Charnwood Forest

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Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English

File:Beacon Hill, Leicestershire.jpg
The summit of Beacon Hill
File:Swithland woods 2006-05-02 036web2.jpg
Bluebells in Swithland Wood
File:Map of Charnwood Forest NCA73 area.jpg
Charnwood Forest, as defined by Natural England
File:Bradgate park rocks.jpg
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 barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland, and significant Precambrian geology. Its elevation is generally Template:Convert and upwards, the area exceeding this height being about Template:Convert. The highest point, Bardon Hill, is Template:Convert.

On its western flank lies an abandoned coalfield, with Coalville and other former mining villages,Template:Sfn 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,Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn So although it is an ancient and well-established locality,Template:Sfn it has only recently been officially defined, by the Natural England National Character Area (NCA) process,Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which takes a somewhat wider definition than many previous attempts to define the area.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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).Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn 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.<ref name="Charnwood History Overview">Template:Cite web</ref>

Archeological evidence has shown that the area was inhabited as far back as the Neolithic period, approximately 4,000–2,000 BC. Beacon Hill is the site of a Bronze Age hill fort, dating from between 600 BC and 43 AD. This forms one of the last 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.

Wildlife and geological sites

File:Charnwood wildlife and geology sites map.svg
Map showing sites in Charnwood Forest notable for wildlife and geology

Charnwood Forest covers approx Template:Convert 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.

