This page enables you to search for some of the best places to see wildlife in Leicestershire and Rutland. It's not comprehensive but we will keep adding new sites as we get records and images. If you have a favourite site that you would like to see added, let us know. Did you know we can also set up Wild Place pages for private sites such as gardens, farms and company grounds?
To explore the Wild Places of Leicestershire and Rutland:
zoom into the map and click on any site to show its details below,
use the filters below to find sites in your district or parish,
type any part of the site name to search for a particular site.
Just click on APPLY when you have entered your selection. Alternatively you can browse the full list below.
Key:Wild Places (outlined in orange); Public Rights of Way (green); county boundaries (blue), parish boundaries (lilac)
Map Key: Wild Places (outlined in red); Public Rights of Way (green); VC55 boundary (blue)
This delightful arts and crafts cottage is nestled into a Charnwood hillside amidst acid grassland and shrubs. There is also a large semi-natural oak woodland which is open to visitors.
This verge is being managed to improve biodiversity as part of the County Council/Parish Council verges biodiversity trial. It was surveyed in 2021 by NatureSpot volunteers but we would welcome additional wildlife records from the community, whether plants, animals or fungi.
Stretton Wood (30.75 ha/75.98 acres) lies North of the small villages of Stretton and Clipsham and borders Stretton Lakes and George Henry Wood. Public footpaths run throughout. It is ancient woodland on Glacial Boulder Clay, but was cleared and planted with conifers in the early 1960s.
Planted in 2004 as part of the National Forest tender scheme and covering an area of 25.4 ha (62.8 acres), Sunnyside lies within walking distance of the village of Packington. This wood is characterised by broad open rides giving views across the surrounding landscape. A bird hide overlooks the wetland and a viewing platform in the woodland clearing on the high ground enables good views all round.
Swadlincote Woodlands is an attractive greenspace close to the town centre with excellent access for people. Over the past 20 years a former landfill and open cast site has been transformed into 33 hectares of woodland. The park includes open space, woodlands, play areas and a point for viewing across the town and valley. A network of footpaths criss-cross the site and link to existing access points.
The reservoir, built around 1896, lies just south of Quorn, and is about a mile long by half a mile wide. The Great Central Railway divides the reservoir into two; the northern section is the larger. There is no access to the reservoir margins, but both sections are easily viewed from public roads.
Swithland Wood is located on the edge of Charnwood Forest. It lies some 6 miles north west of Leicester and some 7 miles south of Loughborough, and near to the east entrance to Bradgate Park.The wood is ancient oak woodland covering 146 acres and a remnant of the original Charnwood Forest Oak Woods. It is rich in a wide range of flora and fauna and has an extensive network of footpaths. Within the wood are former Swithland slate quarries.
Syston Lake has been owned by the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust since 2011. The site is part of the important River Soar corridor and contains open water and grassland on restored former gravel workings.
Teigh is a small village 5 miles north of Oakham and Rutland Water. The church was mostly rebuilt in 1782, but the base of the tower has survived from the 13th century with some 14th century work above. The churchyard can seen in its entirety from the road that winds around the perimeter due to the low wall and minimal foliage, but there are also a few mature trees and a large area of wildflowers to the back end of the churchyard.
Created in the early 1990’s as part of the commercial development of land to the south west of Lubbesthorpe Way. The area was designed to prevent rain run-off from the development overloading the Lubbesthorpe Brook. Previously the land was grazing fields but was “sculptured” to form a large dry lagoon. Several locations were planted with a variety of trees and shrubs, most not native to UK!
Covering an area of 4.96 ha (12.26 acres), The Blackberry Wood lies on the outskirts of the hamlet of Farm Town. It was planted in 2007 as part of the National Forest and contains a variety of young native trees bounded by mature hedges. The site offers some good views of the surrounding area.
Designated a Local Wildlife Site in 2006, The Drift verge at the Pickworth end is approximately 1,600 metres in length, on both sides of the track, varying between 1.5 and 2.5 metres in width. The main habitats are mesotrophic, calcareous and mixed grassland.
Designated a Local Wildlife Site in 2006, The Drift verge at the Ryhall end is approximately 2.2 kilometres in length, on both sides of the dirt track. The main habitats are mesotrophic, calcareous and mixed grassland on the south side, and calcareous and mixed grassland on the north side.
The Drift is an ancient track that follows the boundary between Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, forming part of the modern long distance footpath known as The Viking Way. A section of The Drift between the A607 and Saltby airfield is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), designated because it is one of the best remaining examples of limestone grassland in Lincolnshire. Lowland calcareous grassland is rare throughout Europe and is ecologically rich in a range of plants and insects not found elsewhere.
Designated a Local Wildlife Site in 2009, the verge is 318 metres in length and 3-4 metres wide between the road tarmac and the Freewards woodland edge (on the eastern side of the road only). The main habitat is mesotrophic grassland and reportedly reasonably species diverse. The site is shaded at the north end, and partly shaded along the southern section.
The Miles Piece covers 0.7 ha and is owned by the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust. Donated to the trust in 1978, this is the smallest of their reserves (roughly the same size as a football pitch). This is a tranquil spot alive with birdsong in a sea of agricultural fields.
The site was previously orchards and allotments which were decommissioned and allowed to grow wild for some time. Since 1985 the site has been in some form of conservation management with a number of organisations taking on this role. Currently it is being managed by the City Council’s Leicester Environmental Volunteers and Parks Services.
The site is designated as a Local Nature Reserve and also a Local Wildlife Site due to the rich mosaic of woodland, scrub and grassland.
The Outwoods is 110 acres of ancient woodland to the south of Loughborough and is one of the oldest surviving woodland sites in Charnwood. Classed as an Ancient Woodland, the Outwoods supports a rich variety of plants, insects and birds typical of such old woodlands. Wet Alder and dry Oak/Birch woodland is interspersed with blocks of conifer planting, evidence of the extensive clear felling and commercial replanting which took place in the 1940's. The pre-Cambrian rocky outcrops are a characteristic feature of the Charnwood area.
The Seek is new native woodland covering 10.83 hectares on the eastern edge of Braunston-in-Rutland, 1 mile south-west of Oakham and Rutland Water and has panoramic views over surrounding countryside. Prior to planting the area was arable land, which is still the dominant land use in the locality. There is a small stream which runs along the eastern boundary of the wood, leading in from the SE, providing a ribbon of riparian shrubs and trees.
