Medbourne

Medbourne sits in a fold of gentle hills in the far south-east corner of Leicestershire, where the county slips almost unnoticed into Northamptonshire and Rutland. The village grew up around a crossing of Medbourne Brook, and its name is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon for "meadow stream" - an apt description for a place still defined by the water running through its heart. Roman finds unearthed nearby hint that people were settling this sheltered stretch of the Welland valley long before the Saxons arrived, and traces of a Roman settlement have been recorded just outside the village.

What strikes most visitors first is the building material: warm, honey-coloured ironstone and limestone, used for everything from the humblest cottage to the parish church, giving Medbourne a softer, more Cotswold-like glow than the brick villages more typical of Leicestershire. Add a scatter of stone bridges over the brook, a green fringed by trees, and a clutch of listed farmhouses and former coaching inns, and you have a village that looks every inch the archetypal English rural idyll, without the crowds that come with better-known beauty spots.

Top things to do in Medbourne

Medbourne rewards slow exploration rather than a checklist of sights, but there is genuinely interesting history and scenery packed into a small area.

• St Giles Church - An ancient cruciform church of stone in the Early English style, with roots going back to around 1000 AD. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1270 and rebuilt by 1320; the chancel was restored again in 1876. Its tower and worn stone doorways are worth a look even if you only pause on your way through the village.
• Medbourne Brook and the village bridges - The brook that gives the village its name runs alongside the main street and under several old stone bridges, with ducks, weeping willows and a scatter of benches making it a natural spot to stop for a picnic.
• Bringhurst - A tiny, almost impossibly pretty hamlet immediately next to Medbourne, with its own small church and a scattering of stone cottages. The two settlements are so close they are often spoken of in the same breath, and the short walk between them is one of the loveliest in the area.
• Hallaton Bottle Kicking and Hare Pie Scramble - Every Easter Monday, Medbourne takes part in one of England's oldest and strangest surviving customs, joining neighbouring Hallaton for a chaotic, centuries-old contest to carry small kegs of ale across the parish boundary. It is fiercely local, good-humoured, and unlike anything else in the county.
• Footpaths through the Welland valley - Medbourne is a popular starting point for walkers, with well-used footpaths following the brook and climbing into the surrounding farmland, linking the village to Hallaton, Blaston and the wider Leicestershire and Rutland border country.
• The village's listed buildings - Beyond the church, Medbourne has a notable concentration of listed farmhouses, cottages and former inns, many dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, making a wander around the lanes rewarding for anyone with an interest in vernacular architecture.

Getting to Medbourne

Medbourne lies around five miles north-east of Market Harborough and roughly fifteen miles south-east of Leicester, just off the A6003 between Market Harborough and Uppingham. Market Harborough itself is on the Midland Main Line, with regular trains to Leicester and London St Pancras, and is the easiest railway gateway to the village; from the station it is a short taxi ride or a pleasant cycle out into the countryside. By car, Medbourne is easily reached from the A47 and A6, with Leicester, Corby and Kettering all within about twenty-five minutes' drive, and East Midlands Airport around 45 minutes away. There is no direct bus service into the village itself, so a car (or a taxi from Market Harborough) is the most reliable way to arrive.

Best time to visit Medbourne

Spring and early summer bring the brookside willows into leaf and the surrounding fields into bloom, and Easter Monday is unmissable if you want to see the village at its most animated, thanks to the Hallaton bottle-kicking tradition. Summer is ideal for walking the footpaths through the Welland valley and lingering by the brook, while autumn dresses the surrounding farmland and hedgerows in colour and suits those who prefer a quieter visit. Winter has its own appeal for a short, brisk walk followed by a fire and a proper pub lunch, though some rural footpaths can turn muddy after heavy rain, so sturdy boots are worth packing whatever the season.

Where to stay in Medbourne

Medbourne itself is tiny, so options within the village are limited but characterful - the Nevill Arms offers rooms above its historic coaching inn, right in the centre of the village beside the brook. For a wider choice, Market Harborough, five miles away, has a good selection of hotels, guest houses and inns, while the surrounding villages of the Welland valley and the Leicestershire and Rutland countryside offer bed and breakfasts and self-catering cottages for those wanting a quieter rural base.

Food and drink in Medbourne

The village's culinary heart is the Nevill Arms, a historic coaching inn set beside the brook that has built a strong reputation well beyond the village, including a mention in the Daily Mail's list of Britain's best 100 pubs. It sources much of its meat from its own farm a few miles away, serves a good range of real ales in a traditional bar with open fires, and offers rooms for those who want to make a night of it. Beyond the Nevill Arms, Medbourne is a genuinely small village, so for a wider choice of restaurants, cafés and takeaways visitors typically head the short distance to Market Harborough.