Leicestershire visitor information

An Introduction to Leicestershire

Leicestershire, despite its diverse and thriving county city of Leicester, is a very rural county with its other urban centres being attractive market towns such as Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough and Ashby de la Zouch. There are then many smaller towns and villages in the countryside, especially the Vale of Belvoir with its castle sitting proudly at the end of the ridge. Broughton Astley claims to be the largest village in England and, some even claim, Europe.

Things to do in Leicestershire

In Leicestershire you can visit the Bosworth Battlefield where Henry Tudor defeated Richard III and both Rockingham Castle and Belvoir Castle are open to the public. You can also visit Jewry Wall, part of the Roman Baths in Leicester. Also in the region is the National Space centre and Snibston Discovery Museum and Country Park which discovers of 500 years of technological advances.

Getting to Leicestershire 

By Car

Leicester is 2 hours by car from London, 1 hour from Birmingham and 2 hours from Manchester. The M1 passes through Leicestershire, with Junctions 20-24 providing good access to the county. The M69 and M6 also offer easy access from Birmingham, Wales and the Southwest. 

By Train

Leicester is on the East Midlands Trains line from London St. Pancras to South Yorkshire. Direct trains from London take 75 minutes. Market Harborough, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray and Hinckley all have railway stations.

By Coach and Bus

National Express:  offer national coach services to Leicester. London to Leicester takes just under 3 hours. Ashby de la Zouch, Coalville, Kegworth, Market Harborough, Loughborough and East Midlands Airport are also served by National Express. The main bus operators are Arriva, First and Stagecoach.

By Air

The nearest airports are the East Midlands Airport which is less than half and hour away from the county and Birmingham Airport which is over an hour away.