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

Tea Tasting in the Leicestershire Countryside

I was recently invited to a ‘tea tasting’ evening at The Old Brickyard Tea Garden, just outside Scalford (near Melton Mowbray). As I’d never been to such an event before, I was curious to see how it worked.

The first thing I discovered was that there are around 1500 varieties of tea, all of which come from the same tea plant known as Camellia Sinensis. Where the plant is grown, in what type of soil and climatic conditions, and when the leaves are picked, are all factors contributing to each variety’s unique flavour.

I then learned that the amount of time the tea is infused is critical to its taste. It’s precision stuff and Anna, our hostess, and owner of the tea room used a timer to get the infusion of each tea just right.

When ready, the tea was poured into a cup for us to taste. We each took a spoonful directly from the cup and were encouraged to slurp it noisily, swirling it around our mouths to ensure that the tea and plenty of oxygen reached all the taste receptors on our tongues for an even taste. Normally, you would then spit the tea out but, thankfully, we swallowed then moved on to the next!

There were nine different types of green and black tea to try, no two even remotely similar, and virtually each a favourite with somebody! I particularly liked the Darjeeling First Flush (made from very young shoots).

It was a very pleasant evening and an experience I would recommend.

The next tea tasting session will be on Monday 10 December from 6.30 to 8pm and is FREE! (A great stress-buster in this busy period running up to Christmas!) Click here for more information

For more information about The Old Brickyard Tea Garden, click here.

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

Rutland: Much in Little

Check out this post on my new blog 'Snapshots of Britain'

Snapshots of Britain: Rutland: Much in Little

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.