Belvoir - Vale Villages

Navigating The Route

This is a driving Spy Mission around the Belvoir Vale Villages, with Agents helping Red Lester stop jealous cheesemaker Gordon Zola from ruining Blue Stilton by following scattered clues around the Vale of Belvoir, cracking the code and stopping the cheese from turning green.

The operation covers approximately 10 miles and should take around 3 hours to complete. You'll set off from Nether Broughton and visit five villages around the Vale of Belvoir, with village stops including East End, Harby and Stathern along the way.

This Trail is wheelchair accessible, but not suitable for pushchairs. No steep hills are indicated, but the route does involve crossing streets and lanes in the villages, with no official pedestrian crossings and occasionally no pavements.

Take great care when crossing streets and lanes, and keep Mini Agents close wherever pavements disappear.

Getting There

By car: Begin the mission in Nether Broughton, in the small car park area opposite the village hall in Chapel Lane, just beside the Anchor Inn (LE14 3EN). You can also use The Sands car park (LE14 4NU) - park in East End, immediately after the surgery and before the Crown & Plough Inn. Another option is the village car park in Harby (LE14 4BW), in School Lane immediately on the left.

By public transport: Make your way to Nether Broughton and head for the small car park area opposite the village hall in Chapel Lane, just beside the Anchor Inn, to begin the operation. As this is a driving route, you'll need transport for the approximately 10-mile journey between the five villages.

Need the Loo?

Plan ahead, Agents - there are no public toilets on this route, so make a tactical comfort stop before setting off on the 3-hour operation.

Bring Your Furry Sidekicks

Four-legged Agents are welcome to join the mission 🐾

The route visits village streets, lanes and green spaces, and there are occasionally no pavements, so keep canine recruits close around traffic, road crossings and parked cars. Leads are sensible whenever your squad is out investigating on foot.

Food & Drink Stops

Cheese-saving spy work calls for decent supplies. There are a couple of chances to stop for refreshments along the way, including the Anchor Inn and the Crown & Plough Inn mentioned on the route.

You can also pack supplies and enjoy a picnic in one of the green spaces along the route.

Want to Make a Day of It?

Long Clawson Dairy

For Agents following a cheese-based conspiracy, Long Clawson Dairy is a suitably thematic local landmark. Founded in 1911 by 12 Vale of Belvoir farmers, it is one of only six producers of the world-famous cheese, which can only be made in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

Belvoir Angels and Church End Churchyard

If you want to linger, take the optional time to explore the churchyard at Church End, where there are some unique headstone carvings. Look out for the local 'Belvoir Angels' headstones too - carved on swithland slate in the 18th-century, probably by masons from Hickling, they are believed to represent the spirit ascending to heaven.

Village War Memorials

The mission passes several thoughtful village memorials. In Stathern, the war memorial includes stone from the ancient village cross dismantled by Cromwell's Roundheads, and it lists not just the 19 who died but all the others from the village who fought in the Great War and returned. In Harby, the route also passes six memorial stones.

The Old Pub in Stathern

Keep your spy eyes sharp in Stathern, where the route heads along Red Lion Street past the old pub wall with unusual symbols. It is a neat little extra detail for code-cracking crews who enjoy spotting strange markings even after the official intel has been gathered.