37 reasons why YOU love Northamptonshire

There’s a lot of love for Northamptonshire and this blog post is dedicated to those who do love it!

A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post titled 7 reasons to love Northamptonshire and whilst most of the feedback was really positive, I actually got quite a bit of stigma over it.

I got told that my blog post was ‘fleeting’ and how I hardly mentioned any of the highlights that make Northamptonshire.

I’ll be honest. I was hurt by some of these comments. But I didn’t retaliate to those comments, but simply commented back saying that if I were to have mentione EVERYTHING, the blog post would had been incredibly long-winded – which wouldn’t be valuable content for my readers.

That’s why I decided to reach out to my blog readers who live in Northamptonshire to comment on their favourite things about the county.

With the closure of some of Northamptonshire’s best independent shops and cafes recently, there’s been a lot of negativity in the air. I want this post to help forget about all that and focus soley on the positive things that make Northamptonshire the best place!

After all, we were recently quoted by William Sitwell as being the capital food & drink county in the UK – that’s surely got to be a highlight!

I love networking with people who are just as passionate about the county and it’s happenings as I am, plus the reason behind the creation of my #NavigatingNorthants instagram hashtag was because I wanted to build a community of people who wanted to share their photos of Northamptonshire.

So here it is… instead of me writing about the endless reasons why I love Northamptonshire, here are some of YOUR reasons:

Love Northamptonshire | Nicole Navigates

Reasons why YOU love Northamptonshire:

@clarrisaxfood: How close the countryside is

@merinandco: All the country parks and cafes!

Becki: I love Northampton’s theatre scene – from the huge array of productions on offer professionally at Royal & Derngate and The Deco, to the wonderful work being done by community theatre groups like Masque Theatre and White Cobra, there’s something for everyone.

@thecinnamonfairy: All the independent businesses!

Lauren: Our green spaces and countrysides

Steve: The food and drink scene

Josh: Nicole Navigates ?

Gina: The canals and pretty walking places you can go to

Joanna: The Royal and Derngate (and Northampton Film House) is an incredible thing to have in the town and St Giles Street is fabulous for hairdressers, delis, lovely eateries and pubs. Brixworth Country Park is fantastic. Lots of lovely villages with great pubs for food and drink. The Saxon Church in Brixworth is stunning. Rushden Lakes is great for shopping.

Ruth: It’s not far from the M1 if you want to go somewhere else

Kerry: The canals and the fact they now do their own boat markets and all the lovely pubs where you can sit and watch the canal barges go by.

Chris: The independent breweries like Towcester Mill Brewery.

Angela: Daventry Country Park is a lovely place. A beautiful 2 mile walk around the reservoir, cafe and new play area. Worth a visit. Also the canals, especially Stoke Bruerne – beautiful canal walks.

Love Northamptonshire | Nicole Navigates Love Northamptonshire | Nicole Navigates Love Northamptonshire | Nicole Navigates

Emma D V: Northamptonshire has become home. Having moved here from the Black Country in 2011, I have steadily come to love and appreciate what the county has to offer. In recent years, people have been quite critical of the town, but it has such a vast and rich history which makes it a very special place to live. I am very proud to call Northampton home, and will continue to celebrate and share its heritage with anyone who will listen.

@soph.h: The vintage shops – as I’m a vintage and fashion blogger, it’s great to look at their stores!

Khandie: I love Northampton as the environment is so varied. You have countryside right on your doorstep as well as industrial units and beautiful period buildings. Its constantly inspiring me in my work and is always changing.

@nejepoc: The number of independent places to eat.

Mandy: The shoe industry is fascinating and we have so many shoe makers in Northamptonshire to be proud of!

@thewishfulluxury: It’s where I grew up, I have so many memories of the gorgeous countryside.

James: It has to be the history, we have the biggest market square in the UK. Northampton Castle was one of the most famous castles in England, But my all time favourite has to be the churches – my fave being All Saints

Amanda: Being a University of Northampton graduate, I have to give a shout out to the university and the staff there who are fantastic. I studied BA Hons Fashion Marketing and enjoyed studying both creative and pure marketing modules, which were spread across the Park and Avenue campuses. I have fond memories of my years spent there!

Matthew: Castle Ashby!

Deborah: The countryside. By far the best in England. My Dad always said Northamptonshire is the prettiest county and having travelled to all the counties, I wholly agree.

Naomi: For me, it has to be its canals, and beautiful little canal-side villages like Stoke Bruerne.

Rebecca: I love lots of things about Northamptonshire: Wicksteed park, Rushden lakes, Aura Cocktail Bar & Lounge (Kettering), Warner Edwards Gin distillery, The Royal & Derngate, The Castle Theatre & The Lighthouse theatre, West Lodge Farm, but mostly there are some really nice & talented people in the area!

St Giles Street

Diane: You don’t really have to go far for anything, good food, entertainment, musics, parks, drinks, history, water, etc.

Graham: Sunday morning walks in Abington Park with our two dogs Betsy and Boston, stroll through the Arboretum, stand and watch the football and then finishing by sitting outside at the cafe ( frosty or sunny ) sharing a sausage roll and watching the world go by. Joy

Jean: So many beautiful and interesting places here! All the different parks and green spaces just in Northampton itself.

Singing4Breathing: Because we have the best people! They make it what it is by far…

Rachael: I personally love the History of Northampton along with the small local independent businesses including coffee spots and little treasures (punn intended) like MOOCH

Judy: The gorgeous weather we’ve having!

Mark: Countryside and Abington Park which is one of the finest parks in the UK.

23rd St Mary’s Guides: The brilliant people who live here including our amazing young women in our unit!

Karina: There’s an incredible amount of comradery and passion for growing local businesses, they just seem to care!

Dean: The historic buildings like The Guildhall, any of our churches and Althorp House.

Rachel: The community vibe – you sometimes have to seek it out but its defintley there/here! Check out Umbrella Cafe on the Racecourse as a great starting point.

Fawsley Hall Hotel & Spa: Hidden gems and the traditional Northamptonshire ironstone.

IMG_0828 IMG_3413

As you can see, there is plenty to love about Northamptonshire – so don’t just take it from me. Let’s all come together and showcase what’s great about our county and community.

What do YOU love about Northamptonshire? Let me know in the comments below.

Sign up to Navigating Northants for monthly newsletters on all things happening in Northamptonshire:

[mc4wp_form id=”9044″]

PIN THIS FOR LATER:

PINTEREST NICOLE NAVIGATES (6)

Share this post?

Leave a Comment