Places to Go: Oakham

I thought that it was very rare that I visited the small county of Rutland, until I was informed that the East Coast main line sliced through Essendine in the eastern corner of Rutland, and I had therefore passed briefly through Rutland very often.  But I had never visited the small county town of Oakham, with a population of just 12,000 and home of a magnificent church, home of a famous  public school, county museum and  an inland reservoir which is the largest reservoir in England – even larger by surface area than Kielder.

I was travelling to Rutland from the London direction, intending to catch the 2002 from St. Pancras via Leicester, for the first class fare of £32.90.  But on arrival at STP I found the train was cancelled, with none later the same evening.  So I crossed to King’s Cross and bought a replacement ticket via Peterborough.  Arriving there with LNER a few minutes early, I found a Birmingham train (by CrossCountry), second stop Oakham, on the far platform.  This was not an advertised connection, being less than the minimum interchange time.  But I hurried over the footbridge and jumped aboard, finally arriving in Oakham half an hour before the supposed arrival via Leicester.  Interesting conundrum, therefore, applying for a Delay Repay to East Midlands trains when in fact I arrived 30 minutes earlier than expected.

I stayed at the Anglers Arms, a pub with rooms and too many stairs, comfortable but basic, and no breakfast served.  In the morning, I walked back towards the station to find the Hub and Spoke café I had seen the night before.  I spent the morning exploring the town.  Oakham School had closed for the holidays and was all quiet, but there was a toddlers morning in the church of All Saints which was worth a visit.  Oakham Castle is more of a fortified manor house, which is still an occasional courtroom, and displays horseshoes around the walls presented by visiting royalty and nobility.  This horseshoe presenting has only to be done once:  King Charles III has already presented a horseshoe when he was Prince of Wales, and need not do so again, in adherence to a tradition which dates back to 1470.

I cannot pretend that Oakham, ancient and picturesque though it is, can charm you indefinitely.    So a visit to Rutland Water is strongly recommended.  The lake shore runs to 23 miles, and is a man-made reservoir created by Anglian Water, a few miles east of Oakham.  I headed towards the town’s tiny Bus Station behind B&M in John Street.  Minibus R9 shuttles between Oakham and Stamford (in Lincolnshire) and runs roughly hourly to the village of Whitwell on the north side of Rutland Water. Everybody opened and closed the door of the minibus themselves, and nobody was paying any fares – it seemed to be a free service.

I walked down to the shore, and enjoyed a snack in the Harbour Café overlooking the jetty for the Rutland Belle, a pleasure boat with two decks which offered hourly trips over to Normanton Church, dedicated to St. Matthew.  This is the iconic church which could have been subsumed by the waves but was surrounded by a wall so whilst deconsecrated provides a focal point of interest on the south shore.  I could have walked, or hired a bike, around the lake, but the boat was least effort and fastest.  Cruising back,  I re-joined the free R9 back to Oakham, collected my bags from the pub and walked back to Oakham station for the train to Peterborough and home.