Rutland

Rutland is a county of mainland England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire, and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire.

Its greatest length north to south is only 18 miles (29.0 km), greatest breadth east to west, 17 miles (27.4 km). It is the smallest (in terms of population) normal unitary authority in mainland England (only the City of London is smaller), and is 348th of the 354 districts in terms of population. It is traditionally called the smallest English county, although the Isle of Wight which became a county in 1974 is smaller in area.

The only towns in Rutland are Oakham, the county town, and Uppingham. At the centre of the county is the large reservoir Rutland Water, with a similar surface area to Windermere, and it is an important nature reserve serving as an overwintering site for wildfowl and is a breeding site for ospreys. The town of Stamford is just over the border in a protruding part of Lincolnshire.

Rutland's older cottages are built from limestone or ironstone and many have roofs of Collyweston slate or thatch. The county used to supply iron ore to Corby steel works but these quarries closed in the 1960s. Agriculture thrives with much wheat farming on the rich soil. Tourism continues to grow.