| Beacon Hill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 248 m (814 ft) |
| Prominence | c. 57 metres (187 ft) |
| Geography | |
| Location | Charnwood Forest, England |
| OS grid | SK509148 |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 129 |
Beacon Hill, near Loughborough, in Leicestershire, England, is a popular country park. It is one of several beacon hills in the United Kingdom. It is part of Beacon Hill, Hangingstone and Outwoods Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The park consists of over 135 hectares (330 acres) of grassland and woodland and offers recreational walking, and some short climbs. With a maximum height of 248 metres (814 ft), it is the second highest point in Leicestershire after Bardon Hill, [1] although the OS map shows Birch Hill, which is near Copt Oak to be 254m.
An extinct volcano, in Whitwick, 4 miles (6 km) to the west, was responsible for the fine-grained igneous rocks that the hill consists of. Beacon Hill was the site of a Bronze Age hill fort. Today a toposcope indicates landmarks which can be seen from the summit. These include Lincoln Cathedral and the hills of the Peak District.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station is aligned so that, seen from the summit, only two of its eight cooling towers are visible.
On a clear day Belvoir Castle can be seen as well as the hills in the Peak District. Derby, Nottingham, and the tower of Lincoln Cathedral can be seen with a pair of binoculars. Loughborough is seen below the hill as is Beaumanor Hall. You can also hear and see steam trains on the Great Central Railway which has stations at Loughborough, Quorn and Woodhouse.
It was featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the Midlands. There are some very interesting rocks on the summit.
Nearby are two small woods both accessible to the public. Jubilee Wood is 2 miles (3 km) north-west of the lower Beacon hill car park on the Woodhouse Eaves to Nanpantan road and the Outwoods which is adjacent to Jubilee Wood.
The park has been awarded the Green Flag Award.
The park contains a collection of native trees, first planted in 1996. Many of the trees are labelled, and there are several boxes that provide audio commentary on the biology and historical interest of selected tree species at the push of a button.
There are car parks top and bottom, accessible from Beacon Road or Breakback Road, with a pay on exit barrier system, accepting cash and card. For access by public transport, buses between Leicester and Loughborough via Anstey serve Woodhouse Eaves. Service 154 operated by Centrebus runs Monday to Friday and Kinchbus service 123 on Saturdays. [2]
Beacon Hill Country Park has picnic areas, walking routes, a barbecue site (seasonal), horse tracks and permanent orienteering markers. Each August the park opens for a country fair.
Quorn is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, near the university town of Loughborough. Its name was shortened from Quorndon in 1889, to avoid postal difficulties owing to its similarity to the name of another village, Quarndon, in neighbouring Derbyshire.
The National Forest is an environmental project in central England run by The National Forest Company. From the 1990s, 200 square miles (520 km2) of north Leicestershire, south Derbyshire and southeast Staffordshire have been planted in an attempt to blend ancient woodland with newly planted areas to create a new national forest. It stretches from the western outskirts of Leicester in the east to Burton upon Trent in the west, and is planned to link the ancient forests of Needwood and Charnwood.
The Borough of Charnwood is a local government district with borough status in the north of Leicestershire, England, which has a population of 166,100 as of the 2011 census. It borders Melton to the east, Harborough to the south east, Leicester and Blaby to the south, Hinckley and Bosworth to the south west, North West Leicestershire to the west and Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire to the north. It is named after Charnwood Forest, an area which the borough contains much of.
Bradgate Park is a public park in Charnwood Forest, in Leicestershire, England, northwest of Leicester. It covers 850 acres. The park lies between the villages of Newtown Linford, Anstey, Cropston, Woodhouse Eaves and Swithland. The River Lin runs through the park, flowing into Cropston Reservoir which was constructed on part of the park. To the north-east lies Swithland Wood. The park's two well known landmarks, Old John and the war memorial, both lie just above the 210 m (690 ft) contour. The park is part of the 399.3 hectare Bradgate Park and Cropston Reservoir Site of Special Scientific Interest, which has been designated under both biological and geological criteria.
Charnwood Forest is a hilly tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; its elevation is generally 600 feet (180 m) and upwards, the area exceeding this height being about 6,100 acres (25 km2). The highest point, Bardon Hill, is 912 feet (278 m). On its western flank lies an abandoned coalfield, with Coalville and other former mining villages, now being regenerated and replanted as part of the National Forest. The M1 motorway, between junctions 22 and 23, cuts through Charnwood Forest.
