A much-underrated area of England

When I thought of writing a journal for my town, I really wondered if there would be sufficient information to tell IgoUgo readers. But as I thought, I realized that Bingham is well-placed for a great deal of sightseeing. It’s central for visiting Lincoln, Newark, Nottingham, Leicester, and of course, the Vale of Belvoir (the subject of this journal).

The Vale has loads of great places to eat, many very reasonably priced and some not even requiring you to book. The majority started off as local pubs and have adapted to the demand for establishments to offer food and drinks. Because they were originally public houses, they have a cozy and informal ambience. Keep your eye open for these establishments, especially those that advertise themselves as "Free Houses" – here you’ll be able to taste traditional locally brewed beers.

Bingham shows signs of numerous early settlements: an Anglo-Saxon settlement(around 600 AD) at Parson’s Hill; Margidunum, a Roman settlement, on the busy main road between Bingham and Newark; and a deserted medieval village at Crow Close (here you’ll find a good description of the layout from the information board at the edge of this common land).

Be sure to visit nearby Scarrington and see how many horseshoes you can count at the Smithy’s Stack – several thousand for sure. You can also visit the home of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in Aslockton; Colston Bassett, which is just down the road, with its 18th-century houses and one of the creameries making the world-famous Stilton Cheese; Bottesford, on the edge of the Vale, with a fine parish church; Croxton Merrial (there’s a name to conjure with) with an old abbey and a recently renovated water spout; Knipton, a feudal village because it is virtually all owned by the Duke of Rutland; Belvoir Castle, the home of the Duke of Rutland; the windmill of Wymondham; Harlaxton Manor (but it only opens a couple of times a year); the historic building at Denton Crossroads, Woolsthorpe Manor (the birthplace and family home of Sir Isaac Newton); Grantham, the home of Lady Margaret Thatcher (also voted the country’s most boring town!); Melton Mowbray, a market town and the home of the pork pie; Belton House, a 17th-century country house and grounds...

I could go on, but I guess you need to see it to believe it!

Quick Tips:

The best place to obtain information about Bingham and the surrounding area is the local library, which is open most days from 9am until 6pm. The Bingham Heritage Trails Association has issued several small pamphlets outlining Bingham’s history. These are free and well worth getting a hold of. The library holds information about nearby Belvoir Castle, but Nottingham City’s tourist information is best for a comprehensive range of guides.

Details of events are also held at the library, and local organizers make use of a diary that’s available on open view. The local papers (Nottingham Evening Post or Newark Advertiser) hold a wealth of information about local "happenings." Generally most of the local pubs/restaurants will hold tourist information and be willing and able to point you in the right direction or suggest the most scenic route to your chosen destination. Make use of locals – generally they’re a friendly bunch!

In Bingham, parking is a little more difficult on a Thursday because that’s when the local market is held. Make an effort to go just to take in the bustle that goes with the market traders and their clientele.

Best Way To Get Around:

Although Bingham is well-served by public transport, to make the best of the area, you will need a car. Car hire is straightforward in the East Midlands, and most towns will have several car hire companies to choose from. There is ample free parking near to Bingham’s town center, and the town itself is compact enough to walk around. In and around the Vale of Belvoir, parking is easy; as long as you keep an eye out for traffic on the quiet country roads, you’ll be able to stop wherever the view demands it!

Buses frequently run from Bingham to Nottingham, Newark, and Grantham, but it would be unwise to try and build an itinerary around their frequency. An efficient but less frequent train route exists, and you can be in the center of Nottingham within 10 minutes.

Taxis are generally quite expensive, and I could not commend that you rely too heavily upon them.

Paul’s restaurant boasts an international cuisine and is centrally positioned in the sleepy village of Bottesford. We went with a small group of friends on a Tuesday night and were able to choose from their mid-week budget menu (around £15 a head). Don’t be thrown by that description, because this meal is excellent value and offers a wide choice.

Paul’s has a small car park to the side, although street parking in Bottesford is not a problem, and the short walk to the entrance is bordered by large container plants in terracotta urns. Inside, we were warmly welcomed by the staff and guided to one of the cosy lounges. Here we were able to relax in comfortable chairs and settees and enjoy each other’s company. Dishes of fresh olives and other "nibbles" were placed strategically around this intimate setting, and our orders for pre-prandial drinks were taken. I was pleased to be able to imbibe a "real ale" from the Black Sheep Brewery, although I remain unconvinced that the pint glass really held a pint of this amber nectar.

