Charnwood Forest

thumb|right|The summit of Beacon Hill

thumb|right|Bluebells in Swithland Wood

thumb|300px|Charnwood Forest, as defined by [[Natural England]]

thumb|right|Old John, Bradgate Park

Charnwood Forest is a hilly tract in northwestern Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with moorland areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland, and significant Precambrian geology. Its elevation is generally and upwards, the area exceeding this height being about . The highest point, Bardon Hill, is .

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 hard stone of Charnwood Forest has been quarried for centuries, and was a source of whetstones and quern-stones. The granite quarries at Bardon Hill, Buddon Hill and Whitwick supply crushed aggregate to a wide area of southern Britain.

The forest is an important recreational area with woodland walks, noted for their displays of bluebells in the early spring, rock climbing and hillwalking. Popular places with public access include Bardon Hill, Beacon Hill, Bradgate Park, Swithland Wood, the Outwoods and Stoneywell cottage (National Trust).

Extent

The area of hills and open land known as Charnwood Forest has no jurisdictional boundary (the Borough of Charnwood covers roughly two thirds of Charnwood Forest, and the eastern half of the borough is not part of the forest). Furthermore, despite its name, Charnwood was never a royal forest, and was never subject to forest law. So although it is an ancient and well-established locality, it has only recently been officially defined, by the Natural England National Character Area (NCA) process, which takes a somewhat wider definition than many previous attempts to define the area.

Geology

Many of the craggy rocks of Charnwood Forest are of volcanic origin and are very old, dating back through 600 million years to Precambrian times. It was the site of the first-ever recorded discovery of Charnia masoni, the earliest-known large, complex fossilised species on record, recovered from a quarry near the Charnwood village of Woodhouse Eaves. It was discovered separately in 1956 and 1957 by local schoolchildren Tina Negus and Roger Mason, although it was Mason who received the credit (thus masoni). Since this find in Charnwood Forest, Precambrian fossils have been discovered across the world.

Along the western edge of Charnwood Forest the rocks are mainly Precambrian igneous diorites. These formed from molten lava deep within the sedimentary rocks, cooling slowly to produce hard, blocky rock with large crystals. This is extensively quarried for roadstone around Groby, Markfield and Whitwick, and is known as granite (formerly also called Markfieldite).

The central area of the forest has older rocks still. These are sedimentary and are very variable in character, They were formed by material from volcanoes, settling in deep water, and it is in these beds that the fossils are found. Uplifting, tilting and erosion have produced the distinctive jagged exposures found across the highest parts of Charnwood. On the eastern side, a much more recent series of rocks are found. Again igneous diorites, that formed deep underground, but these are Ordovician, from a mere 450 million years ago. These are extensively quarried in the areas near Mountsorrel.

History

The earliest form of the name Charnwood is probably derived from cerne woda, from the Celtic carn, meaning cairn, and the Old English wudu, meaning wood. Some sources give cwern as the derivation, meaning a tool used to grind grain and other materials by hand. The area was a source of stone for these tools, called quern-stones.

Archeological evidence has shown that the area was inhabited as far back as the Neolithic period, approximately 4,000–2,000 BC. A group of Neolithic stone axes known as 'Group XX', has 134 known examples, having been found widely acrooss the UK. This group has been identified as having a 'Bradgate Formation' rock characteristic, and thus was originally made in the Charnwood area. A 2026 petrology study has identified a site at Windmill Hill as a possible source outcrop. Nearby Beacon Hill has an Iron Age hill fort, dating from between 600 BC and 43 AD. This forms one of the surviving visible features in the landscape known to the Coritani, the tribe who occupied most of the East Midlands area at the time of the Roman Conquest.

According to Domesday Book, there was only one settlement in Charnwood Forest in 1086, at Charley whose name would appear to come from the same root, with the suffix -ley denoting open land, rather than forest.

In the 200 years after the Norman conquest, newly created settlements took major areas of land out of the forest for use in agriculture. Quorn was established between 1086 and 1153, and all the land up to Woodhouse had been deforested by 1228.

There were comparatively few major changes in land use in the post Medieval period, until the demand for timber and charcoal for the early Industrial Revolution contributed to a further loss of woodland. By the end of the 18th century, most of the woodland had disappeared leaving large areas of moorland and pasture.

In 1957, Charnwood Forest was considered for designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), but the designation was not made due to the construction of the M1 motorway through the area.

In literature

The area was the inspiration for "Charnwood Poems", a collection of poems by the author, playwright and poet Albert Francis Cross (1863–1940). It is also the setting for the speculative fiction novel Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce (2012), in which it is depicted as a possible portal to the realm of fairies.

Geopark

Charnwood Forest Geopark is a partnership organisation seeking to establish the area as a UNESCO Global Geopark. Headed up by The National Forest as one of the 17 statutory, NGO and charitable partners, they are looking to protect, enhance and develop the landscape and heritage characteristics of Charnwood Forest. From origins in 2007, establishment in 2013, and funded activities that commenced in 2021, it reached a position to apply for full acreditation in Autumn 2025, with an award potentially being decided by 2027. The main areas of activity are geological conservation, habitat restoration, improved interpretation and learning material, and cultural and heritage activities and events.

