Wildlife and Geological Sites
Charnwood Forest covers approx 173 km2 (67 sq mi) of Leicestershire, split over three local government districts: Charnwood Borough, North West Leicestershire District, and Hinckley and Bosworth District. It includes a National Nature Reserve (NNR), 19 SSSIs (Some subdivided in the list of sites below), 4 GCR sites of International geological importance plus a further 6 GCR sites, 13 Regionally Important Geological Sites (RIGS), 5 Local Nature Reserves (LNRs), 7 Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) nature reserves, and 1 Woodland Trust woodland. 17 sites have open access to the public. Footpaths and bridleways give views and limited access to the other sites listed, and to the rest of the Charnwood Forest landscape. Over half of Charnwood Forest is included within the National Forest. It is also crossed by two waymarked long distance walking routes – the Leicestershire Round and the Ivanhoe Way. The 45 sites listed here include sites with statutory wildlife or geological designations, plus other sites included in published lists of notable sites. On both the map and table, green denotes a site open to the public, amber denotes a site with limited access, or restricted by permit or membership. Red denotes a site with no public access except by special arrangement with the owners.
| Map No. | Site Name | Status | Access | Location and map link | Area (ha) | Habitat | Ownership and details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Breedon Cloud Wood and Quarry | SSSI(B&G) & RIGS | Restricted | SK415214 |
63 | Ancient woodland and limestone quarry | Breedon Cloud Wood is owned by LRWT. Permit needed. Cloud Hill Quarry is owned by Ennstone Breedon Ltd. |
| 2 | Shepshed Cutting | SSSI(G) | Partial | SK462186 |
6.1 | Old Quarry with Galena of a type unknown elsewhere in the world. | The quarry is crossed by a disused railway cutting of the Charnwood Forest Railway which is now a path and cycleway, and of the short-lived Charnwood Forest Canal. |
| 3 | Morley Quarry, Shepshed | LNR, GCR & RIGS | Open | SK476179 |
3 | Disused quarry | Charnwood Borough Council. Car Park off Iveshead Road. Cliff faces show the oldest of Charnwood's Precambrian rocks and the Triassic unconformity. |
| 4 | Newhurst Quarry, Shepshed | SSSI(G), GCR & RIGS | None | SK485179 |
9 | Quarry currently being used for waste disposal | Landfill site managed by Biffa. GCR listing for Mineralogy significance. |
| 5 | Holywell Wood | Woodland | Private | SK507183 |
Woodland | Private. Public footpath runs along its northern edge from Snells Nook Lane. | |
| 6 | Longcliffe Quarry, Shepshed | RIGS | None | SK492170 |
Quarry site | Midland Quarry Products: working quarry. | |
| 7 | Ives Head | GCR(I) & RIGS | Partial | SK478170 |
Old quarry and craggy hilltop | Privately owned disused quarry. A public bridleway passes 500m south of the summit (201m). | |
| 8 | Blackbrook Reservoir | SSSI(B&G) & GCR | Partial | SK457175 |
38.6 | Open water, wooded banks, wetlands | Severn Trent Water. Access to the viaduct and wooded slopes via One Barrow Lane. |
| 9 | Grace Dieu And High Sharpley | SSSI (B&G) | Partial | SK437170 |
89 | Heathland and Carbonifierous limestone outcrops | Private owners. Adjoins National Forest access land and Grace Dieu Priory site. |
| 10 | Cademan Wood | Woodland | Partial | SK438170 |
Mixed woodland with rocky outcrops | De Lisle family. Public footpaths and informal open access. Spectacular outcrops that formed very close to a Precambrian volcano. | |
| 11 | Snibston Country Park and Grange Nature Reserve | LNR | Open | SK416142 |
40 | Woodland, meadow, marsh and ponds | Leicestershire County Council. |
| 12 | Nature Alive! Coalville | LNR | Open | SK421151 |
6 | Regenerated scrub and wetland on former industrial land | North West Leicestershire District Council. Valuable site for dragonflies. |
| 13 | Whitwick Quarry | RIGS | None | SK448159 |
Quarry site | Midland Quarry Products | |
| 14 | Mount St Bernard Abbey | Abbey | Partial | SK457162 |
Cistercian Abbey | Visitors to the Abbey and grounds are made welcome. The crags around The Knoll show steeply dipping Charnian tuffs. | |
| 15 | Charnwood Lodge | NNR, SSSI(B&G) & GCR | Restricted | SK466155 |
193.5 | Acid and heath grasslands with some mixed woodland | LRWT, permit needed for parts. Timberwood Hill and Warren Hills are accessible under the right to roam. |
| 16 | Jubilee Wood, Woodhouse Lane | Public woodland | Open | SK510165 |
10 | Mixed woodland and rocky outcrops | Leicestershire County Council. |
| 17 | Loughborough Outwoods, Woodhouse Lane | SSSI(B&G) GCR (I) | Open | SK515160 |
44.6 | Mixed woodland and rocky outcrops | Charnwood Borough Council. Free car park. |
| 18 | Woodbrook and Deans Wood | Stream and woodland | Partial | SK505158 |
Charnwood stream and woodland | Permissive path from Jubilee wood to Deans Lane. | |
