Travel Information

Abbey Pumping Station is Leicester´s Museum of Science and Technology. Situated adjacent to the National Space Centre, the two attractions tell the story of over 200 years of science and technology.

Abbey Pumping Station
Corporation Road
Abbey Lane
Leicester
LE4 5PX
Leicestershire
England

Contact details
General information (Tel) : 0116 299 5111
General information (Fax) : 0116 299 5125

Anstey library is just the place to provide you with local information if you are in the area with your hired motor home.

Anstey Library
Paper Mill Close
Anstey
Leicester
LE7 7AU
Leicestershire
England

Telephone: +44 (0)116 236 3796

While travelling around Leicestershire in a camper van, why not take a trip to Ashby de la Zouch Castle. The castle, which is now in ruins, started off as a 12th century manor house, becoming a castle in the 15th century. The Hastings Tower, added by Lord Hastings, can still be climbed today. Standing at 24 metres high (78 feet) the tower provides excellent views across Leicestershire.

Ashby Castle is also the site of the famous jousting scenes in Sir Walter Scott’s classic novel Ivanhoe, written in 1819.

Ashby de la Zouch Castle
Ashby de la Zouch
Leicestershire
LE65 1BR

Beacon Hill Country Park is off Beacon Road in Woodhouse Eaves, North West Leicestershire.

The park is the site of a Bronze Age hill fort.? The park is set in 100 hectares of heath and native woodland.

You will see the castle on the hilltop as you approach and it certainly is imposing as well as everything a fairytale castle should be. Parking has a fee as well as the entrance fee and guide books are extra. You also require permission to photograph. Within the castle is colossal wealth and extravagance to view upstairs as you are guided through the chapel, galleries and saloons and state rooms. Many of the rich and famous have stepped across these thresholds over the last 500 years. Downstairs there is also a great deal to see with kitchen and bakery set out as in the year 1825 and staff dressed in costume. Children will love the nursery and school room plus the ability to dress up in period costume. Outside are formal gardens that the 5th Duchess of Rutland designed and in 1799. There are some interesting features like Britain’s tallest Yew tree at 94ft. Check the programme of events, as a great deal happens at the castle. Theatre Performances, concerts, civil war re-enactments, country fairs all take place here at various times throughout the year so it’s worth checking and planning your visit in advance. In your Leicester Motorhome Hire you get tremendous views from the car park but some of the roads approaching the castle can be quite narrow so take care getting there. Check Opening times before you set out.

Belvoir Castle
Grantham
Leicestershire
LG32 IPE

The Bosworth Battlefield comes alive every year in August with a reenactment of the famous ‘War of the Roses’ battle. Armies of Richard III and Henry Tudor faced each other on Ambion Hill, in August 22nd, 1485. Richard lost the battle and this was seen as the end of the Medieval period, replaced by the Tudor period.

Take a trip to the Great Central Railway whilst on your campervan rental in Leicestershire. Every weekend of the year you can go on a journey in an authentic steam engine. Experience the only place in the world where two full sized steam engines pass each other on the tracks. For dinner a four or six course meal can be enjoyed in the luxurious First Class Restaurant Car.

You may even like to coincide your visit with one of their special events like the very popular “Days Out with Thomas the Tank Engine”!

Great Central Station
Great Central Road
Loughborough
Leicestershire
LE11 1RW
Telephone:(44) 01509 230726

Beacon Hill Country Park is the place to be on Bank Holiday Monday 29th August with the opportunity to attend the annual National Forest Wood Fair. Between 10am to 5pm you can get involved in all things to do with the use of wood and timber in the National Forest. On display expect to see live demonstrations of woodworking skills, craft displays and chainsaw sculpting. . Talk to the experts and watch forestry in action including timber processing and horse logging. There is also a great deal for children to enjoy from stories from the Wild Man of the Woods, birds of prey, craft activities, coracle paddling and the climbing wall. There will also be a really interesting lumberjack show, a Bodger’s Corner and charity auction. There will be plenty of food stalls and places to eat. All of this is located in Charnwood Forest in north-west Leicestershire. The country Park has a whole network of paths to walk along and stretch those legs! There are also places to enjoy picnics and barbeques. Enjoy a stroll through a rhododendron labyrinth with its hidden sculptures.Or if you are more energetic, take a walk up the hill to one of the Country Parks main features, Beacon Hill. Beacon Hill rises to 245m (802 feet), and is the second highest point in Leicestershire and the site of a Bronze Age hill fort. Admission to the National Forest Wood Fair is Adults £8, concessions £5, families £18 (includes parking and programme). There are two car parks for your Leicestershire Motorhome Hire, Upper Car Park, Beacon Road, Woodhouse Eaves, Loughborough, LE12 8SP and Lower Car Park, Breakback Road, Woodhouse Eaves, Loughborough, LE12 8TA. Have a great day out as part of your Leicesterhire Motorhome Hire holiday.

