Winter Walk Ideas in Leicestershire

Bardon Hill, highest point in Leicestershire
© Copyright Richard Webb

A series of winter walk ideas has been put together by Leicestershire County Council for anyone who would like to get fit, meet new people and explore Leicestershire. They're also deal for anyone who has made a new year’s resolution to burn off the festive calories and become more active.

Grantham Canal
© Copyright Alan Murray-Rust

Most people in the county live within 500 metres of a footpath or bridleway. There are also some great country parks to explore. Some walks to sample Leicestershire’s winter wonderland include:

• A waterside walk from Cossington to Watermead Country Park. This includes a surfaced cycleway and towpath via the brand new buggy-friendly bridge over the River Wreake near Syston 
• From Harby, one of the Parish Walks routes goes alongside the tranquil Grantham Canal and past the Dove Cottage Day Hospice tea room which welcomes muddy walkers. 
• Misterton Marshes near Lutterworth - a wildlife-rich nature reserve - is accessible via permissive paths 
• Hallaton offers tranquil rolling countryside and honey stone buildings. 
• A stile-free circular walk takes in scenery from Hinckley to Burbage Common and Woods 
• Coalville Strolls leaflet, just published, features various walks. These include climbs up to Mount St. Bernard Abbey, or Bardon Hill, the highest point in Leicestershire. 

More on these walks, as well as Strolls on your Doorstep leaflets which cover Hinckley, Loughborough, Market Harborough, Melton Mowbray, Oadby and Wigston, Coalville and many of the places around Leicester, can be found at www.leics.gov.uk/walking

For more on the council’s Choose How You Move campaign, which encourages people to get fit, have fun, save money and help the environment visit: www.leics.gov.uk/choosehowyoumove

The photographs in this post are licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Winter Walking In The Outwoods Near Loughborough

The Outwoods Near Loughborough, Leicestershire
© Copyright Ashley Dace

Woods are good places to go walking when the cold winter winds are blowing. One of the more interesting woods in North Leicestershire is the Outwoods between Woodhouse Eaves and Loughborough, and close to Beacon Hill Country Park.

Outwoods Crag
© Copyright Ashley Dace

The Outwoods is 100 acres of ancient woodland. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest as it stands on some of the oldest rocks in Britain, dating back to the pre-Cambrian era 700 million years ago. Rare fossils have been found in the rocks which are of international importance to the study of early life forms. Some are exhibited in the New Walk Museum in Leicester and Charnwood Museum in Loughborough.

Management of the Outwoods  

The Outwoods Management Committee is working with Charnwood Borough Council and Natural England to re-establish traditional oak woodland over much of the area. This process involves the removal of non-native trees and shrubs such as sycamore, rhododendron and larch, and will take many decades.

You are free to walk anywhere in the Outwoods, but if you prefer something ‘mapped out’, there are two signed walks you can follow. The blue signs will guide you round the short walk of 1.3km (0.8miles), the orange signs round the longer walk of 3km (1.8miles). The routes are relatively even and dry, but there are some steep climbs on both so it’s advisable to wear sturdy walking shoes or boots.

A leaflet showing the walks is available from the Outwoods car park. You can also download the information by clicking here.

The Outwoods car park is off Woodhouse Lane, between Nanpantan Road and Woodhouse Eaves. You can also get to the woods by foot (allow about 20 minutes) from Brook Road, opposite the Old Bulls Head in Woodhouse Eaves. 

There is a picnic area next to the car park and benches throughout the wood. 

This post is adapted from an article which appears in the December/January 13 issue of Village Connect.

The photographs in this post are licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Help shape countryside and urban access in Leicestershire

If you enjoy walking and riding in the countryside, or are interested in exploring the local area, you are invited to apply to join the Leicestershire Local Access Forum.

The forum is an independent official body that brings together the diverse views of land owners, farmers, ramblers, horse-riders, cyclists, conservationists and other groups.

Focusing on how people can make the most of the great outdoors, Access Forums were set-up by government to represent all the different fields or areas of interest concerned with public rights of way and countryside access.

Roy Denny, Chairman of the forum, said: "The forum works alongside and advises Leicestershire County Council, and other local authorities and public agencies.

“It helps watch over - and shape the future of – open access land and public footpaths, bridleways, byways, and cycle trails. Anyone who has the time available and who can contribute positively is invited to apply."

Forum members are unpaid volunteers who meet four times a year to debate topical rural and urban access issues, discuss policy and planning proposals, and raise matters of concern.

Lesley Pendleton, County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: "The County Council values forum members' commitment and contribution.

“The forum means all those with an interest in public access to the countryside can come together and better understand each other's views.”

For a Membership Pack see the web at www.leics.gov.uk/lafapply email accessforum@leics.gov.uk or phone 0116 305 7655 for more details. The closing date for the current round of applications is January 16, 2012.

Discovering Rutland

Rutland is the smallest county in England, just 18 miles from north to south and 17 miles west to east. Its motto 'Multum In Parvo', meaning 'much in little', describes it perfectly.

Buttercross, Oakham
© Copyright Lisa Batty

Oakham and Uppingham

Oakham is the county town and lies near the northern shore of Rutland Water. It's an easy place to find your way around, with plenty of shops, from reputable well-established stores (of which there are several) to the many smaller shops selling gifts, arts and crafts, antiques and so on. Wednesdays and Saturdays are market days, with a farmers' market on the third Saturday of the month.