My senses were bombarded with smells wafting from the kitchen and from the plates of other diners as I struggled to choose from the menu. Should I try a plate of whitebait (despite by middle-aged status, I’ve never experienced this dish), a warming cauliflower soup with a spring onion garnish, or perhaps the venison terrine? In the end, I opted for the guinea fowl and dressed salad. Great choice—nice chunks of warm meat in a crisp, crunchy tossed salad. There were plenty of fresh breads brought to the table with a superb garlic butter (plain if you preferred). Must be careful, I remind myself, not to spoil my appetite for the rest of the meal.

I’d chosen a spicy lamb as my main course (my wife preferring tempura-battered vegetables). The lamb was so tender, it virtually melted in the mouth, and the range of spices just tantalised the taste buds—nothing too overpowering—but I was salivating as I leaned over the dish and enjoyed the aromas. The vegetables were cooked to perfection, keeping their bright, fresh colours but not too firm. As we devoured the meal, the house wine proved an able accompaniment (a Chilean chardonnay and couple of bottles of a Spanish Rioja), and for restaurant prices, these stood up well at around £10 a bottle.

There was a great selection of puddings, but I predictably went for the chocolate cheesecake—golly, that hit the spot! It was verging on the strong and sickly—just how I like it. Coffee and mints rounded off a super meal in a restaurant with a well-constructed ambience.

The "speed of the meal" was well-paced, with staff ever-present but unobtrusive—an art in itself. They were attentive, helpful, and friendly and I’d certainly recommend you pay Paul’s a visit.

About 5 miles out of Bingham is the Unicorn’s Head, a listed building, first built in 1717 (you can see the date on the gable end), with a very unusual three-tier chimney structure. Originally it was known as The Feathers but was acquired by the Lord of the Manor in 1825 and was renamed the Unicorn’s Head. It was a popular coaching inn in the 19th century (the stables are still evident at the rear of the building) and has continued as a pub since that date.

In recent years, it’s had a mixed standing and became in need of a refurbishment. The re-launch has now happened, and the pub, whilst retaining a village pub atmosphere, has become a restaurant with a reputation as a quality establishment. Although we’d had bar snacks, we had never had "a proper dinner" here until the other night. I hardly recognised the place. Although the bar is still here (with its great selection of real ales Pedigree, Old Speckled Hen, Ruddles, John Smiths, and ever-changing guest ales), it now has a comfortable lounge seating area where diners can chat and relax before making their way to one of the three discreet dining areas. Dining areas do merge, but our group of 20-plus enjoyed the sensation of privacy in a large new-build annex (tastefully reproducing the old feeling of the buildings with wooden beams) that uses the original features to make it "at one" with the original inn.

It was clear that all the meals were freshly prepared, and I started off the evening with a plateful of deep-fried dressed whitebait on a bed of salad. It’s the first time I’d tried whitebait and it won’t be the last – they were absolutely delicious!

The chicken breast fillet pot roasted with tomatoes, herbs, and white wine followed. The sweet, rich sauce perfectly complimented the immaculately cooked chicken, and the accompanying vegetables (five in total), new potatoes, and chips made a substantial main course. My wife had poached salmon, and the serving was enough for two (although she devoured it with ease!)

For pudding I took on an ample helping of apricot and almond bread and butter pudding drowning in lashings of creamy custard. It was so light, it virtually floated off the plate, and the flavours were beautifully balanced.

We ate off a set mene with a limited choice, but the restaurant offers a wide variety of starters and main courses in a variety of cuisines. The food was superb, but I’m afraid the service let the place down. I had a dirty pudding spoon, and the response of my waitress was unapologetic as she whipped it from my hand. Generally, all the staff members seemed a little surly and unwilling (or unable) to be pleasant and welcoming. Indeed, if we’d been there as a couple, I would have told them, very directly, that food alone does not make a restaurant. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt this time…

The village of Bingham was reissued its town status in 1975 (coincidentally, the year we moved into Nottinghamshire!), having being granted its original charter in 1314 by Edward II. Central to the town is the marketplace, and in the middle of this is the town’s Buttercross, built in 1861 in commemoration of a John Hassal, a popular local land agent. This eight-sided arched construction is said to have gotten its name from the market traders from the local creameries who clustered under it to sell their dairy products. Now it’s a focal point and "emblem" to the town.

