Oakham

Oakham's hotel options range from characterful town-centre inns to smart country house accommodation in the surrounding villages, giving visitors a choice between staying right on the historic Market Place or basing themselves closer to Rutland Water. In town, expect period buildings, traditional pub-hotels and a handful of independent bed and breakfasts within walking distance of the castle, museum and railway station, ideal for anyone without a car who wants to explore on foot.

Just outside Oakham, the countryside towards Rutland Water offers a different style of stay, including well-regarded country house hotels set in their own grounds, some with views over the reservoir itself. These tend to suit visitors planning to spend their days cycling the Rutland Water trail, birdwatching at the nature reserve, or simply enjoying a quieter rural setting while staying within a short drive of Oakham's shops, pubs and market. Whichever you choose, Oakham's compact size means the town centre, station and castle are never far away, and Rutland Water is rarely more than a ten-minute drive from wherever you stay.

Oakham packs a surprising amount into a small town, and Rutland Water is only a few minutes away by car, so a short stay here can easily combine history, nature and the water.

• Oakham Castle — Not a castle in the turreted sense, but the surviving great hall of a late 12th-century fortified manor house, and one of the best-preserved Norman halls in England. Its real claim to fame is the horseshoe collection lining the walls: for over 500 years, peers of the realm visiting Oakham for the first time have been required to present a ceremonial horseshoe to the Lord of the Manor. The oldest dates from a visit by Edward IV in 1470, and members of the Royal Family have added to the collection in recent years. Admission is free, and the grounds include a sensory garden and lawn games.
• Rutland Water — One of the largest reservoirs in Europe by surface area, a few miles east of the town centre. A 17-mile cycle and walking trail circles the water, with bike hire available at Whitwell and Normanton, and there's sailing, windsurfing and fishing for those who want to get out on it.
• Rutland Water Nature Reserve — Run by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust at the western end of the reservoir, this is one of the best birdwatching sites in the Midlands and the place ospreys returned to breed in England after Rutland's reintroduction project. Hides and waymarked trails make it easy to explore.
• Rutland County Museum — Housed in a former Georgian cavalry riding school on Catmose Street, the museum tells the story of Rutland's farming, rural life and archaeology, from Roman finds to agricultural machinery.
• Oakham Market Place — The town's outdoor market has run since a charter was granted in the 13th century, and still trades on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with stalls set out around the medieval Buttercross and its stocks.
• Normanton Church — A striking domed church that appears to rise straight out of Rutland Water, having been partly flooded when the reservoir was created in the 1970s. Now home to a small museum on the story of the reservoir, it's one of the most photographed spots in the county.
• Barnsdale Gardens — Created by the late gardening broadcaster Geoff Hamilton as a series of themed demonstration gardens, this is a short drive from Oakham on the north shore of Rutland Water and popular with keen gardeners.

The Market Place and surrounding streets hold a good spread of pubs, cafes and restaurants for a town of Oakham's size. The Grainstore Brewery on Station Road brews its own ales on site and serves them in its taproom, a favourite with real ale fans. The Lord Nelson, tucked just off the Market Place, and The Hornblower both offer solid pub food in central, historic settings. The Angler, on Northgate, combines wood-fired pizzas and hand-rolled pasta with British classics using produce from Rutland suppliers. For something more special, Hambleton Hall's dining room, overlooking Rutland Water just outside town, has long held a Michelin star. Oakham's weekly market and the shops around the Buttercross are worth a browse for local produce, including cheeses and baked goods from Rutland farms.

Rutland's gentle farmland and the wide open water of Rutland Water make the area around Oakham a rewarding base for campers, though as everywhere in England, wild camping without the landowner's permission is illegal, so it's worth sticking to licensed sites. There are several campsites within easy reach of the town, ranging from simple touring and tent pitches on working farms to larger holiday parks geared towards families, and a number offer direct or near-direct access to the Rutland Water cycle and walking trail, making it easy to spend a day exploring by bike straight from your pitch.

The terrain here is gentle rather than dramatic: rolling arable countryside, hedgerows and small woodlands, with the reservoir itself providing the main scenic draw and a focus for watersports, birdwatching and long lakeside walks. Sites closer to the water tend to book up fastest in summer, particularly around the sailing and fishing seasons, while those further into the countryside offer a quieter, more traditional camping experience among Rutland's villages and farmland.

Late spring to early autumn is the best window for camping around Oakham, when the trails are driest, the nature reserve is busiest with breeding birds including its famous ospreys, and Rutland Water's watersports centres are fully open. Glamping has also taken hold in the area, with a growing number of Rutland farms offering shepherd's huts, bell tents and safari-style lodges for those who want the setting without pitching a tent themselves, often with the same easy access to the reservoir and the surrounding villages that make this such a pleasant corner of the East Midlands to explore slowly, on foot or by bike.