Beacon Hill Country Park
Beacon Road
Woodhouse Eaves
Nr. Loughborough
Leicestershire
LE12 8SP.
Tel: 01283 551211

Probably the largest collection of gas artifacts in the world is housed at the National Gas Museum in Leicestershire. Entry in 2011 is currently free. The museum is much more interesting than you would first imagine.  If it’s a wet day and you are looking for an interesting low cost place that will entertain all the family, then this is the place to visit as part of your midland Motorhome hire tour of Leicestershire. The Curator will be happy to accompany you and your group around the museum to tell the story of the development of the gas industry and to explain the function of the fascinating and sometimes curious exhibits. Alternatively, there are tour notes which you can take around the exhibits yourself. At several points audio tapes describe the exhibits or play appropriate sound effects. Children will get really involved in a quiz that has been devised especially for the younger visitor. At various places a special card has been placed among the exhibits and a question is posed on the quiz sheet. Perhaps the most interesting of all is the section called ‘Strange But True’ ,  here are some fascinating stories and tales of  how gas was used years ago. The National Gas Museum is an unexpected treasure to view on your Midland Motorhome hire holiday.

National Gas Museum
195 Aylestone Road
Leicester LE2 7QJ
0116 250 3190

This is our not so distant past and future in its most exciting form….space travel. If you are traveling through Leicestershire on your midlands Motorhome hire holiday your children will just love a visit to this amazing place. You can wander through the six hands-on galleries and  sit back in awe in the UK’s largest planetarium. Embark on a voyage of discovery in the 360° full dome experience. Gain a better understanding of achievements in space and get involved in the many interactive displays. You may also find the Near Earth Information Centre very surprising. The Near Earth Object Information Centre is part of the UK Government’s response to the Report of the Task Force on Potentially Hazardous Near Earth Objects. The aim of the centre is to provide the public, educators and media with accurate, non-sensationalised information. We also submit regular reports to the UK Government on close approaches and newly discovered object that could potentially threaten Earth. You and your family will certainly leave the National Space Centre having learnt a great deal and the children will have found the experience both stimulating and entertaining. This attraction is not to be missed. Always check their website at The National Space Centre for opening times and admission times prior to setting out in your midlands Motorhome hire. On site facilities include over 400 parking spaces, gift shop, restaurant, locker hire and all the other standard facilities you would expect from a top visitor attraction. The centre is located just two miles from Leicester city centre, the centre provides easy access from the M1 and M69.Follow the brown road signs with a distinctive rocket logo will direct you from the arterial routes around Leicester.

National Space Centre
Exploration Drive
Leicester
Le4 5NS

Visitors to Rockingham Castle will enjoy this historic house and family home. It has been in one family for over 450 years and it is interesting to see the objects and furniture collected over the centuries that display what is still essentially a grand family residence. It is easy to be enthralled and entertained by the fascinating stories that the family and guides will explain whilst you tour the house. Centuries ago this home was regularly visited by royalty. It has all the grandeur of a magnificent stately home yet still retains that aspect of a home that makes it feel livable in today.   Guides are located throughout the Castle and are happy to answer questions or assist children completing the Rockingham Eye Spy. The tour of the Castle starts in what was originally exclusively the “below stairs” area.  The Old Kitchen has recently been restored to how it would have looked in 1895, it shows the preparation for a grand dinner in progress. The Long gallery was used in the 1850′s by Charles Dickens who was a regular visitor to the Castle and is likely to have performed one of his many plays here in this room. He is said to have written much of ‘Bleak House’ whilst staying at Rockingham Castle.Timing your visit with an event makes the whole experience even more exciting for all the family. Special events take place throughout the summer season so it is a good idea to check what is happening prior to your visits.  After your visit you can return from the castle to your own ‘mobile castle’ your midland campervan hire.  Touring the midlands in your midland campervan hire gives you the freedom to come and go as you please. Check the Rockingham Castle website for admission prices and opening times.

Rockingham Castle
Rockingham
Market Harborough
Leicestershire
LE16 8TH

Tel 015367760240