This is the drive we recommend on day one, twenty minutes from our base at Lutterworth. Melton Mowbray is the home of the pork pie and Stilton cheese, and Belvoir Castle sits on a wooded ridge above one of the prettiest valleys in the Midlands.
MG MGF
Rolling Vale of Belvoir lanes on your doorstep — the perfect first drive on collection day.
Check availabilityThe route, stage by stage
- 01
Lutterworth to Melton Mowbray
Cross-country via Great Glen and Tilton on the Hill. Stop at Dickinson & Morris on Nottingham Street for a hand-raised pork pie.
- 02
Melton to the Vale of Belvoir
North through Waltham on the Wolds and down into the Vale — big skies, hedged lanes and almost no traffic.
- 03
Belvoir Castle
The Manners family seat, Regency Gothic on a hill above the Vale, with gardens by Capability Brown and a retail village.
- 04
Rutland Water home
South to Oakham and a lap of Rutland Water before returning via Uppingham.
Stops worth making
- Melton Mowbray market and Dickinson & Morris
- Stilton cheese at the Melton Cheeseboard
- Belvoir Castle and gardens
- Rutland Water, Normanton Church
- Oakham Castle
Driving notes for visitors
- Check Belvoir Castle opening days before you set off — it is seasonal.
- Melton's market days (Tuesday and Saturday) are busy; park at the Wilton Road car park.
- Vale lanes flood after heavy rain at the low bridges.
Remember: drive on the left, the national speed limit on single carriageways is 60mph, and roundabouts give priority to traffic from your right.