Rutland

Rutland is a small county and unitary district in the East Midlands, centred on the market towns of Oakham and Uppingham. Much of the district is farmland and villages clustered around lanes and stone churches. Rutland Water, a reservoir impounded on the River Gwash, occupies a large area in the south-west of the district; it includes a nature reserve, sailing clubs, cycle routes and a causeway leading to the partly submerged tower of Normanton church. The lake shapes local land use and provides wintering and breeding habitat for waders and ospreys.

Oakham has one of the best-preserved Norman great halls in England and the long-standing custom of hanging ceremonial horseshoes in the castle yard after visits by peers. Uppingham retains a market and an independent school established in the sixteenth century. Small museums, farm shops and garden sites such as Barnsdale lie within short drives, and a waymarked circular long-distance footpath, the Rutland Round, links villages and reservoirside paths. Local council services and community events are concentrated in the two towns.