The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, England. It is located some five miles (8 km) west of Telford, on the border between the unitary authorities of Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. Rising above the Shropshire Plain to a height of 407 metres above sea level, it is a prominent and well-known landmark, signalling the entrance to Shropshire for travellers westbound on the M54 motorway. The Wrekin is contained within the northern salient of the Shropshire Hills AONB. The hill is popular with walkers and tourists and offers good views of Shropshire. It can be seen well into Staffordshire and the Black Country, and even as far as the Beetham Tower in Manchester, Winter Hill in Lancashire and Cleeve Hill in Gloucestershire.
Worcestershire Beacon, also popularly known as Worcester Beacon, or locally simply as The Beacon, is a hill whose summit at 425 metres (1,394 ft) is the highest point in Worcestershire. It is part of the Malvern Hills which run about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north-south along the Herefordshire-Worcestershire border.
Lickey Hills Country Park is a country park in England. It is 10 miles south west of Birmingham and 24 miles north east of Worcester. The 524 acres (212 ha) park is situated just south of Rednal and close to Barnt Green. It is half a mile west of Cofton Hackett. It is one of the oldest parks managed by Birmingham City Council. The hills rise to 298 m (977 ft) above sea level at Beacon Hill.
The Clent Hills lie 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Birmingham city centre in Clent, Worcestershire, England. The closest towns are Stourbridge and Halesowen, both in the West Midlands conurbation. The Clent Hills range consists of, in order from north-west to south-east: Wychbury Hill, Clent Hill, and Walton Hill. The north Worcestershire range of hills continues eastwards to include Romsley Hill, Waseley Hills and the Lickey Hills.
Swithland is a linear village in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. The civil parish population was put at 230 in 2004 and 217 in the 2011 census. It is in the old Charnwood Forest, between Cropston, Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves. It has a village hall, a parish church and a public house, the Griffin Inn. The village is known for the slate that was quarried in the area.
Woodhouse, often known to locals as Old Woodhouse, is a small village and civil parish in the heart of Charnwood, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,319, including around 300 term-time boarders at the Defence College. The parish includes the larger village of Woodhouse Eaves. The parish of Woodhouse was formed in 1844. The village is located between the larger Woodhouse Eaves and Quorn villages, the village contains a mixture of small cottages and large modern houses. It is a commuter village for both Leicester and Loughborough, as well as further afield.
Woodhouse Eaves is a village located on the side of Beacon Hill, in the Charnwood Forest area of Leicestershire, England. It has a mixture of small and large modern houses, with a mixture of cottages, victorian designs, and plenty of greenery. At the 2011 census the population of around 1,300 was included in the civil parish of Woodhouse.
Swithland Wood and The Brand is a 87.9 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Woodhouse Eaves in Leicestershire. Swithland Wood is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade II. The Brand is designated a Precambrian site in the Geological Conservation Review, but the dating has been changed due to the discovery of trace fossils from the succeeding Cambrian period.
The Lickey Hills are a range of hills in Worcestershire, England, 11 miles (18 km) to the south-west of the centre of Birmingham near the villages of Lickey, Cofton Hackett and Barnt Green. The hills are a popular country park area and they afford panoramic views over much of the surrounding countryside.
The Outwoods is a 40 hectares ancient wood and visitor attraction overlooking Loughborough and the Soar Valley in Leicestershire, England. It has rare rock outcrops, many species of woodland plants and substantial wildlife, and it is part of Beacon Hill, Hangingstone and Outwoods Site of Special Scientific Interest. Situated within Charnwood Forest the Outwoods stands on some of the oldest exposed rocks in Britain, being formed in the Precambrian era.
Ros Hill, also known as Ros Castle due to the 3,000-year-old Iron Age hill fort on its summit, is a hill in the county of Northumberland in northern England. It is the highest point of a low range of hills stretching from Alnwick to Berwick-upon-Tweed — the Chillingham Hills. Other tops of the Chillingham Hills include Titlington Pike, Dod Law and Doddington Northmoor. However, Ros Hill is significantly higher than these and towers over the surrounding landscape with easily enough relative height to make it a "Marilyn".
Jubilee Wood comprises 10 hectares of mixed woodland with rocky outcrops. It was presented to Leicestershire County Council in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
Beacon Hill, Hangingstone and Outwoods is a 147.5-hectare (364-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) south of Loughborough in Leicestershire. It is also a Geological Conservation Review and a Nature Conservation Review site. The Outwoods and Beacon Hill are part of The National Forest. Two areas in the SSSI, Beacon Hill and Jubilee Woods are country parks managed by Leicestershire County Council, and The Outwoods is managed by Charnwood Borough Council.
Beacon Brook is a brook which runs through North Leicestershire. The source of the rivulet is in Beacon, near Woodhouse Eaves. The water way runs through Beaumanor Hall before there is a convergence with the River Lin in Quorn. The river runs for around 6 kilometres between its source and confluence with the River Lin.
