Wild places

This site was once part of a larger sports field which included what is now Glenfield Wildlife Meadow across the A50. When the site was divided by the road re-alignment, both sites were made public open spaces. Millennium Green is managed by a trust and includes play areas as well as some natural planting to encourage wildlife. It includes a small raised sensory garden.

Formal pitches but surrounded by mature woodland with a parkland area and small stream. Just off the Rothley Brook corridor and open country it sees surprising numbers of birds.

This drainage feature provides damp grassland habitat for most of the year, with standing water at times after rain. The basin supports wetland plants such as Reedmace and Great Willowherb with drier grassland around the edges. It is accessible directly from the A50 and is adjacent to the Glenfield Wildlife Meadow.

This large field is managed mainly as a wildflower meadow, with an annual mow and the removal of the cuttings as is good practice. A number of tree/scrub areas have been planted, including a few non-native species, to diversify the habitat and provide additional interest. A scrape in the north-east corner provides a damper habitat, though it doesn't hold water all year round. Just outside the entrance gate and alongside the A50 is an urban drainage pond that also provides interesting wetland habitat.

This site was established as a nature area in 2017 following the development of the adjacent commercial units. A new permissive cycleway now crosses the site with a bridge over Rothley Brook to connect to the footpath and cycle way running along the old line of the  Leicester and Swannington Railway. This was one of England's first railways, being opened in 1832 to bring coal from collieries. There are also mown grass paths.

This is a large block of land between Ratby Lane and the M1 which has been re-modelled and landscaped as part of the nearby development. A right of way follows an attractive line through this area where surplus soils have been used to make substantial hills. The site is bisected by the Kirby Brook and the area has naturally regenerated with some tree planting.

This is a private site - the offices and grounds of Leicestershire County Council. Though we usually only include sites with public access, we have included it partly because over 2,500 staff have access to the area and also because the grounds include areas of notable wildlife interest.

This is a wide belt of mature woodland running along the western edge of an old golf course. Fishley Belt appears on maps going back to the nineteenth century and is one of the best examples of ancient woodland in Blaby District. In spring it is awash with native Bluebells and other wildflowers. The woodland is covered by a blanket TPO.

Old maps indicate some gold diggings in this vicinity but this large elongated mound was created with surplus soils from the Manor Farm development some 30 years ago, Left untended it has become a tangled mass of shrubs, brambles and some trees and is an impenetrable wildlife haven straddling the border with the city.

This area constitutes a large grassland area surrounded by mature hedges and trees. Grass paths are regularly mown but the remainder is cut only once a year to encourage wild flowers. There is a copse in the south west corner and scattered trees in the meadow

This is now a mature woodland with figure of eight paths through it though sometimes these can be muddy. Some of the trees were planted as memorial trees. There is also a sizeable pond in the south-west corner with fluctuating water levels.

Part of the Ivanhoe Trail cycle route and also the Ivanhoe Way long distance footpath as it passes through Glenfield. It starts at Station Road (Railway pub) in Glenfield and follows the old railway, running alongside Rothley Brook. The embankment slopes and brook's edges are well wooded creating a wonderful wildlife corridor. Just south of Barrow Lane is the wildest stretch of this rivulet where Kingfishers have been recorded. Beyond the brook is open farmland and remains of an old watermill.

This site comprises a number of ponds and ditches created as as extensive urban drainage scheme. It has been colonised by a wide range of wetland plants and now provides excellent habitat.

This linear site follows the route of a small stream and hedge. The waterway is overgrown during summer but lies at the bottom of the steep ditch. At the northern end it links with the mature woodland of Fishley Belt and the Optimus Nature Area. There is a mown grass permissive path down to Optimus Way where the route continues as a gravel-surfaced permissive cycleway (Roman Way) going to Brookside Meadows and beyond and taking in the Kirby Road Ponds area.

This nature reserve was created primarily for Great Crested Newts. The site has several ponds as well as areas of meadow grassland and is surrounded by mature hedges and trees bordering onto the former Western Golf Course along its eastern side. There are mown paths through it to join a right of way which takes you across  Ratby Lane into Clanfelde Hills and beyond.

It can be accessed by a bridge over the stream and ditch running down the Optimus Greenway which itself then meets the cycleways from Ratby & Groby.

This woodland is in the City of Leicester and the open grassy area with shrubs and occasional small trees is in Glenfield. The woodland is part of the old Western Golf Course, but it has a much older history. A right of way along the edge of the old course runs through it and there is gated access from Peartree Close in Glenfield. There are numerous small informal paths.

This block of mature woodland straddles the border with the City. It is protected by a TPO and shelters a pond providing a wetland habitat.

The new Roman Way cycleway actually starts at Optimus Way in the Glenfield commercial area facing the end of Roman Avenue. It continues the permissive path through the Optimus Greenway, goes through the Kirby Road Ponds area and Brookside Meadows. It then joins the Ivanhoe Way for a short distance before striking off to the west through the farmland, the stretch which makes up this Wild Place.

This is a long-overgrown old pathway of some historic interest. It is bordered by a row of large, mature trees (TPO protected) and creates a division between two housing developments in the village.

This is an old churchyard with a blanket TPO and a number of mature Lime Trees. The ruined remains of a 13thC church provide a haven for numerous species. There is a permissive path across the area which links with Ellis Park, the school sports field and allotments to provide a large green area.