Good_Will

This area does not seem to have had very much coverage over the years.

My Wife's Family genealogy tracks back to Harby and Stathern near to Melton Mowbray, so we thought we should venture there during a European itinerary next year.

After a bit of research it seems that the pies and cheese are good+ and the scenery looks interesting too. We will probably arrive by train and pick up a car for three days traveling as far and wide as we need to.

Does anyone have any advice on this region. Accomodation, restaurant, cheese factories, anything at all really ?

Would greatly appreciate your views and assistance.

Thank you.

flanneruk

Asa far as Melton itself is concerned, prepare yourself for a bit of a disappointment.

The only connection Melton has with cheese is that two local cheese factories, Long Clawson Dairies and Tuxford & Tebbitt, make some very good stilton. Whatever their ads say, making stilton is a highly industrialised process, heavily fenced in by acres of EU and UK food safety legislation. I don't think either of them do factory tours: all you see if you're a commercial buyer inspecting their factory is a lot of bright and shiny machinery tended by people dressed as if they were making silicon chips. You might browse www.stiltoncheese.com to see if they've touristed the operation at all since I was last there.

The Melton Mowbray pie is simply one recipe for raised pork pies - and most pies following that recipe are made miles (or hundreds of miles) away, and that's how things have been for the past century. There's been a recent attempt, based on highly dubious evidence, by a few local piemakers to create a belief that the "true" pie once wws, and now has to be, made in or near Melton (www.porkpie.co.uk), and the controversy rumbles on. But last time I was in Melton, evidence for any serious piemaking was as thin on the ground as evidence of a burger-making tradition in Hamburg.

The great local gem is Stamford: the great local tradition is foxhunting, (look up the Quorn and Pythchley hunts). Stapleford Park, a rather grand house nearby, was the subject of an attempt by a fast-food minimagnate to create a sumptuous hotel and restaurant in the early 1990s and briefly tried to create a name for itself for posh eating: I honestly don't know what it's like these days.

However, it's not too much of a shlep to get further afield in England. One minor delight of any such trip is that many trips require you to drive round Leicester - for much of the time following the signs for the National Space Centre. Its logo - prominent on the signs - looks like a 1950 vision of space travel. However, those signs really are about the most interesting thing about Leicester from a tourist's point of view.

All of which said, the Leicestershire countryside round Melton is often delightful. No highlights: just lots of nice, modestly rolling, coutryside. If thge Quorn's not galloping around, I've always assumed, driving across it, that the walking must be quite nice.

Good_Will

Great response flanneruk. It seems that a local lad there around 1810 became bored with Melton Mowbray life. He alledgedly stole a watch and was sentenced to death. Lucky chap had his sentence commuted to life by transport to Sydney Australia, whereupon he became G-G-G-G-Grandfather to my Wife.

These are valid reasons why the highlights of our visit may be to cemetries rather than cheese factories. Its hard to find a bacteria derived bubble even in Swiss manufactured cheese nowadays given health restrictions.

Sounds like we need to show our respects to the District and then to drive a little further to places like Coventry where we can visit the old Jaguar Museum and to Sherwood Forest at Nottingham. I greatly appreciate your comments and would welcome any other ideas of places to visit, lodgings, food et alia in the broader district.

hetismij

I found Melton to be quite a nice market town, nothing special but pleasant enough. Pies are still made by Dickinson and Morris in the high street and are delicious. There is (or was) an small museum in the town which was quite interesting.
Belvoir Castle is close by, and Rutland Water and it's associated villages is also close and well worth a visit.
The countryside is lovely, not spectacular just so very English somehow.

If you like train then try the Great Central Railway steam train from Loughborough.

Or head across to the Peak District after Melton - you are not that far from it.

Good_Will

Thank you for recommending the Peak District and Great Central Railway hetismij. I will search for more information on the Peak District in particular.

janisj

Lota and LOTS to see/do in the area. Just a few:

Stamford - neat town w/ a really good open air Shakespeare theatre. http://www.stamfordshakespeare.co.uk/

Rutland Water - a <u>huge</u> reservoir w/ all sorts of water sports, fishing, walking etc. http://www.rutnet.co.uk/pp/gold/viewgold.asp?id=3491

Belvoir Castle - Castle and gardens open to the public http://www.belvoircastle.com/index.asp

Burghley House - Really amazing Elizabethan stately home http://www.burghley.co.uk/

Kirby Hall - really fascinating http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/s...show/nav.11887

Rockingham Castle - http://www.rockinghamcastle.com/

The Triangular Lodge - weird and wonderful http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/s...01013002004007

Good_Will

Thank you janisj. We will be travelling to Melton Mowbray from Cornwall, where we will visit my ancestors and the area of Doc Martin.

