Shooting Staycations: in the lap of luxury in the Vale of Belvoir

There are a few parts of the country whose very names conjure up romantic images of idyllic England: The Cotswolds, Shropshire, The South Downs. For me, The Vale of Belvoir in Leicestershire does this more so than any other. Even before I had ever been there, I had a mental image of this part of the world. Vale: an evocatively archaic term. Belvoir: “beautiful view”. The very name makes me think of broadleaf woods, sweeping vistas and rolling parkland. This is the home of pork pies, Stilton, and the soils in the region are especially productive. It is just down the road from the putative home of Robin Hood. 

Imagined versions of a place are often exploded when one actually visits - some unexpected aspect destroys the perfection of the imagination. In Rome the fascinating history is drowned out in a cacophony of car horns and the sound of mopeds. In Venice the beauty of the city is overwhelmed by the stench of the canals. If anything, the opposite was true for me of the Vale of Belvoir. After leaving University I spent 9 miserable months working at the sugar factory in Newark, in the agricultural department. Armed with my degree in modern languages I was wildly, comically underqualified for the role. I lived alone in a soulless flat in Nottingham and I really hated that job, bar the few days a month spent visiting farms around the region.

Inspired by these forays, I took to exploring the area at weekends, driving out into the countryside, visiting pubs and walking. It was such a departure from the dreariness of my Monday to Friday that the verdant landscape seemed bathed in a golden glow. It felt like the most perfect corner of England imaginable.

Shooting and accomodation at Belvoir Castle Estate

It truly is a glorious part of the world, especially in the autumn, and I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the area than to do so in the company of a few mates and with the prospect of an excellent couple of days of shooting. The Belvoir Castle Estate, the seat of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, would make the absolutely perfect venue for such an escape. So far as our shooting staycations theme goes, I don’t think we’re talking about a family weekend away here. Belvoir is better suited to an indulgent, grown-up mini-break, something many of you will feel you have earned after a year of home-schooling and lockdowns.

As we explored in an interview with the Duchess of Rutland herself, Belvoir Castle Estate has a long and storied history of hosting shooting parties. Indeed, it was built by the 5th Duke of Rutland as a very grand hunting lodge, to host house parties that could last for up to a month. In later years Queen Victoria was a guest, so too was Winston Churchill. “Belvoir was really a rather grand sort of ‘party castle’, built for hunting and shooting,” Her Grace told me back in the summer.

Belvoir Castle's first class shooting

The estate’s 17,000 acres offer a wide variety of shooting, including driven pheasant, partridge and duck, across somewhere in the region of 75 drives to choose from depending on the conditions and the skill of the team. The shooting is laid out by Phil Burtt, noted top shot and a guest on Season 2 of the GunsOnPegs Podcast, and has drives suitable for guns of all abilities. The rolling ground is particularly well-suited to partridge shooting.

Accommodation fit for a Duchess

But a shooting staycation has two key pillars. The shooting, and the accommodation. At Belvoir there are two options. Guests have the choice between staying in the castle itself, or at Croxton Lodge and Curlew’s Nest, two delightful country houses set between open lakes and rolling hills, each designed by the Duchess herself as the ideal shooting escapes. 

Sleeping up to 16 guests in 8 bedrooms, the Lodge and Nest are ideal for a luxurious shooting weekend. Cosy sofas, a bar area, games room, and a sizable dining room make for plenty of post- or pre-shooting fun, and if the weather is fine, or the party are hardy enough there is a large seating area and a barbeque. The house overlooks the lake, on the shoreline of which stands a wooden gazebo providing a snug seating area with the opportunity to relax waterside.

Having hardly been anywear more exciting than the supermarket since April last year, the more I think about it, the more the prospect of a jolly up to Leicestershire with a few friends for a couple of days shooting seems like a bloody good idea. The estate can lay on back-to-back or single days with bags from 300 up, packaged up with accommodation. 

Things to do for non-shooters at Belvoir

For members of the party who don’t want to join the guns for the shooting, or for those who want to append some further activities to the trip, there’s a decent variety of things to do on the estate and beyond. On the estate there’s some gorgeous walks, the chance to abseil down the castle walls, and even paintballing. For parties staying in Croxton Park Lodge there’s also fishing in the lake.

The Belvoir Estate also has a shopping village - the Engine Yard - home to artisan food producers, independent fashion retailers, as well as interior design, florists and even a gunmaker! Further afield there is golf at the Belton Park Golf Club, as well as several historic towns and cities to visit - Melton Mowbray, Nottingham, Lincoln - plus the aforementioned Sherwood Forest and the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB.
 

Accommodation packages at Belvoir Castle start at £1,000 per night for single occupancy, or £1,300 for double occupancy. Included in the cost is champagne and canapés in the Elizabeth Saloon, followed by a 3 course dinner in the Shoot Room or State Dining Room, plus all alcohol during the stay. 

Accommodation packages at Croxton Lodge start at £350+ vat per person per night. Included in the cost is champagne and canapés in the Shoot Lodge followed by a 3 course dinner, plus all alcohol during the stay.

Pheasant and partridge shooting is priced at £48 +VAT per bird

To find out about availablilty for a shooting staycation at Belvoir, visit the shoot profile to send an enquiry.