Oakham Rutland is a town that is steeped in history and it also boasts of having a special character. Today, it bustles with activity and being just twenty miles to the north of London and the same distance away from Peterborough and Leicester, it sees people coming from these nearby destinations.
Every Wednesday and Saturday, Oakham Rutland opens its markets so that all kinds of fish, fruits, vegetables and cheeses as well as clothes, bread and other household goods can be bought and sold.
Oakham is also home to a number of historic gardens and buildings including the likes of Normanton Church, Oakham Church, and Tolethorpe hall and in addition there are several interesting museums and galleries that are worth visiting as well. These museums and galleries include Rutland County Museum, Rutland Railway Museum, Catmose Gallery and more.
Some major tourist attractions include All Saints Church and of course Oakham Church is a must visit place as well. Oakham Castle in particular has plenty of historical significance and in fact this castle that dates to about the years 1180 to 1190 even has a hall that is among the oldest surviving halls in all of England.
Oakham Rutland is also famous for its tradition of accepting horseshoes. Traditionally, there have always been members of British royalty as well as other important persons that have come to this town to pay forfeits in the form of horseshoes. This custom goes back all of five hundred years though today the tradition occurs only on a special occasion when Royalty comes visiting here. Even so, there are more than two hundred commemorative horseshoes that can be seen on the walls in the town.
The earliest among all these horseshoes is the one presented by King Edward IV in the year 1470. All the horseshoes are made to hang upside down though this is also a practice that is considered to be unlucky. However, in Rutland the common belief is that doing so will help keep the Devil from entering the town. That is why the council arms include the upside down horseshoe as its motif.