Croft Hill
Selected Wild Place / Other Wild Places / Public Rights of Way / VC55 boundary
The base of the hill runs beside the road that links Croft and Huncote and there are access points at various places along this road. It is fairly easy to reach using either the B4114 and access via the village of Croft or the M69 junction 2 if that is more convenient.
Total species seen at this site:
Croft Hill stands 128m high in a largely flat area of Leicestershire. The Hill provides a number of habitats including broad-leaved woodland, scrub land, acidic grassland and two other distinct areas of grassland. The site has been a SSSI since 1956 and forms a natural focus of the passage of spring and autumn birds. It has a good system of paths. For those who are not energetic enough to tale the steps to the top of the hill, there are pleasant walks on well made paths around the base. These include boarded walks in damper areas and a jetty the protrudes out into the lake allowing a chance to look into the shallow water near the edges. Parking is available in various places but is limited.
Peregrine Falcon has been noted at this site and there have been rare sightings such as Greenland Wheatear, whilst Buzzard and Kestrel are regulars. The Gorse along the slopes is rich in insect life including the Gorse Shieldbug and Adonis Ladybird, whilst the wetter areas below the hill are populated by dragonflies and caddis flies including the Red-eyed Damselfly which has been recorded at the site. Several of the less common moths and butterflies occur there and a good mix of wild flowers including an unusually large area of the plant Spring Beauty which is local in distribution as a wild flower in our area.
Croft Hill - Where the Ravens Soar - a lovely feature on the site from Gavin Gamble on his blog.
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