Stamford, Lincolnshire - travel review

Stamford in Lincolnshire has these qualities and many more, as I discovered on a recent stay there along with my partner Russ, and Chester the dog.

And not to be missed, Stamford will be turning the clock back later this month in a blaze of colour and tradition. Stamford 50 and Georgian Festival will mark a very special year for what is regarded by many as England’s finest stone town, and 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of Stamford’s award as the UK’s first conservation town.

Our accommodation for two nights was at The William Cecil. The two AA Rosette hotel has 27 individually-named rooms (ours was ‘Virtuous’), fabulous food and, most importantly, is geared up to give your pooch a very pampered stay. It is named after William Cecil, the first Baron Burghley, an English statesman and the chief advisor of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign.

On our first evening we dined in the hotel conservatory where your dog can join you for dinner. The varied lunch and dinner menu includes nibbles, starters, salads, sumptuous mains, sandwiches and a selection of speciality cheeses. Ravenous, we shared a loaf of Hambleton Bakery bread, farm butter, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

My starter was a deliciously light Arctic tuna carpaccio with pickled radish, caper berries, red chilli and lime, while Russ went for the splendid-looking garden pea velouté, vanilla poached smoked haddock and crispy duck egg. We followed these with a meat feast of rump of Lavington Lamb and 24-hour braised Gressingham Duck leg. Every course was presented beautifully and was delicious – our complements to head chef Phil Kent.

The hotel itself sits within the historic Burghley Estate and a pathway leads straight into the estate’s parkland. It has well manicured terrace in which the three of us relaxed after dinner with drinks.

The following morning, after a hearty breakfast (including a Lincolnshire sausage for Chester), I joined Blue Badge registered guide Jill Collinge for a tour of the town. It has been used for various film roles including as the village of Meryton in Keira Knightley’s Pride & Prejudice. The town boasts over 600 listed buildings with six churches, all within a square mile. Jill gave me a potted history and I marvelled at the abundance of stone cottages, some centuries old, as well as a mini tour of the very grand George Hotel, one of England’s greatest coaching inns, plus a stroll along the River Welland which ambles through the town.

Rejoining my companions, We lunched at Lambert’s Kitchen, Deli & Coffee which is nestled in Cheyne Lane, one of the town’s tiny passageways. Lambert’s is named after Daniel Lambert, renowned as the heaviest man in England, and who died in Stamford in 1809 weighing almost 53 stone – and is buried in St Martin’s Churchyard.

In the afternoon we drove to Burghley, a fine Elizabethan house and home to the famous horse trials. I took an audio tour and marvelled at the stately rooms, including the magnificent Heaven Room and Hell Staircase, and the house’s treasure trove of history and heritage. Much of the parkland, the Serpentine Lake and Lion Bridge was designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown – Burghley is believed to have been his longest commission lasting 25 years.

The sleepy countryside around Stamford and beyond is beautiful. I was expecting ‘flat’ stretching forever but, while not exactly mountainous, the empty roads and undulating landscape, peppered with tiny villages and imposing viaducts, are great for exploring.

After reluctantly leaving our quirky hotel we headed 13 miles north to Grimsthorpe Castle, which sits among formal gardens, extensive woodland and a 50-acre lake. It was built for a visit by Henry VIII in 1541, and any royal who has not stayed or lived there isn’t worth mentioning. It has been home to the same family since 1516 and my fascinating tour was a journey through regal history. Giant portraits, tapestries and fine furniture fill the rooms – and, outside, a neat little vegetable garden, topiary borders and courtyard walls add to its grandeur.

Ashamedly, history has never been of much interest to me, but my guides for this mini visit to Lincolnshire, through their passion and knowledge of their subjects, have inspired me to pay slightly more attention than I did in school.