Corby hotels

Hotels in Corby

A small village until the 1930s, Corby has grown beyond all recognition in the last 100 years. A few years after the start of the millennium it was the fastest growing town in England.

The advent of the steelworks brought enormous growth in the middle of the last century, including a large influx of Scottish immigrants, who brought their heritage with them. Even today, more than 30 years after the steelworks closed, the town is often dubbed Little Scotland. A sixth of the population are Scottish and there are Scottish social and sporting clubs, Scottish churches and an annual Highland Gathering with traditional Scottish sports, music and dancing.

Book one of our Corby hotels and discover a diverse and interesting town with plenty going on.

Culture

You can learn about the history of the town at Corby Heritage Centre, which has temporary exhibitions on different aspects of the town's heritage. Admission is free.

The Rooftop Gallery and Workshops hosts exhibitions on everything from crafts and photography to graffiti and tattoos.

Corby also has a theatre, The Core, which hosts concerts, musicals, plays, comedy, children's shows, talks, film screenings and more.

Just outside the town, Kirby Hall is the former home of Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth I. Although it has lost part of its roof, the Great Hall and state rooms have been preserved and restored in keeping with the décor of the time. You'll also want to explore the gardens, full of ornate topiary, statues and urns, as well as a proliferation of peacocks. The Parterre Garden is an imitation of a 17th-century garden.

Sports and leisure

Swimmers should head to the Corby East Midlands International Pool, which has a 50-metre main pool, a learner and a kids' pool, a gym, sauna and a steam room. The Lodge Park Sports Centre has an all-weather football pitch, six tennis courts, indoor courts and table tennis – you can also play tennis at Corby Tennis Centre.

For something more adrenalin-fuelled, head to the Rockingham Motor Speedway, where you can have a go at driving on a racetrack.

Woodlands and parks

Look out for nuthatches, bluebells and speckled wood butterflies at Hazel and Thoroughsale Woods, both Green Flag holders. Here you'll also find Corby Boating Lake, home to swans, herons and kingfishers. You can go fishing here – just ask at the café – and there's an adventure playground and a picnic area.

Kingswood Local Nature Reserve is an ancient woodland which was once inhabited by the king's deer. More than 250 species of plants have been found here, and you might also see tawny owls, treecreepers, all three species of woodpecker and a variety of butterflies.

Eating and drinking

Northamptonshire's oldest Indian takeaway, the Royal Tandoori, is now a 100-seater restaurant too, with a menu featuring Bangladeshi cuisine and several curries named after football teams. Voted Corby's best restaurant for four years running on thebestof.co.uk, A Tasca offers an extensive menu of Portuguese cuisine, along with a kids' menu. For real ales, homecooked food and live entertainment every Saturday night head to The George, a former coaching inn in nearby Weldon.