If the town's history interests you, you can follow the Heritage Trail. This takes in 14 ancient buildings. Trail leaflets and other information about places to visit in Rutland can be had from the library or the Rutland County Museum.

An exciting venture for the town is Live @ The Museum, a 188-seat venue offering live music, theatre, comedy and cinema. It is situated in the Rutland County Museum.

A tour of the Grainstore Brewery is a must if you’re a real ale lover and want to see how a micro brewery operates. You can also enjoy a Ploughman's Lunch or Supper following the tour.

Market Square, Uppingham
© Copyright Colin Smith

Uppingham (south of Rutland Water) also has a good range of shops, many still family owned and run. Like Oakham, it is the ideal place for browsing around and discovering hidden gems.

The town has some lovely old buildings, including Uppingham School. The Church of St Peter and St Paul, which stands in the Market Square, dates from the 14th Century.

Uppingham's weekly market is every Friday and there's a farmers’ market on the second Friday of each month.


Fishing on Rutland Water
© Copyright Mat Fascione

Rutland Water

Built for the purpose of supplying water to the area, Rutland Water is one of the largest man-made reservoirs in Europe. It's set in 3,100 acres of countryside and provides the opportunity for a variety of sporting and leisure activities including windsurfing, rock-climbing, sailing and canoeing.

As well as dinghies and fishing boats, bikes are also available for hire. A cycle trail runs right round the lake and the 23-mile full circuit is well used by both leisure cyclists and those taking part in sponsored rides.

For the less active, the Rutland Belle provides cruises on the reservoir with full commentary of the points of interest along the way.

As a nature reserve, Rutland Water is one of the most important wildfowl sanctuaries in Great Britain with in excess of 20,000 water birds using it. It was here that the first osprey chick to fledge in Central England for 150 years was hatched in 2001, as part of the successful Osprey Project. The ospreys come back year after year and 2010 was the most successful breeding year ever. The birds have recently returned for the summer and you can view one of the nests on a live webcam. Click here to go to the webcam.

There are lots of bird hides and nature trails at the Egleton and Lyndon visitor centres, with experts on hand to help with identification.


For more information go to the Discover Rutland website


The Rutland Walking Festival starts on 22 May and runs until 5 June; the Festival booklet is now available from the website.

Find a bluebell wood near you

Burroughs Wood, Ratby

Springtime is the perfect time to go walking in Leicestershire’s woodlands. The weather is warmer, birds are singing louder and the once desolate and bare trees are coming into bloom – as are an abundance of other flora species. The most famous is the bluebell. During April and May, woodlands are illuminated by breathtaking displays of bluebells as they spread like a blue carpet across the ground in celebration of winter’s demise.

To help you find your nearest bluebell wood the Woodland Trust has recently launched a brand new website called 'VisitWoods', which contains the details of 14,000 publicly accessible woods across the UK.

To find your nearest wood go to www.VisitWoods.org.uk.

Throughout the bluebell season, woodlands across Leicestershire host various events for the public to come and enjoy their beauty. Swithland Wood in Charnwood has one of the best displays of bluebells in the country, and since 1927 an annual Bluebell Service has been held by Leicester Rotary Club and Swithland Parish Church. This year’s service will be on Sunday 8th May at 3pm.
For the more active amongst you, a Bluebell Walk & Ride will be taking place at Rutland Water on Sunday 1st May to raise money for Crohms and Colitis UK. There is an optional fancy dress theme entitled ‘Fairies, Pixies and Pirates’ and a choice of two walking/cycling distances to suit all abilities. The routes will take you through the stunning, bluebell-filled Barnsdale Woods. (Registration 10am-12pm at Barnsdale car park).

To satisfy any spontaneous urges to go bluebell spotting, here is a list of woods worth a visit:
• Burroughs Wood, Ratby
• Bluebell Woods, Yoxhall Lodge, Newchurch (near Burton-Upon-Trent)
• Willesley Wood (near Ashby-de-la-Zouch)
• Bluebell Woods, Ulverscroft Nature Reserve (near Loughborough)
• Jubilee Woods, Outwoods and Martin’s Wood; all in Charnwood

• Launde Woods, East Leicestershire

• Coton Manor Wood, Northamptonshire

Harby Parish Walks unveiled

Grantham Canal, Harby, by Kate Jewell

A new walks guide covering the village of Harby and surrounding countryside has been added to the Leicestershire CC's Parish Walks series. The guide gives details of four walks of different lengths, all starting and finishing in Harby, in the heart of the Vale of Belvoir. The shortest of the routes is suitable for wheelchairs and one of the longer ones is completely stile free. For more information go to:

http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/environment/countryside/walking/parishwalks/parish_walks_harby.htm

Explore Leicestershire ... on foot

View towards Hungarton, by Mat Fascione

Want to get out and enjoy the Leicestershire countryside now the days are getting longer? Why not try a walk from one of Leicestershire County Council's Parish Walks leaflets? There are currently 40 leaflets, each one describing a choice of walks starting and finishing in a particular village, and all are downloadable from the the council's website.
http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/environment/countryside/walking/parishwalks.htm

Tucked away in beautiful countryside a few miles to the east of Leicester, lies Hungarton, (pictured above) one of the 40 villages covered in the Parish Walk series. It's a charming, unspoilt village, with many of its houses showing the red and buff brick chequer pattern built by Shukbrugh Ashby who lived there in the mid 18th century. It has a very good pub called the Black Boy Inn.
The leaflet has two walks around Hungarton (3.5 and 4 miles), one of which will take you past the lovely Quenby Hall, built in 1627.