Nottinghamshire

Towns & Villages

COSTOCK

Costock Church - Photo: Chris J Dixon CCL

This village lies in the Rushcliffe area of Nottinghamshire and boasts one of Britain’s largest vineyards, Eglantine. Named after the wild rose that inhabits English hedgerows, the company began with a cutting from the Great Vine of Hampton Court in 1935. Planting began in 1980 and there are now four acres of vines comprising one of the largest collection of grape varieties in the country, with over 120 different vines.

Close by are the Trent Bridge cricket ground, the National Watersports Centre and beautiful Belvoir Castle, a fortress rebuilt during the 17th century for the 8th Duke of Rutland. The castle displays works by painters such as Holbein, Gainsborough and Rubens. The area also has a fine selection of museums and gardens, including the charity-run Flintham Museum, which has reconstructed old-fashioned shops.

Belvoir Castle - Photo: Kate Jewell CCL

Thrumpton Hall - Photo: Chris J Dixon CCL

Flintham Hall is a Victorian conservatory considered the finest of its type left in England while Thrumpton Hall is a 16th century Jacobean house with a Charles 11 staircase and a splendid drawing room. It has Byron memorabilia.

Nearby Ruddington Village Museum depicts life during the mid-19th century and even has an Edwardian fish and chip shop! Also here is a Framework Knitters’ Museum.