Hambleton, Rutland: the village on the peninsula where church towers meet open water

Hambleton is a village and civil parish in Rutland, set dramatically on the Hambleton Peninsula between the arms of Rutland Water. It was recorded in Domesday Book and was historically made up of Upper, Middle and Nether Hambleton, parts of which were transformed or lost when the reservoir was created in the 1970s. That modern intervention reshaped the landscape, but it also turned the surviving village into one of the most striking waterside settlements in the English Midlands. The parish church of St Andrew preserves Norman features, while Hambleton Hall has become one of the village's best-known landmarks.
Population: 203 inhabitants (2011 census).
Distance: about 2 miles east of Oakham.
Traditions and culture: Hambleton is closely bound to the rural and sporting culture of Rutland Water, combining village life with walking, birdwatching and the longer memory of old Rutland parish society.
Highlights: St Andrew's Church, Hambleton Hall, the views across Rutland Water and the scenic lanes of the Hambleton Peninsula.