Things to Do in Leicestershire: 20 Best Days Out

If you are looking for things to do in Leicestershire, you have picked a county that rewards a bit of exploring. It is compact, easy to drive around and surprisingly varied: great apes and rockets one day, a Wars of the Roses battlefield or a canal flight of locks the next. You can fill a long weekend without ever repeating yourself, and you rarely have to travel far between stops.

This guide rounds up 20 of the best days out across the county, grouped so you can plan by mood rather than by map. We have split them into family attractions, the great outdoors, history and heritage, and the market towns worth a wander. Each entry gives you the area, why it is worth your time, and a rough idea of cost where there is one. At the end, we explain why a central base near Market Harborough makes the whole county easy to reach.

Best Family Attractions in Leicestershire

These are the big-hitters for a day out with children, the places that easily fill four or five hours and keep all ages happy. They are mostly paid attractions, so booking online ahead of time usually saves a few pounds per ticket.

• Twycross Zoo (Twycross, north-west of the county). The standout family day out. Twycross is the only place in the UK where you can see all four types of great ape, gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos, alongside more than 125 species across 100 acres. Allow a full day and wear comfortable shoes. Adult tickets are usually around £25 online, with children a little less and under-threes free.
• National Space Centre (Leicester). You cannot miss the 42-metre Rocket Tower on the city skyline. Inside there are six interactive galleries and the UK’s largest planetarium. Tickets convert to an annual pass, so you can return for a year on one purchase. Expect around £22 for an adult. Brilliant for curious kids aged five and up.
• Twinlakes Park (near Melton Mowbray). A theme park, farm and adventure attraction rolled into one across 100 acres, with rides, indoor play and a falconry centre. A good rainy-day backup because so much of it is undercover.
• Great Central Railway (Loughborough to Leicester). Britain’s only double-track heritage main line. Climb aboard a steam train for a nostalgic run through the countryside, with dining services and footplate experiences if you want to push the boat out. A genuine treat for railway fans of any age.
• Tropical Birdland (Desford). A smaller, gentler attraction where parrots, toucans and hornbills fly free and will happily land on a willing arm. Easy on the legs and easy on the wallet, ideal for younger children.

The Great Outdoors: Parks, Water and Walks

Leicestershire does big skies and open countryside well, and a lot of the best outdoor days out cost nothing more than the price of parking. These are the spots to pack a picnic for and let the children run.

Bradgate Park is the county’s most loved green space: 830 acres of ancient deer park near Newtown Linford, with wild red and fallow deer, the romantic ruins of Bradgate House (childhood home of Lady Jane Grey) and a steady climb up to Old John tower for the best view in the county. Entry is free and there are several pay-and-display car parks dotted around the edge. Give it half a day and take a flask.

Foxton Locks, just outside Market Harborough, is a personal favourite and one of the most photographed spots in the East Midlands. The staircase of ten locks lifts narrowboats up a steep hill in two flights, and on a busy summer day you can watch boats working through for hours. There is a canal museum, a couple of waterside pubs and gentle towpath walks. Watching the boats is free, and it is one of the easiest days out from our part of the county.

Rutland Water sits right on the county border and earns its place on any East Midlands list. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in Europe, ringed by a 23-mile traffic-free cycle track that is perfect for families, with a nature reserve, ospreys in summer, and the much-photographed Normanton Church standing at the water’s edge. Hire bikes at Whitwell or Normanton and make a day of it.

For something more rural still, the National Forest spreads across the west of the county, with waymarked walking and cycling trails through young woodland that has been planted over the past 30 years. Conkers, near Moira, is the family hub here, with indoor and outdoor adventure play, a treetop walk and a discovery centre.

• Bradgate Park (Newtown Linford). Free entry, deer, ruins and the climb to Old John.
• Foxton Locks (near Market Harborough). Free to watch the boats, plus museum and canalside pubs.
• Rutland Water (county border). Cycling, watersports, birdwatching and Normanton Church.
• The National Forest and Conkers (Moira). Woodland trails and a paid family adventure centre.
• Watermead Country Park (between Leicester and Loughborough). Lakes, a life-size mammoth statue and easy flat paths.

History and Heritage: Castles, Battlefields and a King

Leicestershire has more than its share of history, and the headline act is Richard III. The last English king to die in battle fell at Bosworth in 1485, was buried in Leicester, lost for centuries, then famously found under a car park in 2012 and reburied in the cathedral in 2015. You can follow the whole story across two excellent sites.

Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre and Country Park, near Market Bosworth, tells the tale of the Battle of Bosworth and the Wars of the Roses through an award-winning interactive exhibition, with guided walks across the battlefield itself and regular re-enactment events in summer. The King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester picks up the thread, with an interactive, detective-style account of his life, death and rediscovery, and you can see his tomb a short walk away in Leicester Cathedral.

For grand houses, Belvoir Castle in the far north-east is a Regency showpiece with opulent state rooms, formal gardens, an adventure playground and a tea room. Kelmarsh Hall and other estates just over the Northamptonshire border are also within easy reach if you enjoy a stately home and gardens. If your tastes run older, the Jewry Wall Museum in Leicester sits beside one of the largest surviving pieces of Roman wall in the country and covers 2,000 years of the city’s past.

Here is a quick comparison of the headline attractions to help you plan, with a rough idea of who each one suits best.

Attraction	Type	Area	Best for
Twycross Zoo	Zoo	North-west Leicestershire	Families, animal lovers
National Space Centre	Science museum	Leicester	Curious kids, rainy days
Great Central Railway	Heritage railway	Loughborough	Railway fans, all ages
Bradgate Park	Country park (free)	Newtown Linford	Walkers, picnics, deer
Foxton Locks	Canal and museum	Near Market Harborough	Easy days, boat-watching
Rutland Water	Reservoir and trails	County border	Cycling, watersports, birds
Bosworth Battlefield	Heritage centre	Market Bosworth	History, walks, re-enactments
King Richard III Centre	Museum	Leicester	History, indoor day
Belvoir Castle	Historic house	North-east Leicestershire	Stately homes, gardens

The Best Market Towns in Leicestershire

Some of the best days out here do not cost a penny in admission. Leicestershire’s market towns are made for slow mornings, independent shops and a long lunch, and they make a gentle change of pace from the bigger attractions.

Market Harborough is the obvious place to start, and not just because it is closest to us. It is a handsome Georgian town with a famous timber-framed Old Grammar School standing on stilts in the centre, a good run of independent shops and cafes, the canal basin at Union Wharf, and the excellent free Harborough Museum. There is plenty to fill a relaxed day, and you can read our full guide to things to do in Market Harborough for the details.

Melton Mowbray, to the north, is the rural capital of food. This is the home of the Melton Mowbray pork pie and Stilton cheese, and its twice-weekly markets and food shops are a genuine draw. Ashby-de-la-Zouch in the west has a romantic ruined castle and a pretty high street, while Oakham and Uppingham, just over the border in Rutland, are two of the prettiest small towns in the region.

• Market Harborough. Georgian streets, the Old Grammar School, Union Wharf canal basin and a free museum.
• Melton Mowbray. Pork pies, Stilton cheese and a lively market.
• Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Ruined castle and a characterful high street.
• Oakham and Uppingham. Handsome stone towns on the Rutland border.

Closer to home, the village of Clipston sits quietly on the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire border, a few minutes from Market Harborough. It is the kind of place worth a short wander in its own right, and it is where you will find us.

What Is Leicestershire Famous For?

If the county has a few claims to fame, the food is top of the list: the Melton Mowbray pork pie and Stilton cheese both come from here and both carry protected status. Then there is the history, from the Roman roots of Leicester to the Battle of Bosworth and the rediscovery of Richard III. The county also has a strong industrial heritage in textiles, hosiery and shoe-making, and in sport it gave the world the remarkable 2016 Premier League title won by Leicester City. Add Bradgate Park, the National Forest and Rutland Water on the doorstep, and you have a county that does countryside, culture and a good day out in roughly equal measure.

Where to Stay to Explore Leicestershire

The trick to seeing a lot of Leicestershire in one trip is to base yourself centrally, near Market Harborough, rather than on one edge of the county. From here, most of the headline attractions are within an hour’s drive, and the quieter days out at Foxton Locks and in town are right on the doorstep.

That is exactly where you will find The Barn, our luxury self-catering barn conversion at Rectory Farm in Clipston, a few minutes from Market Harborough on the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire border. It is a relaxed, grown-up base for a group: three bedrooms sleeping up to eight, a huge open-plan living space with a 10-metre glass wall that folds back onto a private garden and terrace, a gas BBQ for long summer evenings, a fully equipped kitchen, smart home tech and EV charging. It works just as well for a family week as it does for a group of friends or a couple wanting somewhere peaceful to come back to after a day out.

Rough drive times from The Barn give you a sense of how central it is: Foxton Locks and Market Harborough are around 10 to 15 minutes, Rutland Water about 35, Bosworth Battlefield, Bradgate Park and the National Space Centre roughly 40 to 45 minutes, and Great Central Railway, Twycross Zoo and Belvoir Castle around 50 to 55. If you want more on the property itself, see our guide to staying in a large cottage near Market Harborough.

Frequently Asked Questions