| 19 | Charley Woods | Nature reserve | Open | SK476148 |
28.8 | Oak woodland | LRWT, open to the public. |
| 20 | Bardon Hill Quarry | SSSI(G) GCR and RIGS | None | SK459133 |
79 | Quarry. Precambrian Igneous Rocks | Aggregate Industries. |
| 21 | Bardon Hill | SSSI(B) | Partial | SK461132 |
13 | High moorland, highest point in Leicestershire (278m) | Private land. Access to the summit, via public footpaths with expansive views. |
| 22 | Beacon Hill, Woodhouse Eaves | SSSI(B&G) GCR & Ancient Monument | Open | SK513146 |
135 | Heathland, rocks, woodland hillfort | Leicestershire County Council. |
| 23 | Broombriggs Farm and Windmill Hill | Farm Trail | Open | ] SK523144 |
55 | Farmland and heath | Leicestershire County Council. Pay car park. |
| 24 | Buddon Brook | Stream | Partial | SK556156 |
Stream habitat | Private farmland. A public footpath runs beside the stream. | |
| 25 | Buddon Wood | SSSI(B&G) and RIGS | None | SK558152 |
89 | Ancient Oak woodland, now mostly quarried away, | Private – including Lafarge Aggregates. |
| 26 | Main Quarry, Mountsorrel | SSSI(G) & GCR | None | SK577148 |
14 | Quarry site | Lafarge Aggregates. Largest manmade hole in Europe.School visits are possible. |
| 27 | Swithland Reservoir and Brazil Island | SSSI (B&G) and RIGS | Partial | SK560142 |
98 | Open water, wooded banks | Severn Trent Water. Limited road and footpath access. Excellent views from Great Central Railway, which crosses the reservoir via Brazil Island. |
| 28 | The Brand, Swithland | SSSI(B&G) & GCR | None | SK536133 |
18 | Oak woodland, grassy heath and old slate quarries | Private (Martin family). Occasional open days. |
| 29 | Roecliffe Manor Lawns | SSSI(B) | None | SK531125 |
1.2 | Species rich grassland with rare fungi | Leonard Cheshire Care Home. |
| 30 | Swithland Wood | SSSI(B&G) | Open | SK540123 |
61 | Ancient Woodland and disused slate quarries | Bradgate Park Trust. Pay car parks. |
| 31 | Benscliffe Wood | SSSI(B) | None | SK514127 |
10 | Mixed woodland | Private wood. Particularly rich in lichen species. |
| 32 | Ulverscroft Nature Reserve, Whitcroft's Lane | Nature reserve | Restricted | SK490124 |
56 | Mixed woodland, marshy grassland and meadow | NT, managed by LRWT (NT members need LRWT permit). |
| 33 | Rocky Plantation, Nr Markfield | Nature reserve | Restricted | SK493118 |
3.4 | Mixed woodland and rocky outcrops | NT, managed by LRWT. Open to Wildlife Trust and National Trust members only. |
| 34 | Lea Meadows, Ulverscroft Lane | SSSI | Open | SK506115 |
12 | Meadow | LRWT, open to the public. |
| 35 | Billa Barra Hill | LNR & RIGS | Open | SK468113 |
20 | Old quarry, grassland, mature and recent woodland. | Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Open to the public. Car Park on Billa Barra Lane. |
| 36 | New Cliffe Hill Quarry | RIGS | None | SK463108 |
243 | Quarry. Precambrian Rocks | Midland Quarry Products: working quarry (A tunnel links this to Cliffe Hill Quarry). |
| 37 | Cliffe Hill Quarry | SSSI(G) GCR (I) and RIGS | None | SK475105 |
37 | Quarry. Precambrian Rocks | Midland Quarry Products: working quarry. |
| 38 | Altar Stones, Markfield | Nature reserve | Open | SK485107 |
3.7 | Rough heath grassland with rock outcrops | LRWT, open to the public. |
| 39 | Hill Hole Quarry, Markfield | Nature reserve and RIGS | Open | SK486102 |
5.4 | Flooded quarry, rock faces and grassland | Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Open to the public. The old quarry faces show the youngest of the area's Precambrian rocks. |
| 40 | Cropston Reservoir | SSSI(B&G) | None | SK546110 |
55 | Open water, wetlands | Severn Trent Water. No access but with good views from Bradgate Park. |
| 41 | Bradgate Park | SSSI(B&G) GCR(I) | Open | SK530110 |
340 | Bracken heath, rocks, river, woodland, ancient oaks | Bradgate Park Trust. Pay car parks. |
| 42 | Sheet Hedges Wood, Newtown Linford | SSSI(B) | Open | SK524087 |
30 | Mixed woodland | Leicestershire County Council. Free car park near Groby Pool. |
| 43 | Groby Pool | SSSI(B) | Partial | SK523082 |
28 | Open water, wetlands | Amalgamated Roadstone Corp. One side has good roadside paths and access with a large nearby free car park. |
| 44 | Groby Quarry | RIGS | None | SK525083 |
Working Quarry | Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation (ARC) | |
| 45 | Martinshaw Wood | Public woodland | Open | SK510072 |
102 | Mixed woodland | Woodland Trust. |
Abbreviations used in the table: National Nature Reserve (NNR). Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (B=Biological, G=Geological). Geological Conservation Review (GCR)(I=of International importance). Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS). Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). National Trust (NT). Local Nature Reserve (LNR).
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