Catthorpe

Catthorpe is not a hotel destination in its own right — this tiny Leicestershire village has no hotels of its own — but its position right beside the Catthorpe Interchange, where the M1, M6 and A14 converge, makes it an unusually convenient base for travellers who want easy motorway access without staying in a large town. The surrounding area, straddling Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, is served by a good range of accommodation nearby. Rugby, around four miles away, offers a selection of budget and mid-range chain hotels close to its town centre and railway station, useful for business travellers and those breaking a longer journey on the M1 or M6. Lutterworth, a similar distance to the north, has smaller independent hotels and inns with a more traditional market-town feel.

For a more characterful stay, the villages dotted around Catthorpe and along the Avon valley include country pubs with rooms and farmhouse bed and breakfasts, offering a quieter alternative to the chain hotels clustered near the motorway junctions. These tend to suit visitors keen to explore Rugby School and its rugby football heritage, Draycote Water, or the market towns of Lutterworth and Rugby at a gentler pace than a motorway stopover implies. Given how few visitors expect a country stay this close to a major interchange, it is worth booking ahead in the smaller villages, where room numbers are limited.

Whichever type of accommodation you choose, Catthorpe's location means everywhere in this guide — Rugby, Lutterworth, Stanford Reservoir, Draycote Water and Swift Valley Nature Reserve — is within a short and easy drive, making it a practical hub for a short break exploring this quiet corner of the Midlands.

Catthorpe itself is a place to pass through rather than linger for attractions, but it is well placed for days out in Rugby, Lutterworth and the surrounding Leicestershire and Warwickshire countryside.

• Manor Farm Shop and Tearoom — A family-run working farm shop just off the A5 between Rugby and Lutterworth, close to the Catthorpe Interchange, selling home-grown and local produce with a tearoom for lunches and cakes.
• Stanford Reservoir — A working reservoir near Lutterworth that straddles the Leicestershire/Northamptonshire border, offering quiet walking and birdwatching around the water, though it remains primarily a water-supply site rather than a leisure facility.
• Swift Valley Nature Reserve — On the northern edge of Rugby, this 24-hectare reserve along the River Swift combines wet woodland, marsh and a disused arm of the Oxford Canal, with waymarked trails good for a gentle walk or birdwatching.
• Draycote Water — A large 630-acre reservoir south of Rugby with a watersports centre, trout fishery, bird hides and a popular circular walking and cycling route around the shoreline.
• Stanford Hall — A historic country house near Lutterworth, primarily an events venue but occasionally open to visitors, with an ornate ballroom ceiling and parkland running down to the River Avon.
• Rugby town centre — Home to Rugby School, where the game of rugby football was invented, and the Webb Ellis Rugby Football Museum, along with a compact market-town centre of independent shops and cafes.
• Lutterworth — A small market town with a historic core, including St Mary's Church associated with the reformer John Wycliffe, plus everyday shops and eateries for a stop on the way through.

The Manor Farm Shop and Tearoom, just outside the village on the A5, is the standout local option, serving light lunches, cakes and home-grown produce in a relaxed farm setting. Beyond that, Catthorpe itself is very small and largely residential, so most food and drink options are a short drive away in Rugby and Lutterworth, both of which offer a reasonable choice of pubs, cafes and restaurants for a market town of their size.

There are no campsites in Catthorpe itself, but the wider area around this small Leicestershire village, close to the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire borders, has working farms offering touring pitches and camping within a few miles. As in the rest of England, wild camping without the landowner's permission is illegal here, so stick to recognised sites on farmland around Rugby and Lutterworth, where farmers have opened up fields for tourers, tents and sometimes glamping pods. The gently rolling farmland and river valleys of this part of Leicestershire make for easy, unhurried walking and cycling between pitches rather than dramatic terrain, with the River Avon and nearby Stanford Reservoir offering some scenic spots for a riverside or waterside stroll.

The area's appeal for campers is really its convenience: sites here sit within easy reach of the M1, M6 and A14 at the Catthorpe Interchange, making it a sensible stopover for those touring the Midlands, while still being quiet, green countryside once you turn off the main roads. Nearby Swift Valley Nature Reserve and Draycote Water both offer walking trails, birdwatching and, at Draycote, watersports, giving campers plenty to do within a short drive without needing to move the car far each day.

Late spring through to early autumn is the best window for camping around Catthorpe, when the farmland is driest underfoot and the long evenings suit sitting out after a day exploring Rugby or Lutterworth. Given how few sites there are in the immediate area, those wanting a farm campsite or glamping pod close to the village should book ahead, particularly for weekends in the school summer holidays. For a step up in comfort, some farms in the area offer glamping options such as shepherd's huts or pods, giving a warmer alternative to a tent while keeping the same rural, working-farm setting.