Leicestershire and Rutland

I am off on my travels again – this time a motorhome journey north with my wife to explore Scotland. First stop along the way is the East Midlands which, at the time of our visit, was basking in temperatures in the upper 20s Celsius. Or maybe it is just always this warm up here?

We’ve based ourselves on the south shore of Rutland Water, the largest man-made lake in England, and one of the largest in Europe. It’s a great environment for wildlife, sailing, walking and cycling. We carry our bikes on the back of the van, so enjoyed the off-road, waterside cycle track to the beautiful Normanton Church, captured in my main photo above.

The local markets, delis and farmer’s shops have been great. Farndon Fields is an excellent farm shop in Market Harborough, well-stocked with lots of local fresh produce. We combined our visit with brunch in their on-site restaurant, the Farmer’s Kitchen. My Eggs Benedict had perfectly soft-poached eggs over slices of baked ham on a toasted muffin – chopped chillis topping off the Hollandaise Sauce with a spicy kick.

Saturday morning brings a foodie market to the village of Thrapston. I picked up these pork and chorizo sausages from a local butcher’s stall, to cook up later on the Cadac. The Cadac is my gas bbq that plugs directly into the motorhome’s gas tank via a socket on the outside wall. They tasted as great as they look here, glowing on the griddle in the evening sunshine.

The people like their cheese an orangey shade of yellow here. Red Leicester is nationally famous, of course, but Rutland Red less so. It is a more mature, hard cheese, an even deeper shade of orange, but still mild tasting. Here it is adorning my evening cheeseboard with customary glass of red alongside. The blue cheese is from neighbouring Derbyshire.

Speaking of Red Leicester, how about incorporating it when baking Welsh cakes? I bought these when I saw them at Thrapston Market. They were delicious.

I understand that a pork pie is not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea, but I felt I had to try one of these famous Melton Mowbray delicacies when I found them in a butcher’s shop in Oakham. I found it had a good short pastry base, golden flaky top and soft salty filling – a very enjoyable lunchtime stop.

There you are – just some of the fine local produce I’ve been gorging on while visiting the scenic delights of Leicestershire and Rutland. It’s been a really enjoyable first stop on the journey north.

For the next track on the ADK Playlist I have turned to this band who were formed in Leicester in the 1990s. This track became a massive hit when it was remixed by Fatboy Slim – here’s Cornershop with Brimful of Asha.