Barkestone-le-Vale is a village in the northeast of Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

History

The village originated as a 7th-century settlement, and is mentioned as a parish in the 1086 Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

. It is now part of the parish of Redmile

Redmile

Redmile is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, about north of Melton Mowbray and west of Grantham, in the Vale of Belvoir....

.

Buildings

Barkestone-le-Vale numbers some 120 dwellings; it used to have small primary school, however this closed down in the late 1990s due to having only 17 pupils; the 'old school' was recently sold at auction and is currently being converted for residential use. The building of main interest is the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, which dominates the landscape. Although there must have been a church for some thousand years, the present building dates back at least as far as 1639, when mention was made of its bells (now replaced). The church was restored in 1840. There is a large farm house, which has lain derelict for many years; this and its surrounding barns are currently being restored, for residential use.

Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle

Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....

 is nearby.

Countryside

A number of footpaths lead to the village, one of them connecting it to Belvoir Castle.

The rural nature of the area makes it suitable for bird-watching. Some species that may be observed in the countryside surrounding the village are buzzard

Common Buzzard

The Common Buzzard is a medium to large bird of prey, whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. It is usually resident all year, except in the coldest parts of its range, and in the case of one subspecies.-Description:...

s, quail

Common Quail

The Common Quail, Coturnix coturnix, is a small bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is widespread and is found in parts of Europe, .- Description :It is a small rotund bird, essentially streaked brown with...

, and reed and sedge warbler

Warbler

There are a number of Passeriformes called "warblers". They are not particularly closely related, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal and insectivorous....

s.