Sites in Charnwood Forest notable for Wildlife and Geology
Map No. Site Name Status Access Location and map link Area (ha) Habitat Ownership and details
1 Breedon Cloud Wood and Quarry SSSI(B&G)<ref name=encit>Template:Cite web</ref> & RIGS<ref name="rigs">Template:Cite web</ref> Restricted Template:Gbmappingitem 63 Ancient woodland and limestone quarry Breedon Cloud Wood is owned by LRWT. Permit needed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cloud Hill Quarry is owned by Ennstone Breedon Ltd.
2 Shepshed Cutting SSSI(G)<ref name=encit/> Partial Template:Gbmappingitem 6.1 Old Quarry with Galena of a type unknown elsewhere in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.Template:Sfn
3 Morley Quarry, Shepshed LNR,<ref name=lnrlist>Template:Cite web</ref> GCRTemplate:Sfn & RIGS<ref name="morley">Template:Cite web</ref> Open Template:Gbmappingitem 3 Disused quarry Charnwood Borough Council. Car Park off Iveshead Road.<ref name="morley"/> Cliff faces show the oldest of Charnwood's Precambrian rocks and the Triassic unconformity.Template:Sfn
4 Newhurst Quarry, Shepshed SSSI(G),<ref name=encit/> GCRTemplate:Sfn & RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> None Template:Gbmappingitem 9 Quarry currently being used for waste disposal Landfill site managed by Biffa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> GCR listing for Mineralogy significance.Template:Sfn
5 Holywell Wood WoodlandTemplate:Sfn Private Template:Gbmappingitem Woodland Private. Public footpath runs along its northern edge from Snells Nook Lane.
6 Longcliffe Quarry, Shepshed RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> None Template:Gbmappingitem Quarry site Midland Quarry Products: working quarry.
7 Ives Head GCR(I)Template:Sfn & RIGS<ref name="crocker">Crocker, J and Daws, J, 1996 Spiders of Leicestershire, p.207</ref> Partial Template:Gbmappingitem Old quarry and craggy hilltop Privately owned disused quarry. A public bridleway passes 500 m south of the summit (201 m).
8 Blackbrook Reservoir SSSI(B&G)<ref name=encit/> & GCRTemplate:Sfn Partial Template:Gbmappingitem 38.6 Open water, wooded banks, wetlands Severn Trent Water. Access to the viaduct and wooded slopes via One Barrow Lane.Template:Sfn
9 Grace Dieu And High Sharpley SSSI (B&G)<ref name=encit/> Partial Template:Gbmappingitem 89 Heathland and Carbonifierous limestone outcrops Private owners. Adjoins National Forest access land and Grace Dieu Priory site.
10 Cademan Wood WoodlandTemplate:Sfn Partial Template:Gbmappingitem Mixed woodland with rocky outcrops De Lisle family. Public footpaths and informal open access.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Spectacular outcrops that formed very close to a Precambrian volcano.Template:Sfn
11 Snibston Country Park and Grange Nature Reserve LNR<ref name=lnrlist/> Open Template:Gbmappingitem 40 Woodland, meadow, marsh and ponds Leicestershire County Council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
12 Nature Alive! Coalville LNR<ref name=lnrlist/> Open Template:Gbmappingitem 6 Regenerated scrub and wetland on former industrial land North West Leicestershire District Council. Valuable site for dragonflies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
13 Whitwick Quarry RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> None Template:Gbmappingitem Quarry site Midland Quarry Products
14 Mount St Bernard Abbey AbbeyTemplate:Sfn Partial Template:Gbmappingitem Cistercian Abbey Visitors to the Abbey and grounds are made welcome.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The crags around The Knoll show steeply dipping Charnian tuffs.Template:Sfn
15 Charnwood Lodge NNR, SSSI(B&G)<ref name="encit"/> & GCRTemplate:Sfn Restricted Template:Gbmappingitem 193.5 Acid and heath grasslands with some mixed woodland LRWT, permit needed for parts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Timberwood Hill and Warren Hills are accessible under the right to roam.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
16 Jubilee Wood, Woodhouse Lane Public woodland Open Template:Gbmappingitem 10 Mixed woodland and rocky outcrops Leicestershire County Council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
17 Loughborough Outwoods, Woodhouse Lane SSSI(B&G)<ref name=encit/> GCR (I)Template:Sfn Open Template:Gbmappingitem 44.6 Mixed woodland and rocky outcrops Charnwood Borough Council. Free car park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
18 Woodbrook and Deans Wood Stream and woodlandTemplate:Sfn Partial Template:Gbmappingitem Charnwood stream and woodland Permissive path from Jubilee wood to Deans Lane.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
19 Charley Woods Nature reserve Open Template:Gbmappingitem 28.8 Oak woodland LRWT, open to the public.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
20 Bardon Hill Quarry SSSI(G)<ref name=encit/> GCRTemplate:Sfn and RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> None Template:Gbmappingitem 79 Quarry. Precambrian Igneous Rocks Aggregate Industries.
21 Bardon Hill SSSI(B)<ref name=encit/> Partial Template:Gbmappingitem 13 High moorland, highest point in Leicestershire (278m) Private land. Access to the summit, via public footpaths with expansive views.Template:Sfn
22 Beacon Hill, Woodhouse Eaves SSSI(B&G)<ref name=encit/> GCRTemplate:Sfn & Ancient Monument Open Template:Gbmappingitem 135 Heathland, rocks, woodland hillfort Leicestershire County Council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