After Melton Mowbray/Stathern/Harby and the district, we will go through the Peak District to Holyhead and on to Dublin. The information provided in this thread has been very helpful in prompting the direction our itinerary is taking.

Now does anyone know the best place to stay and to eat around Melton Mowbray ??

Thanks again.

Apres_Londee

If by any chance you have an interest in German Expressionism (a bit esoteric I know but figured I'd throw this out anyways just in case) the New Walk Museum in Leicester has an excellent collection of German Expressionist paintings:

http://tinyurl.com/6a89p8

janisj

May I ask how long the trip is in total?

Cornwall to Leicestershire to the Peak District (and on another thread you mention the Lakes) to Wales to Ireland - I sure hope you are planning a month or more.

Good_Will

Thank you all for your responses.

This represents a small part of a very complex 6-7 week around the Globe jaunt celebrating 30 years of marriage.

When one lives in Australia and, given the tyranny of distance; it is very important to make good use of one's frequent flyer points to make the long journey around the Globe and to do as many things as possible.

Dear Janisj we were only planning on taking a direct train trip from Melton Mowbray over several hours through Chester and along the north coast of Wales or to drive through Wales to Holyhead over 2-3 days. Then to Dublin and therafter a flight to Prague.

This follows 3 days in Cornwall where my ancestors once arrived from Holland and 3 days in Melton Mowbray where my wife's Australian convict ancestor once lived.

We can always come back to Wales for a another visit one day if the scenery from the train is good. When I mentioned Lakes, I did not mean the Lakes District but rather the lakes in Wales.

As for Melton Mowbray, the convict ancestor Thomas King was born in Harby and christened in Stathern. Hence we are looking to find an interesting place to stay in that region and good restaurants etc.

We will definately visit most of the places that you have recommended. Thanks again.

hetismij

To see lakes in Wales you will need a car or take a bus. The train runs along the coast and the lakes are in the mountains.
The best ones are of course a hike away, but Llyn Ogwen, Llyn Padarn and Llyn Peris for instance are all accessible by bus, though a car gives you more freedom to explore the area.

Are you visiting Holland too?

Have a wonderful trip!

Good_Will

Not Holland this time, but I do have some genealogy to trace back through to Utrecht. My ancestors came to Cornwall around the time that William of Orange became King of England. I look forward to visiting some of my 20th-30th cousins there in Camborne and Listhwithiel and also look forward to visiting Doc Martin in Port Isaac ):

MissPrism

If you visit the Peak District, you will be able to buy a Bakewell pudding to go with your Melton Mowbray pie.

Good_Will

MissPrism, I am concerned about the Bakewell Pudding Shop at :
http://www.bakewellpuddingshop.co.uk

Obviously they do good puddings but they seem to have their priorities more focused on selling Italian wines it would seem.

Maybe we should visit Derbyshire.

It also raises the question whether any good wines have been produced in England during recent times. Maybe I need to start a new thread on that subject too. I have tried a few OK ones.

MissPrism

Have a look at http://www.englishwineproducers.com/
for the latest list of prize-winners.

Cholmondley_Warner

It also raises the question whether any good wines have been produced in England during recent times&gt;&gt;&gt;

There's a reason that the big Champagne houses are buying up the south downs....

http://www.nyetimber.com/

Same soil, same climate....

Good_Will

Oh thank you for this new information. Seems like we need to extend our time in Cornwall and the Midlands. We will definately visit Camel Valley for a start. A few years back we were fortunate to be siting up front on a few BA international flights when selected English wines were served. They showed great promise and what you have pointed me to tonight is great news. While I look forward to the rums of Grenada during this trip, I now look forward to the wines of England. Now the search is on for a Melton Mowbray vineyard. I see there are a few closeby in Nottinghamshire. Excellent. Thanks again.

Good_Will

I think where we have got to here requires a new thread on the subject of English Wine.