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 Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the United Kingdom. It manages nature reserves in Leicestershire and Rutland, and was founded in 1956 as the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Conservation. As of January 2018, it has over 16,000 members, a staff of about 25 and more than 500 volunteers. It is based in Leicester, and is managed by a Council of Trustees which is elected by the members. It is a charity which covers all aspects of nature conservation, and works to protect wild places and wildlife.
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.
Dimminsdale is a 37 hectare geological and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest partly in Derbyshire and partly in Leicestershire. It is located east of Calke in Derbyshire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site, and a area of 23.5 hectares is owned by Severn Trent Water and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.
Ketton Quarries is a 115.6-hectare (286-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Ketton in Rutland. It is a Geological Conservation Review site, and an area of 27.5 hectares is managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.
Cribb's Meadow is a 4.2-hectare (10-acre) nature reserve east of Wymondham in Leicestershire. It is owned and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, and is designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest under the name Cribb's Lodge Meadows. It is also a National Nature Reserve and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade 2.
Bardon Hill Quarry is a 58.2-hectare (144-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Coalville in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
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.
Leighfield Forest SSSI is an 11.3 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Skeffington in Leicestershire, England. It consists of several fragments, including Tugby Wood, Loddington Reddish, Brown's Wood, Skeffington Wood and Tilton Wood, of the former medieval hunting Leighfield Forest, which straddles Leicestershire and Rutland. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade II.
Breedon Cloud Wood and Quarry is a 63.3 hectares biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Worthington in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. An area of 33 hectares is managed as a nature reserve by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.
Tilton Cutting is a 4.4 hectares geological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Tilton on the Hill in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site, and is owned and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust as Tilton Railway Cutting.
One Barrow Plantation is a 1.8 hectares geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) south-west of Shepshed in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. Part of the site is in the Blackbrook Reservoir biological SSSI.
Ives Head is a 5 hectares geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Shepshed in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Cliffe Hill Quarry is a 19.2 hectares geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts of Markfield in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Ulverscroft Valley is a 110.8-hectare (274-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Markfield in Leicestershire. The site is in five separate blocks, and two areas are nature reserves managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). Lea Meadows is owned by the LRWT and it is also a scheduled monument. Part of Ulverscroft Nature Reserve is owned by the LRWT and part is owned by the National Trust and leased to the LRWT.