23 Broombriggs Farm and Windmill Hill Farm Trail Open Template:Gbmappingitem 55 Farmland and heath Leicestershire County Council. Pay car park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
24 Buddon Brook StreamTemplate:Sfn Partial Template:Gbmappingitem Stream habitat Private farmland. A public footpath runs beside the stream.
25 Buddon Wood SSSI(B&G)<ref name=encit/> and RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> None Template:Gbmappingitem 89 Ancient Oak woodland, now mostly quarried away, Private – including Lafarge Aggregates.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
26 Main Quarry, Mountsorrel SSSI(G)<ref name=encit/> & GCRTemplate:Sfn None Template:Gbmappingitem 14 Quarry site Lafarge Aggregates. Largest man-made hole in Europe. School visits are possible.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
27 Swithland Reservoir and Brazil Island SSSI (B&G)<ref name=encit/> and RIGS Partial Template:Gbmappingitem 98 Open water, wooded banks Severn Trent Water. Limited road and footpath access. Excellent views from Great Central Railway, which crosses the reservoir via Brazil Island.
28 The Brand, Swithland SSSI(B&G)<ref name=encit/> & GCRTemplate:Sfn None Template:Gbmappingitem 18 Oak woodland, grassy heath and old slate quarries Private (Martin family). Occasional open days.<ref name="crocker"/>
29 Roecliffe Manor Lawns SSSI(B)<ref name=encit/> None Template:Gbmappingitem 1.2 Species rich grassland with rare fungi Private (Cottingham family).
30 Swithland Wood SSSI(B&G)<ref name=encit/> Open Template:Gbmappingitem 61 Ancient Woodland and disused slate quarries Bradgate Park Trust. Pay car parks.
31 Benscliffe Wood SSSI(B)<ref name=encit/> None Template:Gbmappingitem 10 Mixed woodland Private wood. Particularly rich in lichen species.
32 Ulverscroft Nature Reserve, Whitcroft's Lane Nature reserve Restricted Template:Gbmappingitem 56 Mixed woodland, marshy grassland and meadow NT, managed by LRWT (NT members need LRWT permit).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
33 Rocky Plantation, Nr Markfield Nature reserve Restricted Template:Gbmappingitem 3.4 Mixed woodland and rocky outcrops NT, managed by LRWT. Open to Wildlife Trust and National Trust members only.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
34 Lea Meadows, Ulverscroft Lane SSSI<ref name=encit/> Open Template:Gbmappingitem 12 Meadow LRWT, open to the public.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
35 Billa Barra Hill LNR<ref name=lnrlist/> & RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> Open Template:Gbmappingitem 20 Old quarry, grassland, mature and recent woodland. Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Open to the public. Car Park on Billa Barra Lane.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
36 New Cliffe Hill Quarry RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> None Template:Gbmappingitem 243 Quarry. Precambrian Rocks Midland Quarry Products: working quarry (A tunnel links this to Cliffe Hill Quarry).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
37 Cliffe Hill Quarry SSSI(G)<ref name=encit/> GCR (I)Template:Sfn and RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> None Template:Gbmappingitem 37 Quarry. Precambrian Rocks Midland Quarry Products: working quarry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
38 Altar Stones, Markfield Nature reserve Open Template:Gbmappingitem 3.7 Rough heath grassland with rock outcrops LRWT, open to the public.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
39 Hill Hole Quarry, Markfield Nature reserve and RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> Open Template:Gbmappingitem 5.4 Flooded quarry, rock faces and grassland Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Open to the public.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The old quarry faces show the youngest of the area's Precambrian rocks.Template:Sfn
40 Cropston Reservoir SSSI(B&G)<ref name=encit/> None Template:Gbmappingitem 55 Open water, wetlands Severn Trent Water. No access but with good views from Bradgate Park.
41 Bradgate Park SSSI(B&G)<ref name=encit/> GCR(I)Template:Sfn Open Template:Gbmappingitem 340 Bracken heath, rocks, river, woodland, ancient oaks Bradgate Park Trust. Pay car parks.
42 Sheet Hedges Wood, Newtown Linford SSSI(B)<ref name=encit/> Open Template:Gbmappingitem 30 Mixed woodland Leicestershire County Council. Free car park near Groby Pool.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
43 Groby Pool SSSI(B)<ref name=encit/> Partial Template:Gbmappingitem 28 Open water, wetlands Amalgamated Roadstone Corp. One side has good roadside paths and access with a large nearby free car park.
44 Groby Quarry RIGS<ref name="rigs"/> None Template:Gbmappingitem Working Quarry Amalgamated Roadstone Corporation (ARC)
45 Martinshaw Wood Public woodlandTemplate:Sfn Open Template:Gbmappingitem 102 Mixed woodland Woodland Trust.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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).Template:Sfn Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS). Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). National Trust (NT). Local nature reserve (LNR). Template:GeoGroup

See also

Notes

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References

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