THINGS TO DO
There are countless visitor attractions in the area; far too many to mention here. We provide can provide leaflets covering museums, theme parks, gardens, arts and crafts, railways, music and the arts, food and drink and shopping to name but a few. If there is something special you want to do during your visit, do let us know beforehand. We will be only too willing to help with information or put you in touch with other organisations.
Here you will be spoilt for choice! Many of our local pubs are featured in the Good Pub Guide and we have a number of excellent restaurants close to Breedon.
The Three Horseshoes pub in Breedon is literally opposite our front gates and many of our guests eat there several times during their stay, commenting on the quality of the food and also because it has a chocolate factory, BitterSweet, making delicious and award-winning chocolates on site (you can also learn how to make them too!). Also in the villlage is the charming and down-to-earth Hollybush Inn, popular with the locals, famed for their Monday Pie Nights and regular entertainments.
Slightly further afield, we have the rejuvenated Bulls' Head in Wilson, just over 0.5 miles away in the next-door village and alittle further than that, The Queens' Head, back under original management (& much improved as a consequence), in Belton, about 3.5 miles away.
We provide a full list of recommended pubs and restaurants in the cottage information pack.
All sorts of delicious local products can be sourced locally. For starters why not try our friends' Ben & Tori's great farmers shop in nearby Melbourne?
Breedon is just 3 miles away from Melbourne which boasts a fantastic array of small eateries and restaurants: The Bay Tree, Amalfi White, & Harpurs to name just three.
CALKE ABBEY
A private home until 1985, then the Harpur Crewe's turned the mansion over to the NT, revealing a time capsule house that was astonishing in that parts of it had simply been locked up and left as the family generations passed on. Items from the early 18th century still lay in their packing cases, newspapers from the 1800's, and lots and lots of stuffed animals ...
The NT have not simply restored the house, they preserved what they found: the delipidations, the mess, the authenticity, the very DNA of the place. It is unique in the NT portfolio and therefore ought to be on everyone's 'must-see' list.
STAUNTON HAROLD CHURCH & FERRERS CENTRE
Staunton Harold Church is important because it was one of only two churches built during Oliver Cromwell's baleful interregnum. A brave thing indeed for Sir Robert Shirley building this chapel, it was his way of standing up for ‘all thinges sacred’ as he saw it: the High Anglican Church and the God-given right of the monarch to rule.
The Ferrers Centre is a redevelopment of the old stable block, now reinvigorated by arts & crafts, deli foods, plate-painting and a well-established cafe. Well worth a visIt.
DONINGTON PARK RACE CIRCUIT
After a disastrous few years recently, this famous curcuit is back in safe hands and, with a newly redeveloped track, pits and viewing points, it is regaining its position as one of the best motor racing tracks in England. There are new meetings, races and other events being organised every year, and you can bet there is something going on - just look up their website for the full SP.
Also, do not overlook the F1 museum, with over 300 cars on display. A neat counterpoint to the nascent F4 (electric) industry that is just beginning to make an impact and already has many team HQ's based here at Donington.
THE NATIONAL FOREST
We are right in the National Forest and it has a plethora of things to do, see and get involved in. Best thing is to go see here:
