Places to visit in Northamptonshire

Get your first day off to a speedy start at Adrenaline Alley. This gigantic sports centre houses separate spaces for enthusiasts and professionals to ride skateboards, scooters and BMXs to their heart’s delight. We’re sure you’ll burn off breakfast after a session here, so hit the American-style Drop-In Diner afterwards for the requisite burgers, fries, shakes and hot dogs.

Spoiler alert, the clue is in the name. Yes, Rushton Triangular Lodge is indeed a teeny triangular building designed by Sir Thomas Tresham (father of one of the Gunpowder Plotters) in the 16th century. Three really is the magic number here – symbolising the Holy Trinity and reflecting Tresham’s fervent Roman Catholicism. The three-storey attraction features three triangular gables on each side, along with decorative friezes and carvings of biblical scenes.

If you love art deco fan, aviation fan or both, you’ll love this sleek hotel overlooking Sywell Aerodrome in the thick of the rolling Northamptonshire countryside. Lunch in the flying-themed restaurant, enjoying locally sourced ingredients such as Brixworth chicken liver pâté with ale chutney and grilled home-made bread. The epic Sunday roasts include Yorkshire puddings, roasted garlic and herb potatoes, honey-glazed carrots and parsnips, and braised red cabbage.

If urban shopping centres make you break out in a cold sweat, you’ll love this rural shopping area created from converted farm buildings in the grounds of Castle Ashby in the village of the same name. Here you can buy handmade gifts, jewellery, and furniture, before taking time out for a cuppa and a slice of cake, or maybe tapas and a glass of organic wine under the beams at The Deli café.

Now for some country comfort. Created by Lord and Lady Northampton, The Falcon was once a derelict coaching inn within their romantic Castle Ashby estate and gardens. Now it’s a stylish hotel whose interiors nod to nature with stone, wood, leather and wool accents in earthy tones. Lava lamps and yeti chairs channel the yoga and well-being ethos. Dine on locally-grown ingredients turned into heritage dishes at Eyas fine-dining restaurant. The next morning, go open water swimming in the Capability Brown-designed lake after a gong bath.

Fancy checking out one of the best Northampton museums? Based in the creative Cultural Quarter, the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is housed in a handsome red-brick building. The focus is firmly on local history and culture, including exhibitions marking 150 years since the Bradlaugh Riot and paintings by local artists.

All aboard the steam and diesel-operated Northampton & Lamport Railway, with hourly departures from Pitsford and Brampton village station running alongside a section of the Brampton Valley Way. Trainspotters can enjoy a cup of tea at the Platform 3 Buffet or buy a second-hand book at the souvenir store – everything is run by enthusiastic volunteers.

Stop by The Hopping Hare, a two-AA-rosette restaurant with rooms in Duston, for a bite. Seasonal menus are peppered with modern British dishes, from twice-baked goat’s cheese souffle to beetroot and Northampton-blue risotto. If you come over all sleepy, rooms feature patterned wallpapers in rich colours and the cosy bar area has a sink-into orange velvet sofa with matching stools.

You can’t fail to be wowed by these seriously gorgeous gardens just outside Guilsborough. The landscaped gardens were created in the 1920s and slope down from the 17th-century manor house, itself surrounded by unspoilt countryside. Wildflowers, lily-pad-topped ponds and clever planting add to the charm, as does the bluebell wood. After, slip into the Stableyard Cafe for tea with jam and scones – if you love the jam, buy a jar to take home.

Feel regal at this luxurious country escape in Fawsley, where Queen Elizabeth I and King Charles I both stayed. Framed by acres of Capability Brown-designed gardens and parkland, Fawsley Hall is a fine example of Tudor grandeur: all beams, stone fireplaces and rich tapestries. Situated in a coach house, the spa is something special with a sleek indoor pool, Himalayan salt sauna and a herbal aromatic heat experience. Bliss.