East Midlands

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is an aerial display team flying historic aircraft. They appear at shows throughout the country, on state occasions and at events commemorating the Second World War.  The aircraft normally flown are an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane and they are all veterans of the Second World War.  The Lancaster is one of only two in the world that are still flying - the other is in Canada.  The Spitfire collection includes an original Mark 2 version that flew in the Battle of Britain as well as later models, such as the high-flying high-speed reconnaissance versions.  The collection also includes a Douglas C-47 Dakota that ferried wounded soldiers from Normandy after D-Day.   The flight is administratively part of No. 1 Group RAF, flying out of RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire - which is an operational base on the front line of Britain's defences. The Battle of Britain Flight aircraft can be visited at Coningsby, where expert guides will give you details of their history and tales of the men that flew them.

Built in around 1220-30 by Ranulph de Blundevil, Earl of Lincoln and Chester, Bolingbroke Castle is principally known for being the birthplace in 1366 of Henry of Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster and the future King Henry IV. Both parts.

The castle was in a poor state by the time of the 17th century English Civil War, but was briefly held by the Royalists until captured by Oliver Cromwell following the Parliamentary victory at the nearby Battle of Winceby in October 1643. When the Roundheads departed, they deliberately slighted the castle – like so many others. Now it is an interesting and fairly picturesque ruin, with nice views across the remains of the moat to St Peter and St Paul's church and accessed from a narrow, attractive, lane. Bolingbroke was an enclosure castle, with a stone curtain wall surrounding a courtyard in which were located timber-framed buildings, including a great hall. There is no easily visible trace of these buildings, but the ruined remains of the curtain wall, gatehouse towers and 5 additional towers can be seen. And there is a pleasant walk around the outside of the walls.

Burghley is a grand 16th century house and estate on the edge of the charming East Midlands town of Stamford. The house was built by Elizabeth I's chief advisor and Lord High Treasurer Sir William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, and is still lived in by his descendents. The house contains an extensive collection of artwork and painted murals, including Verrio's 'Hell Staircase' (seen in 'The Da Vinci Code') and the hall has a magnificent hammerbeam roof. There are extensive gardens, statues and a fine park. Burghley is also famous for its annual Burghley Horse Trials, held in the autumn (best avoid visiting then!).

Chatsworth is one of Britain's great stately houses. It is the palatial home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, whose family, the Cavendishes, has owned the 35,000 acre estate since the 16th century, when the first house was built. The house is famous for its magnificent Baroque interiors and works of art from ancient Egypt, Rome, the great masters - and more modern artists. Outside, there are acres of parkland and lovely gardens to explore, including a maze to get lost in.  It is famous for its cascade, a large water feature with water tumbling down a long series of steps - which dates from the 17th century. It is also famous for its Emperor Fountain. Events are held throughout the year, including concerts and outdoor theatre.

Croyland, or Crowland, Abbey was a monastery first founded in the early 8th C by Ethelbald, King of Mercia from 716-757, on the site of the hermitage of St Guthlac.  It was destroyed by the Danes in 866 and re-founded as a Benedictine abbey in the mid-tenth century. From the 10th to the 15th centuries the monastic buildings were extended and rebuilt and the abbey was one of the wealthiest in East Anglia. It was dissolved in 1539 and the monastic buildings demolished, with the exception of the nave and aisles of the abbey church which were taken into use as the parish church. During the 17th C Civil War, the church served as a Royalist stronghold, defended by earthworks.  The nave and south aisle of the church fell into disrepair in the 18th C and parish use became restricted to the north aisle, which remains the case today. Both the existing church and ruins have some fascinating features.  As well as the visible remains, the site is also important as that of a pre-conquest monastery, the buried remains of the Anglo-Saxon hermitage and monastery, the medieval monastic buildings and the Civil War defences.

Crowland is also known as the likely home of the Croyland Chronicle, a unique primary source for English medieval history.