The magnificent turreted castle is the lure for most of the visitors to this quiet county town. It’s an awe-inspiring sight – as are the queues in summer. Several other sights are less over-run, but also well worth stopping for. A gentle stroll round the centre reveals well-preserved historic buildings – survivors of a fire in 1694 that destroyed much of the town – as well as absorbing museums and fine riverside views.
The former lead-mining village of Eyam (ee-em) is a quaint little spot with a morbidly touching history. In 1665 a consignment of cloth from London delivered to a local tailor carried the dreaded Black Death plague. What could have been a widespread disaster remained a localized tragedy thanks to the bravery of the village inhabitants: as the plague spread, the rector, William Mompesson, and his predecessor Thomas Stanley, convinced villagers to quarantine themselves rather than transmit the disease further. Selflessly, they did so; by the time the plague ended in late 1666, it had wiped out whole families, killing around 250 of the village’s 800 inhabitants. People in surrounding villages remained relatively unscathed. Even independently of this poignant story, Eyam is well worth a visit; its sloping streets of old cottages backed by rolling green hills form a classic postcard view of the Peak District.
Warwickshire got lucky: it could have been just another picturesque English county but history makes it one of the most visited areas outside of London. Shakespeare’s birthplace at Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick’s superb castle are the main draws. Other, lesser known attractions can be just as rewarding, however: try the hauntingly atmospheric Kenilworth Castle ruins or visit the cathedrals (yes, plural) that shaped Coventry’s history.
One thing stands out in this pleasant, unremarkable pocket of middle England – its stunningly atmospheric ruined castle. With crumbling walls and vivid history, it inspired Walter Scott to use it as a setting for his novel, called…Kenilworth.
Filled with the sense of excitement that comes from a mix of cultures and ethnicities, Leicester (les-ter) may not be beautiful but it certainly has a lot going on. Around since the Roman times, Leicester had an unwelcome face-lift from the Luftwaffe, while industrial decline hollowed it out and poor urban planning capped off the aesthetic crimes against the city. But Leicester has reinvented itself as a socially and environmentally progressive melting pot with a lot going on. It has a large and vibrant Asian community, with many interesting events staged around religious festivals such as Holi, Diwali and Eid-ul-Fitr.