The urban guide to the countryside -

Well, hello!

I'm Keya, editor of Muddy Leics & Rutland, here to bring you the quirky, cool and downright unmissable in the area.

Gotta Have It

Making plans? Find your perfect Pub, Inn, Hotel, Café, Restaurant or Bar across the Muddy counties.

Hot travel destinations for 2019After a hip, holiday destination? We've rounded up the best places to visit from once-in-a-lifetime dream destinations to cultural hotspots this year.
Book now! ‘Superspa’ breaks for 2019I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want... a massage, mani and Jacuzzi please, and make it snappy. I'll put on the fluffy white robe and assume the position.
How to be happy in 2019
Grace Dieu Manor SchoolMuddy says: A friendly but forward-thinking co-ed independent day school taking kids from 12 weeks - 11 yrs, set in 120 acres of lush Leicestershire greenery.

FRI 18 JAN – SUN 20 JAN

MON 14 JAN - FRI 18 JAN

JANUARY 2019

The latest handpicked businesses we think you’ll love

On the Waterfront

The Encore overlooking the River Avon in historic Stratford-upon-Avon has just reopened after a swish complete makeover.
- Festive afternoon tea
  
  Time for boozy hot chocolates, lashings of mulled wine and copious amounts of cake which is why we've rounded up the best spots for festive afternoon tea.
- Christmas drinkies! Time for something new
  
  Usually face-down in a vat of Baileys throughout December? You can do better than that! Here's our guide to nailing your Christmas drink choices like a pro. Bottoms up!
- The cosiest pubs with fires
  
  Come in from the cold, snuggle up and enjoy a pub lunch or pint in one of these delightful...
- Boboli, Kibworth Harcourt
  
  A restaurant so popular it has its own foodie festival! Muddy jumps on the Boboli bandwagon.

Our honest reviews of the UK’s best schools

Our curated A-Z of the grooviest local businesses

Hot travel destinations for 2019

After a hip, holiday destination? We’ve rounded up the best places to visit from once-in-a-lifetime dream destinations to cultural hotspots this year.
- Muddy’s guide to skiing essentials
  
  Considering heading out on your first-ever ski holiday? Well before you slalom and schuss, you may want to consider packing these clothing essentials.
- St Lucia, beyond the beaches
  
  As the nights draw in and the weather gets bloomin' chilly, Muddy Wilts ed, Joanna heads to sunnier shores for a Caribbean family adventure beyond the beaches.

Something for the little ones

Our fashion favourite Cos is launching babywear this week – and we’ve gone gaga for it. Behold the cuteness!
- The really wild show
  
  On the prowl for this season's hottest print? Leopard is a cult classic given an AW18 reboot. Enter the fashion jungle for Muddy purrrfect picks.
- Hear me roaaarrrrr!
  
  If you want to stay warm and chic this season, get your mits on this brilliantly bold new season Marc Cain jumper. Grrrrr!

Painting and prosecco

Want to try something different this new year? Fancy yourself as a bit of a Picasso and have a penchant for prosecco? This could be the class that kicks off your new year.
- Leicester’s new, stylish hotspot
  
  Blink and you may miss it, but the Queen Victoria Arts Club is definitely worth a second look. We take a tour of this gorgeous new venue slap bang in the heart of the city's Cultural Quarter.
- A review of Curve’s Cat in the Hat
  
  All pantoed-out but looking for some fun theatre for the family? The Cat in the Hat will keep you amused and entertained.
- The best books of 2018
  
  Attention bookworms! Muddy's top 10 tomes of 2018. Has your favourite made the cut?
- Coffee table books to snaffle
  
  From fashion to flora to fragrant Frida, here are 2018's most gorgeous coffee table tomes.

Speedy Supper: Prawn Laska

Healthy, hearty and faster than Dina Asher Smith with jet propellers, what’s not to love about this Prawn Laksa. Ready to try it at home?
- New Year’s interiors inspo
  
  From herringbone tiles to a vintage shade of blue, find out what interior resolutions these...
- SPEEDY SUPPER
  
  Mix up your Monday night dinner with this simple but tasty Mediterranean-style orzo and kale...
Wellbeing
- Are you sober curious?
  
  Doing Dry January or merely cutting down? We're all re-examining our relationship with alcohol. Could "sober curious" be for you?
- Book now! ‘Superspa’ breaks for 2019
  
  I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want... a massage, mani and Jacuzzi please,...

Wanna work for Muddy?

Muddy Leicestershire and Rutland is looking for a brilliant intern! Could this be you or someone you know?
- Worklife need a reboot?
  
  Job doing your head in? Or maybe it's lack of job that's the problem? Our careers agony aunt...
- Find your ideal job
  
  There's more to life than a college education, doncha know. Muddy investigates some excellent...
Kids
- Grace Dieu Manor School
  
  Muddy says: A friendly but forward-thinking co-ed independent day school taking kids from 12 weeks - 11 yrs, set in 120 acres of lush Leicestershire greenery.
- Bonfire Bonanza
  
  Remember, remember...it's not too late to join in with all the Bonfire festivities. Here are the best in Leicestershire and Rutland.

Muddy makes the Daily Mail!

The 50 most inspirational women in the UK – Keeley Hawes, Dina Asher-Smith, Thomasina Miers, Jacqueline Wilson and founder of Muddy Stilettos, Hero Brown!
- Kirsteen Thomson, from Sky’s Landscape Artist of the Year 2018
  
  Wild card on Sky’s Landscape Artist of the Year 2018, artist Kirsteen Thomson tells us about...
- Muddy makes the glossies!
  
  Our ed-in-chief Hero Brown on being a centre-fold pin-up in Psychologies magazine - alongside...
- Meet Leicester’s most stylish lady
  
  When it comes to fashion, Sukhina Garcia has got it nailed. She runs ladies boutique, Betty Brown which grabbed the gong for Best Women's Store in the Muddy Stiletto Awards 2018.
- On the lash with Tim Henman
  
  Tim Henman, party animal - who'd have thought it? Ahead of Wimbledon, the British tennis legend...