Wild places

NatureSpot features over 500 sites across Leicestershire and Rutland as Wild Places. These showcase many of the best places to see wildlife in our area. Each Wild Place page displays the records and images submitted for that location - which update automatically as additional records are received. A full species list for each site is also available.

Private Wild Places

By arrangement, we can set up Wild Place feature pages for private gardens, grounds, farms, estates and other areas without public access. These work just as any other Wild Place page except they are not included in the menus and maps and are only viewable using the private URL provided. We ask for a donation for setting up a private Wild Place - the amount is up to you! Get in touch if you are interested by emailing info@naturespot.org

New Wild Places?

If you know of a site with wildlife interest that could be featured as a Wild Place page then let us know. Wild Places should meet the following criteria:

  • must either be entirely in public access (such as a Country Park), or have a public right of way (PROW) through them or adjacent to them from which the site can be viewed OR the landowner has given consent for the land to become a Wild Place. (A PROW as defined by the Highways Authority: in Leicestershire; in Rutland). 
  • must consist largely of existing habitats of significance to wildlife - e.g. woodland, wetland, watercourse, heathland, open mosaic habitats, unimproved/semi-improved or species-rich grassland, parkland, orchard, scrubland.  Sites which consist mainly of arable and cultivated land or just improved grassland are not suitable as Wild Places. (See Leicestershire's Biodiversity Action Plan and the Leicestershire and Rutland Local Nature Recovery Strategy).

Please note that NatureSpot's designation of a site as a Wild Place does not confer any legal or protected status to the land, and has no weight within the planning system. Neither does it confer any additional public rights of use or access to the land.

Explore Wild Places

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)

Newall Wood, Pickworth

This is ancient woodland which has been notified as a SSSI as one of the best remaining examples of acid lowland woodland in Leicestershire. It covers 34 ha and is located north-east of Pickworth. This wood is remarkable in that it stands on a large ‘island’ of glacial sand and gravel in an area where the geology is predominantly limestone and clay, as a result its vegetation is very different from any other wood in East Leicestershire or Rutland. The rides are narrow and there are old sand pits in the wood.
 

Newtown Linford, Groby Lane Verge

This verge is being managed to improve biodiversity as part of the County Council/Parish Council verges biodiversity trial. It was originally surveyed in May 22 by NatureSpot and then revisited in 2024 following an expansion of the verge area. We would welcome additional wildlife records from the community, whether plants, animals or fungi.

Newtown Linford, Markfield Lane verge

This verge is being managed to improve biodiversity as part of the County Council/Parish Council verges biodiversity trial. It was surveyed in June 2021 by NatureSpot and Newtown Linford Biodiversity volunteers but we would welcome additional wildlife records from the community, whether plants, animals or fungi.

Normanton Wood

Acquired by the Woodland Trust in 1999 as part of the "Woods on Your Doorstep " initiative, Normanton Wood lies approximately 2 kilometers from Earl Shilton and covers an area of 6.78 hectares. It is a native broadleaf woodland with four main tree species, Oak, Ash, Field Maple and Hazel, in four blocks separated by grass rides and footpaths.The hedged boundary along Earl Shilton Road has a number of mature standard trees within it, principally Oak.

North Kilworth Millennium Green

This site incorporates the community open space of Millennium Green, the nature reserve connected to it plus The Bogs - a natural spring area which is a designated Local Nature Reserve.

Collectively the site is a wonderful area for wildlife, with meadows, woodland, marshy areas and a pond.

North Kilworth, Lutterworth Rd Verge

This verge is now being managed to improve biodiversity as part of the County Council/Parish Council Verges Biodiversity Project. Mowing will cease between April and August to allow the grasses and wildflowers to grow and bloom. In some cases, verges may also have additional native wildflower species added, either as seed or as plug plants.

The verge was surveyed in June 2023 by NatureSpot but we would welcome any wildlife records from the community, whether plants, animals or fungi.

North Kilworth, S Kilworth Rd Verge

This verge is now being managed to improve biodiversity as part of the County Council/Parish Council Verges Biodiversity Project. Mowing will cease between April and August to allow the grasses and wildflowers to grow and bloom. In some cases, verges may also have additional native wildflower species added, either as seed or as plug plants.

North Kilworth, Station Rd Verge

This verge is now being managed to improve biodiversity as part of the County Council/Parish Council Verges Biodiversity Project. Mowing will cease between April and August to allow the grasses and wildflowers to grow and bloom. In some cases, verges may also have additional native wildflower species added, either as seed or as plug plants.

North Luffenham Churchyard

South of Rutland water and 5 miles east of Uppingham is the village of North Luffenham, separated from South Luffenham by the river Chater. The characterful church of St John the Baptist has some Norman fabric, but most of the building dates from the 13th and 14th centuries. The churchyard is large and open, with a few mature trees and bushes along the border, which it shares with the grand 16th century North Luffenham Hall.

North Luffenham Roadside Verge

Designated a Local Wildlife Site in 2014, the North Luffenham verge is located on the east side of Glebe Road, stretching for a length of 262 metres. The main habitats are calcareous, mesotrophic, and mixed grassland, and the site is reported to have a good range of limestone flora.

Oadby Nature Reserve

Oadby Nature Reserve includes wetland, scrub, grassland and a linear semi-natural broadleaved woodland (referred to as Flude's Lane), connecting Oadby to the wider countryside. A path runs the length of the woodland, following the course of the Washbrook.

Orton The Green verge

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.

Osgathorpe Jubilee Wood
Osiers Nature Area

The Osiers Nature Area contains a mixture of grassy rides, scrub and woodland with a pond which often dries out during a warm summer.

Owston Wood

This 141 hectare site is Leicestershire's largest semi-natural ancient woodland. It has been a Site of Special scientific Interest (SSSI) since 1956. It is managed by the Forestry Commission who are restoring the woodland to the traditional broadleaf habitat that existed centuries ago as part of the 'Ancient Woodlands Plan'. This involves removing planted conifers and allowing native trees to regenerate and eventually reintroducing coppicing.

Peckleton Churchyard

Now a Local Wildlife Site! LWS are selected by Leicestershire County Council in conjunction with Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. We were selected for being a publicly accessible example of Mesotrophic, species-rich, acid grassland. 

Peckleton, Church Road Verge

This verge is now being managed to improve biodiversity as part of the County Council/Parish Council verges biodiversity trial. It will be surveyed in later in the year by NatureSpot volunteers but we would welcome additional wildlife records from the community, whether plants, animals or fungi.

Pegg's Green Dismantled Railway

Sir George Beaumont of Coleorton Hall had the Coleorton Railways built in 1833 to take coal from a mine on his land at Smolie (Newbold) to join the Leicester to Swannington Railway at the bottom of Swanning Incline (see Swanning Incline Wild Place).  This section of the dismantled railway line is relatively steep with embankments on both sides and is likely to have been landscaped from materials excavated from the nearby Coleorton tunnel.

Pickworth Great Wood

Pickworth Great Wood is one of the largest remaining blocks of deciduous woodland in Leicestershire and Rutland and is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The wood occupies an undulating hilltop site on the Rutland/Lincolnshire border and lies mainly on rich, heavy clay soils where drainage is locally impeded.

Pickworth Road North Roadside Verge

Designated a Local Wildlife Site in 2006, the Pickworth Road North verge is approximately 2.8 km long on both sides of the road, varying between 1-6 metres wide. The main habitat is mesotrophic grassland.