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- Isle of Axholme -
The Isle of Axholme, once a true inland island, was drained in the 17th Century to provide agricultural land.
The drainage, undertaken by Dutch engineer Vermuyden, was a mammoth task that involved diverting the rivers Idle and Don.
The main villages within the Isle are Crowle, Epworth, Belton and Haxey.
Crowle is a former market town that lies to the north of the region.
The St Oswald Church dates back to the 12th Century and contains a rare Anglo-Scandinavian monument.
Much of the town centre is now a conservation area containing Georgian and Victorian buildings set around the attractive old market square.
Epworth - birthplace of John Wesley - founder of Methodism, is a thriving market town which attracts thousands of tourists each year through its Wesleyan connections.
It has many traditional inns and specialist shops. Attractions include the Old Rectory, Wesley Memorial Chapel and St Andrew's Church.
Belton straddles the A161 and was created when eight hamlets joined. It was a wealthy area in Norman times but the only remaining Norman work is the circular font in the North Aisle at All Saints Church.
Originally four, there is now just one Methodist chapel, and only two surviving shops.
Haxey, situated off the A161, is famed for its historic game of the Haxey Hood. Legend has it that 600 years ago Lady de Mowbray lost her hood in a gust of wind, sending farmworkers chasing for it.
Every year since then pub-goers re-enact the scene by scrambling to retrieve a symbolic hood.
Haxey is also home to the disused Axholme railway line, parts of which are open to the public.
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