The Vale of Belvoir is an area of natural beauty on the borders of Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

 and Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Indeed, the name itself derives from the Norman-French

Norman language

Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...

 for beautiful view.

Extent and geology

The Vale is an east-north-east trending tract of low ground of somewhat ill-defined area. Its vale-like form can be viewed from either its southern flank (the Belvoir "ridge") or from the north-west along the A46 (Roman Fosse Way) from which it is much less conspicuous. It is the product of geological processes, being occupied in the main by the sedimentary mudstones and thin limestones of the Liassic (Lias), with a northern fringe comprising the upper parts of the Triassic (Mercia Mudstone and Rhaetic). As described above its south-eastern margin is the most clearly defined, as it is formed by a conspicuous scarp slope, about 100 metres higher than the valley floor, upon which Belvoir Castle sits. Its resistance to erosion is due to a capping of relatively thick Jurassic Ironstone. The vale-like form is further constrained by cappings of ancient glacial till that form the higher ground along its western margin.

In the Pliocene epoch (1.7 m years ago) the Vale of Belvoir was occupied by the 'Proto-Trent' River, which cut a gap through the limestone ridge at Ancaster and then on to the North Sea. At the end of the Wolstonian Stage (c. 130,000 years ago) a mass of stagnant ice left in the Vale of Belvoir caused the river to divert north along the old Lincoln river, through the Lincoln gap.

Attractions

Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....

, which occupies a dominant position overlooking the vale, is the ancestral home of the family of the Dukes of Rutland

Duke of Rutland

Earl of Rutland and Duke of Rutland are titles in the peerage of England, derived from Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. The Earl of Rutland was elevated to the status of Duke in 1703 and the titles were merged....

. The castle saw significant damage in both the Wars of the Roses

Wars of the Roses

The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...

 and the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 and has consequently been rebuilt a number of times in its history. It is now open to the public, whilst still remaining a family home, and provides a popular tourist centre to the area. In recent years the Belvoir name has become more widely known through the national and international sale of various cordials

Liqueur

A liqueur is an alcoholic beverage that has been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, or cream and bottled with added sugar. Liqueurs are typically quite sweet; they are usually not aged for long but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavors to marry.The...

 and other produce

Produce

Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods and, not limited to fruits and vegetables . More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested. In supermarkets the term is also used to refer...

, a scheme introduced by the present duke's father to raise funds for the continued upkeep of the castle, and to provide employment in an otherwise farm-dominated local economy.

Two other local specialities dominate the world reputation of the vale: Stilton cheese

Stilton (cheese)

Stilton is a type of English cheese, known for its characteristic strong smell and taste. It is produced in two varieties: the well-known blue and the lesser-known white. Both have been granted the status of a protected designation of origin by the European Commission, together one of only...

, and pork pie

Pork pie

A pork pie is a traditional British meat pie. It consists of roughly chopped pork and pork jelly sealed in a hot water crust pastry . It is normally eaten cold as a snack or as part of a meal.-Types:...

s. Of the six dairies

Dairy

A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...

 currently allowed to produce true Stilton cheese under the terms of its protected origin status, only one is not located in the area. The vale is the historic centre for the production of this king of English cheeses and until the end of the 19th century all Stilton cheese was being produced within 20 miles of Melton Mowbray

Melton Mowbray

Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...

. However, the cheese took its name from the Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...

 village of Stilton

Stilton

Stilton is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, and within the historic county boundary of Huntingdonshire.-Geography:Stilton lies south of the city of Peterborough. It lies on the old Great North Road, from London and was an important coaching stop in the days before motorised transport. It...

, where it was served at the coaching inns on the Great North Road

Great North Road

There are several Great North Roads:* Great North Road, Australia, a historical road leading from Sydney to the Hunter Valley* Great North Road, New Zealand, a road in Auckland* Great North Road, Zambia, a road running north from Lusaka...

. Melton is also the home of the Melton Mowbray pork pie, produced by traditional methods using uncured

Curing (food preservation)

Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...

 pork

Pork

Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....

 and hand-formed pastry

Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...

 and served cold. Both Stilton cheese and Melton Mowbray pies are covered by European Protected Designation of Origin orders.

"Belvoir Angels" are a type of early 17th-century Swithland

Swithland

Swithland is a linear village in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is in the old Charnwood Forest, between Cropston and Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves. Although small, it has a village hall, a parish church, and a pub. The village is known for the slate that was quarried in the...

 slate tombstone found only in the district. A comprehensive account of the natural history of the Vale was compiled in 1790 by the poet George Crabbe

George Crabbe

George Crabbe was an English poet and naturalist.-Biography:He was born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, the son of a tax collector, and developed his love of poetry as a child. In 1768, he was apprenticed to a local doctor, who taught him little, and in 1771 he changed masters and moved to Woodbridge...

, who was chaplain to the Duke of Rutland and rector of Muston, Leicestershire

Muston, Leicestershire

Muston is a village in north Leicestershire, fifteen miles east of Nottingham, 12.5 miles north of Melton Mowbray and five miles west of Grantham on the A52....

. It includes a list of more than 70 beetle species. The vale is renowned fox hunting

Fox hunting

Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...

 country and has many historical ties to the sport.

A controversial coalfield

Coalfield

A coalfield is an area of certain uniform characteristics where coal is mined. The criteria for determining the approximate boundary of a coalfield are geographical and cultural, in addition to geological...

 development was proposed in the 1970s. It became the subject of a public enquiry in 1979. The requisite planning applications were ultimately quashed by the secretary of state for the environment in 1982.

The Vale has been publicised in recent years by former Leicestershire and England cricketer and current BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew

Jonathan Agnew

Jonathan Philip Agnew is an English cricket broadcaster and former professional cricketer. He was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire and educated at Uppingham School. He is nicknamed "Aggers", and, less commonly, "Spiro"....

on the BBC Radio cricket commentary show Test Match Special.

External links

• Vale of Belvoir Website—local tourist information page
• Belvoir Castle homepage