Mr & Mrs Smith

The area around Oundle is great for stumbling on hideaway inns and on-of-a-king eateries. The Old Bakehouse in Rothwell (www.mmmtheoldbakehouse.co.uk) presides over both a fine Mediterranean menu but also a vaiety of snob-pleasing coffees. In Stamford, The George (www.georgehotelofstamford.com) leans towards the chintzily traditional, but its seafood platters and rare breed meats cannot be faulted.

The Falcon at Fotheringhay (www.thefalcon-inn.co.uk) not only gives the local darts team a place to sup real ale, it also serves a fresh, seasonal menu of local fish and meats, washed down with a wide range of wines. The Snooty Fox in Lowick (www.snootyinns.com) occupies an old manor house and turns out an excellent Sunday Roast. Dating back to 1280, The Tobie Norris in Stamford (www.tobienorris.com) is a great lunch stop – and a CAMRA pub of the year – that serves beer from its own brewery.

Outdoor activities ago-go: cycling at Rutland Water, rambling in Rockingham Forest, and pootling down the Nene in a narrowboat. Bluebell Lakes (+44 (0)1832 226042) are a famed carp fishing spot.  Both Oundle and its surrounding town are classic chocolate-box settlements, replete with spires, rickety churches and historic architecture. Stamford is the go-to town for period drama backdrops, Fotheringhay is haunted by its grisly history both as the birthplace of Richard III and as the execution-spot of Mary Queen of Scots, and Harringworth's vast 82-arch Victorian viaduct is worth the trip in itself.  

March Oundle Literature Festival (www.oundlelitfest.org.uk) brings renowned wordsmiths and avid readers to the town for a three-week programme of bookish events. July Musicians and performers take to the streets for the Oundle International Festival, which culminates in a dramatic fireworks concert. October Sporting titans compete in the gruelling test of mettle that is the World Conker Chamionship (www.worldconkerchampionships.com) at nearby Ashton.