Felicity's Wood
Selected Wild Place / Other Wild Places / Public Rights of Way / VC55 boundary
This small site is approximately 5 km southwest of Loughborough, on the northern flank of Beacon Hill. It can be accessed from Dean's Lane at the lower boundary, and from the permissive path along Wood Brook to the north.
There is a small pull-off on Dean's Lane limited to one or two cars. It may be preferable to park in the Beacon Hill Country Park car park and walk the 500 metres to the wood.
There is no bus service to this area.
There is a public toilet at Beacon Hill Country Park.
- A Woodland Trust site
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/felicitys-wood/
Site species count:
Purchased by the Woodland Trust in 1996 and covering an area of 8.77 ha (21.67 acres), Felicity's Wood lies in the heart of the ancient hunting Forest of Charnwood and it is also within the boundary of the National Forest. Felicity's wood has Beacon Hill Country Park, to the south; The Outwoods ancient woodland to the east and Charnwood Lodge NNR to the west as well as numerous copses and spinneys in the surrounding farmland.The site is on a north facing slope and from the main entrance there are spectacular views over Charnwood Forest and northward to the Trent valley. Please be aware that the paths can be steep in places.
The wood is of two ages, planted before and after trust ownership. The new wood is mainly Oak, Ash, some Silver Birch and Field Maple with willow nearer the stream, but some Scots Pine was included in the planting to echo the surrounding shelter belts and copses. The pre-trust planting is within two walled enclosures and mainly consists of Scots Pine but there are also mature willows in the area by the stream.
At the base of the slope is Wood Brook, which has a mention in the Leicestershire Biodiversity Action Plan for its good water quality and the presence of White Clawed Crayfish, Grey Wagtails, Freshwater Lamprey and Stone Loach.
There is also a bank of Hazel coppice to the east of the meadow.
The older copses have a more diverse range of plant species in comparison to the new wood, with Harebell, Gorse, Common Figwort, Wood Sage, Enchanter's Nightshade, Foxglove, Bluebell, and Honeysuckle.
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