A group travel organisation from Hertfordshire are singing the praises of Leicester and Leicestershire after a recent visit organised alongside Visit Leicester.

With 2,000 years of history, traditional taste of England, and a countryside landscape of woodlands and waterways, Leicester and Leicestershire are increasingly being seen as an ideal destination for group travel visits.

This recent visit came from the Probus Forum in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, a group of professionals and business people who meet monthly and plan events, activities and excursions.

After meeting the Visit Leicester team at the Group Travel Show in 2023, the group were inspired to visit Leicester and Leicestershire to see exactly what was on offer. We now hand over to Andrew Cawthorpe who runs the group’s events committee to tell us about the visit.

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From industry to space

We’ve been to the races, seen Christmas lights and visited other UK destinations, but are always in the market for an overnighter. The Visit Leicester people pitched the idea of an itinerary for Leicester and Leicestershire, and although the initial perception of our members was ‘why Leicester?!’, the idea proved popular and we were able to fill a coach with members and partners.

The two-page itinerary produced by Visit Leicester was the perfect fit for our members and the trip itself was absolutely brilliant. We left at 8am for a 10am start at the National Space Centre to begin our journey into space! Despite seeing it signposted on the M1, most of us hadn’t been before.

After coffee and cake, we were ushered into the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium, the largest in the UK, where everyone was blown away by an animated experience taking us around all the planets in the galaxy. We spent a few happy hours at the Space Centre, marvelling at the Blue Streak space rocket and Russian Soyuz space capsule, amongst others.

Then, for contrast, we moved over to the Abbey Pumping Station next door, which houses an eclectic display of artifacts including an early Clyno motor car, reputed to be one of only three in existence, and the stars of the museum - the four steam powered beam engines. There were several former engineers in our party and they loved the Abbey Pumping Station.

Bringing history to life

After getting back on the coach, which was waiting for us in the dedicated Space Centre coach park, we were transported into Leicester where we had our own pre-arranged layby for the drop-off point. Here, we were personally greeted by the staff from the King Richard III Visitor Centre. That made getting around very easy. 

After lunch, we were entertained by a brilliant talk in the King’s Suite at the Centre, focusing on the investigation and discovery of the remains of King Richard III. It really brought the museum to life and they looked after us so well. After touring the Centre, we walked over to Leicester Cathedral opposite, where the tomb of the King is located and on to the Guildhall next door.

We checked in smoothly at our accommodation for the night at The Gresham Aparthotel. It was well-suited to accommodate group bookings with comfortable and spacious rooms that were close to each other.

Later, we walked over to the nearby Wygston’s House restaurant for an evening of private dining, with an enthusiastic pork pie demonstration - a local savoury treat! The staff were all brilliant and it was the end of a fabulous day.

Blown away by Belvoir Castle

After a hearty breakfast at The Gresham, everyone was eager for another day’s exploration the next day. Our coach drove us over to Melton Mowbray and right up to the entrance of the famous Belvoir Castle. We were welcomed by hot coffee and biscuits in front of a blazing log fire.

Three guides took sections of our group around and everybody was blown away by the history of the Castle and by the knowledge of our guides. We also saw the Duchess while we were there and it was great to see that the family still reside at the Castle. A few of us also took a short stroll around the magnificent gardens, some of which were designed by Capability Brown, before getting back on the coach and returning home

Putting Leicestershire on the map

The whole visit went stunningly well. We’ve had brilliant feedback, and lots of people have been singing the praises of Leicester and Leicestershire.

We probably wouldn’t have thought of bringing our group to Leicester and Leicestershire initially but are glad that we did. Although we enjoyed all our stops, we can see that the discovery of King Richard III has truly put Leicester on the map so along with the Visitor Centre, Cathedral and Guildhall, groups could really spend a full day there alone!

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More info

For more information and inspiration on places for your group to visit in Leicester and Leicestershire, or to download a copy of the Group Travel Guide, go to the group travel pages on our website.