bosworth town — a handsome small market town with a sloping cobbled square, independent shops and cafes, and the 14th-century Church of St Peter set among trees on its northern edge.
• Market Bosworth Country Park — 86 acres of former deer parkland attached to Bosworth Hall, with a lake, arboretum, wildflower meadow, picnic areas and a Green Flag award for its upkeep.
• Twycross Zoo — a short drive away, this is one of the UK's best-known zoos and a specialist primate centre, popular with families from across the Midlands.
• Ashby Canal — a peaceful, lock-free stretch of waterway threading through this part of Leicestershire, well suited to gentle towpath walks and cycling.

Getting to Barton in the Beans

Barton in the Beans lies just off the A447 between Hinckley and Ashby-de-la-Zouch, within the Hinckley and Bosworth council area, close to where Leicestershire meets Warwickshire. It sits a couple of miles north-west of Market Bosworth and adjoins Shackerstone. There is no railway station in the hamlet itself — the nearest mainline stations are at Nuneaton and Hinckley, both around 20 minutes away by car — but the Battlefield Line heritage railway calls at Shackerstone on its seasonal running days. By road, the hamlet is roughly 15 minutes from the M42/A42 corridor and around 40 minutes from both Leicester and Birmingham, making it an easy rural detour rather than a destination you stumble upon by accident.

Best time to visit Barton in the Beans

Spring and summer show this part of Leicestershire at its best, with hedgerows in leaf and long evenings for walking the lanes around the hamlet and the Ashby Canal. The Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre and Country Park runs its fullest programme, including the annual re-enactment around the anniversary of the battle in August, between April and October, when opening hours are also longest. The Battlefield Line Railway operates every weekend and bank holiday from March to December, with popular Santa Specials in the run-up to Christmas. Autumn brings good colour to Market Bosworth Country Park's arboretum, while winter is quieter all round — fine for a crisp countryside walk, though several attractions reduce their hours outside the main season.

Where to stay near Barton in the Beans

With no accommodation in the hamlet itself, most visitors base themselves in or around Market Bosworth, where Bosworth Hall — the Dixie family's former ancestral home, now run as a hotel — offers a grand, historic base close to the town centre. Beyond the town, the wider area between Hinckley, Nuneaton and Ashby-de-la-Zouch has a spread of country inns, farmhouse B&Bs and small hotels, while the countryside around the Ashby Canal and Bosworth Water Park suits those looking for something quieter and more rural.

Food and drink near Barton in the Beans

Barton in the Beans has no pub or shop of its own, so it is Market Bosworth that provides the choice, with a handful of cafes, tea rooms and independent restaurants around its market square, alongside a traditional pub or two. Shackerstone station adds a Victorian-themed tea room for railway visitors, and the surrounding villages hold the usual scatter of country pubs that make good stops on a longer drive through this part of Leicestershire.