Charnwood Forest

Charnwood Forest is a hilly area in north-west Leicestershire, bordered by Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville. Its landscape is uneven and rocky, with stretches of moorland and woodland. The ground rises above 180 metres in many places, covering about 25 square kilometres. Bardon Hill reaches 278 metres, the highest point in the forest. The M1 motorway cuts through the western edge near junctions 22 and 23. Old granite quarries at Bardon Hill, Buddon Hill and Whitwick still supply crushed stone for roads and buildings. The forest holds some of Britain’s oldest rocks, formed more than 600 million years ago. In 1956 and 1957, schoolchildren Tina Negus and Roger Mason found the earliest-known complex fossil here, named Charnia masoni. These Precambrian rocks appear as jagged outcrops across the highest parts. The area also has younger Ordovician rocks near Mountsorrel, quarried for roadstone. Traces of early human activity include Neolithic stone axes and an Iron Age hill fort on Beacon Hill. Visitors walk through woodlands where bluebells flower in spring. Popular routes include Bardon Hill, Beacon Hill and Bradgate Park, with open access to many sites. Swithland Wood and the Outwoods offer quieter paths through mixed woodland. Stoneywell cottage, cared for by the National Trust, sits within the forest’s boundaries. Long-distance trails such as the Leicestershire Round and the Ivanhoe Way cross the landscape, linking viewpoints and historic spots.