England: Rutland
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Rutland is the smallest county (in terms of both population and area) in England (central) wedged between the counties of Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. As a UK vacation destination you may consider Rutland as lesser than all of the other larger counties but the county motto of "Multum In Parvo" (meaning much in little) gives a clue to the disproportionate vacation opportunities this area of England has.
Dating back to before the Domesday book, in which it was called "Roteland", this proud county has a rich and interesting history with diverse traditions. One of the local traditions is the sport of "Nurdling" which is often associated with the county of Dorsetshire. This ancient sport which involves droves (teams of nine drovers) using a fender (usually dustbin lids) and grouting poles (usually a broom handle) to enable the hurling of their nurdle (usually a block of wood) over a Nurdlynge Alley (course) while avoiding the rough (the area outside the course) all overseen by a Serjeant who appoints a sounder (a person) to make announcements. With such strange sounding terminology the sport could only have been invented by the English.
Although Rutland is only about 18 miles (29 km) wide at its very widest point it is surprising how many places there are to visit in this tiny district. There are no cities to be found in the county and the county town of Oakham, which has a population of less than ten thousand, and the town of Uppingham are the only towns to be found in the county. Even though the county is extremely small to begin with the total land area is yet further reduced by the massive expanse of water known as "Rutland Water". Rutland Water is actually Western Europe's largest man-made lake and similar is size (surface area) to Lake Windermere in Cumbria.
Rutland Hotels & Accommodation
Places To Visit In Rutland, England
Settlements In The County Of Rutland
Oakham (the county town) and Uppingham are the only towns in Rutland and there are no cities. Villages include Wing and Clipsham.
Museums & Art Galleries
Rutland County Museum
Heritage Railways
Rutland Railway Museum in Ashwell
Parks & Gardens, Places Of Natural Beauty
Barnsdale Gardens, Rutland Water (lake and nature reserve) and Wardley Wood.
Historic Religious Buildings
All Saints' church in Oakham, Normanton Church Museum and St Marythe Virgin Parish Church in Manton
Historic Houses & Stately Homes
Burley on the Hill, Clipsham Hall, Lyddington Bede House, Normanton Hall and Tolethorpe Hall.
Castles
Burley Castle and Oakham Castle (pictured to the right).
Other Places In Rutland To Visit
As well as Rutland Water mentioned above the county has four rivers flowing through it, the River Chater, Eye Brook, River Gwash and River Welland, which are well worth exploring.
Other Interesting Buildings To Visit In Rutland
Uppingham School and Whissendine Windmill.
Hotels In Rutland
To find Rutland hotels simply click on the vacation destinations below:
| Rutland | |||
| Clipsham | Oakham | Uppingham |
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Useful Rutland Links
Rutland Bed & Breakfast
Listings of guest houses and B&B in Rutland.
Rutland Hotels
Listings of hotels in towns & villages in Rutland.
Nurdling Rules
The rules to this highly amusing game played in Rutland
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