Wildlife and geological sites

thumb|300px|Map showing sites in Charnwood Forest notable for wildlife and geology

Charnwood Forest covers approx of Leicestershire, split over three local government districts: Charnwood Borough, North West Leicestershire District and Hinckley and Bosworth District. It includes a national nature reserve (NNR), 19 SSSIs (Some subdivided in the list of sites below), 4 Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites of international geological importance plus a further 6 GCR sites, 13 regionally important geological sites (RIGS), five local nature reserves (LNRs), seven Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) nature reserves, and one Woodland Trust woodland. Seventeen sites have open access to the public. Footpaths and bridleways give views and limited access to the other sites listed, and to the rest of the Charnwood Forest landscape. Over half of Charnwood Forest is included within the English National Forest. It is also crossed by two waymarked long distance walking routes—the Leicestershire Round and the Ivanhoe Way. The 45 sites listed here include sites with statutory wildlife or geological designations, plus other sites included in published lists of notable sites. On both the map and table, green denotes a site open to the public, amber denotes a site with limited access or restricted by permit or membership. Red denotes a site with no public access except by special arrangement with the owners.

Plants found within the woods include Digitalis purpurea, Dactylorhiza fuchsii, Sorbus torminalis and Vaccinium myrtilus.

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible"

|+ Sites in Charnwood Forest notable for Wildlife and Geology

! scope="col" | Map No.

! scope="col" | Site Name

! scope="col" | Status

! scope="col" | Access

! scope="col" | Location and map link

! scope="col" | Area (ha)

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Habitat

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Ownership and details

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 1||Breedon Cloud Wood and Quarry||SSSI(B&G) & RIGS||Restricted|| style="width:15%;"|||63||Ancient woodland and limestone quarry||Breedon Cloud Wood is owned by LRWT. Permit needed. Cloud Hill Quarry is owned by Ennstone Breedon Ltd.

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 2||Shepshed Cutting||SSSI(G)||The quarry is crossed by a disused railway cutting of the Charnwood Forest Railway which is now a path and cycleway and of the short-lived Charnwood Forest Canal.

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 3||Morley Quarry, Shepshed||LNR, GCR & RIGS||Open||||3||Disused quarry||Charnwood Borough Council. Car Park off Iveshead Road. GCR listing for Mineralogy significance.

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 5||Holywell Wood||Woodland ||Private||||||Woodland||Private. Public footpath runs along its northern edge from Snells Nook Lane.

|style="background:#F2DACE;"| 6||Longcliffe Quarry, Shepshed||RIGS||Partial||||||Old quarry and craggy hilltop||Privately owned disused quarry. A public bridleway passes 500 m south of the summit (201 m).

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 8||Blackbrook Reservoir||SSSI(B&G) Spectacular outcrops that formed very close to a Precambrian volcano.

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 11||Snibston Country Park and Grange Nature Reserve||LNR

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 12||Nature Alive! Coalville||LNR

|style="background:#F2DACE;"| 13||Whitwick Quarry||RIGS The crags around The Knoll show steeply dipping Charnian tuffs.

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 15||Charnwood Lodge||NNR, SSSI(B&G) Timberwood Hill and Warren Hills are accessible under the right to roam.

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 16||Jubilee Wood, Woodhouse Lane||Public woodland||Open||||10||Mixed woodland and rocky outcrops||Leicestershire County Council.

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 17||Loughborough Outwoods, Woodhouse Lane||SSSI(B&G)

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 18||Woodbrook and Deans Wood||Stream and woodland||Partial||||||Charnwood stream and woodland||Permissive path from Jubilee wood to Deans Lane.

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 19||Charley Woods||Nature reserve||Open||||28.8||Oak woodland||LRWT, open to the public.

|style="background:#F2DACE;"| 20||Bardon Hill Quarry||SSSI(G)

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 23||Broombriggs Farm and Windmill Hill||Farm Trail||Open|| ||55||Farmland and heath||Leicestershire County Council. Pay car park.

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 24||Buddon Brook||Stream ||Partial||||||Stream habitat||Private farmland. A public footpath runs beside the stream.

|style="background:#F2DACE;"| 25||Buddon Wood||SSSI(B&G)

|style="background:#F2DACE;"| 26||Main Quarry, Mountsorrel||SSSI(G)

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 27||Swithland Reservoir and Brazil Island||SSSI (B&G)

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 33||Rocky Plantation, Nr Markfield||Nature reserve||Restricted||||3.4||Mixed woodland and rocky outcrops||NT, managed by LRWT. Open to Wildlife Trust and National Trust members only.

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 34||Lea Meadows, Ulverscroft Lane||SSSI

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 35||Billa Barra Hill||LNR

|style="background:#F2DACE;"| 36||New Cliffe Hill Quarry||RIGS

|style="background:#F2DACE;"| 37||Cliffe Hill Quarry||SSSI(G)

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 38||Altar Stones, Markfield||Nature reserve||Open||||3.7||Rough heath grassland with rock outcrops||LRWT, open to the public.

|style="background:#D4F2CE;"| 39||Hill Hole Quarry, Markfield||Nature reserve and RIGS The old quarry faces show the youngest of the area's Precambrian rocks.

|style="background:#F2DACE;"| 40||Cropston Reservoir||SSSI(B&G)

|style="background:#F2F2CE;"| 43||Groby Pool||SSSI(B)

Abbreviations used in the table:

National nature reserve (NNR). Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) (B=Biological, G=Geological). Geological Conservation Review (GCR)(I=of International importance). Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS). Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). National Trust (NT). Local nature reserve (LNR).

Charnwood Forest

Extent

Geology

History

In literature

Geopark

Wildlife and geological sites

See also

Notes

References

External links