The rolling landscape of the East Midland were England’s traditional ‘hunting’ counties as they are within easy reach of the cities of Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham. Not only that, but many of the key battles of the English Civil War were fought here, giving it a fascinating historic atmosphere.
Art and culture
For visitors, the great art collections at Chatsworth, Burghley and Althorp are top choices, but look further for other exceptional days out at Rockingham Castle, one of Britain’s best preserved inhabited castles or the gardens of Renishaw Hall, home of the eccentric Sitwell family, or Haddon Hall, one of Britain’s finest medieval houses.
There are other treasures here, including Lincoln Castle which displays one of only three original copies of Magna Carta, Deene Park, former home to the Earl of Cardigan, commander of the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade (and the accidental inventor of the cardigan) and at Grimsthorpe Castle are a series of royal thrones from George IV to Edward VII.