I get very blasé about Bingham, but it is littered with old buildings, some dating back to the mid-17th century. The majority are private dwellings or business premises, so they cannot be internally inspected, but both The Wheatsheaf (1792) and The Horse and Plough (1818) are public houses that will welcome you. The ironic facts about The Plough is that it was originally a Methodist chapel (the plaque is still visible) that became a Salvation Army Hall before becoming a betting office and, finally, a pub. Opposite The Wheatsheaf is the current post office and a much earlier building than the other two. This used to be a hotel called The Vaults, and if you carefully examine the small windows next to the post box, you will see confirmation of that etched in the glass.

Continue past the post office and you’ll pass the mock Tudor cottages that are the oldest habitable houses in Bingham. Walk slowly enough and you’ll catch a glimpse of the compact downstairs rooms, with their low ceilings and inadequate natural lighting. Keep walking and the impressive regency house (at one point, the local "tea rooms") with its rounded corner will be on your left. Now you’re heading back towards the square. As you head for the church (see separate journal entry), you’ll pass the 19th-century worker’s cottages. The 1850s courthouse now houses the town council, but a single cell remains intact. One can only speculate what use it is put to!

Fairfield Street and Kirkhill have an interesting array of buildings, ranging from the old Wesleyan School (1850) nearest to the level crossing to the late 19th-century white-fronted houses with their "cart entrances" and the late 18th-century house adjoining the White Lion. It is believed that the house (now a shop) was originally the Stingo Tap – one of Bingham’s many old drinking houses.

Leaving Fairfield Street, head up Tythby Lane before taking a left turn down the Banks. On this road there are old Methodist manses and prestigious properties that at one point Make a left down Fisher Lane and keep an eye out for Priory Mews and Lushai Cottage. Both are fascinating dwellings in their own right.

It is a great town to view in spring or summer.

Bingham’s Parish Church has been around since the early 1200s, and it’s almost certain that a church had existed prior to that date. Its spire can easily be seen whichever way you approach Bingham and was built out of Ancaster stone. Apparently it took over 70 years to complete, and because of the sheer weight of the tower, the thickness at the foot of the tower is over 1½ metres thick. At each corner of the tower are grotesque gargoyles which would have spouted rainwater from the spire onto any visitors below! Whilst admiring the outside and spotting the carvings, admire the recently renovated lychgate. Originally constructed in 1881, it enabled coffin bearers to take shelter before taking the final few steps into church. On the gable end of the porch, take a look at the carving of a house-martin’s nest and consider the scene as local dignitaries sat and conducted parish business from the stone seats (this included the receiving of tithes and rents and announcing important council decisions).

Bingham’s bell-tower houses a bell cast in 1588 to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and others were cast in 1647 and 1662. I wonder how many peals that bell has made over Bingham in 3½ centuries?

Immediately inside the church is the font, thrown out in the civil war but returned to its rightful place (with some restorative work) in the 1920s. The pillars in Bingham Church are all "topped" with interesting carvings, and it is believed that the oak and vine leaves were copied from Southwell Minster. But in addition to the leaves, you’ll see human faces (believed to be the masons and locals who helped fund the church), grazing animals, and grotesque heads depicting the seven deadly sins.

To the right of the entrance is the choir vestry, which is once believed to have been a schoolroom, and on either side of the door are marks purported to be caused by generations of children sharpening their slate pencils whilst waiting to enter class. A great story, me-thinks!

At the front of the church, hanging on the wall to the right of the chancel, is a carved wooden statuette of Ann Harrison. She died in 1928 at the age of 99 and had been a regular churchgoer all her life. The story goes that she raised charitable money by collecting food scraps and then selling them for pig food! The nave is separated from the chancel by a "rood screen", which has original 15th-century carving at its base, and shining through this screen are the colours from the east stained-glass window. It's a superb sight on a bright sunny day!

In the south transept is a medieval washbasin, and in the nave hangs a modern cross (1992) as a memorial to local people who died in World War II.

An annual Flower Festival is held every May, so if you’re in the area at that time of year, it's well worth calling in.