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 find more suitable sites. 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 reserve covers 5 ha and is owned by the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a National Nature Reserve.
This Woodland Trust woodland is just under 4 hectares and comprises a mixture of parkland and wooded areas, with a number of mature trees as well as the newly planted areas. It is located on the west of Croft village and sits between two other excellent wildlife sites - Croft Quarry and Croft Pasture.It was formerly the village cricket pitch.
Croft Hill stands 128m high in a largely flat area of Leicestershire. The Hill provides a number of habitats including broad-leaved woodland, scrub land, acidic grassland and two other distinct areas of grassland.
This Wildlife Trust reserve was glebe land, and is mainly unimproved grazing, with the exception of the south eastern corner, which has been top-dressed at some time in the past. The River Soar runs northwards and eastwards across the reserve, and was excluded from the improvement when much of the upper Soar was deepened and canalised in the early 1970s. Habitats include running water, river bank, and neutral and siliceous (sandy) grassland.
Jubilee Park is a public recreation ground for the community of Thurcaston and Cropston and is situated on elevated ground overlooking the valley of the Rothley Brook.
This verge is now being managed to improve biodiversity as part of the County Council/Parish Council verges biodiversity trial. It was surveyed in June 22 by NatureSpot but we would welcome additional wildlife records from the community, whether plants, animals or fungi.
David Taylor Wood is a very small young woodland, planted with native broadleaf species: Wild Cherry, Oak, Hazel and Ash interspersed with Field Maple and Hawthorn.
This verge is being managed to improve biodiversity as part of the County Council/Parish Council verges biodiversity trial. It has been surveyed annually since 2021 by NatureSpot but we would welcome additional wildlife records from the community, whether plants, animals or fungi.
The site comprises three fields managed for wildlife, two of which are designated as Local Wildlife Sites because of their very rich floral diversity. Parts of the grassland are amongst the best meadows in Leicestershire. The fields are surrounded by mature, mixed species hedgerows and border the Rothley Brook on the north-east boundary where there are several mature Alders and Willows. A small wooded area and a pond are also part of the site. The meadow grassland is managed by grazing and sometimes by taking a hay cut.
This reserve is partly in Derbyshire and partly in Leicestershire, and is owned by Severn Trent Water and managed by the Wildlife Trust. It covers 23.5 ha and is part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Created by Leicestershire County Council to provide a wildlife habitat and a greater area for visitors and local people to enjoy. The woodlands cover some 2.5 hectares. Over 6000 trees were planted including a variety of native trees and shrubs. The area is also criss-crossed with public footpaths. The project was funded by The National Forest Company.
The woodland park is managed by Leicestershire County Council on the site of the former Donisthorpe Colliery that closed in 1990. The site has been planted with oak/ash woodland, poplars and Corsican pine. Stone surfaced paths take you around the site and link with the towpath of the restored section of the Ashby Canal that leads to the Moira Furnace.
Donkey Lane in Sapcote is a short unmade road which runs from the Bassett Lane Cemetery for a few hundred yards. The wide verges of lush vegetation and high hedges either side encourage a rich insect population typical of woodland edge, and at the end of the lane is a small copse with Aspen amongst other species. Having reached the small copse area anyone wishing to extend their walk can follow public footpaths into the fields in two directions.
This site is located directly adjacent to the main railway line which separates it from Beedles Lake Golf Course. It forms the west boundary of Jubilee Playing Fields and provides a distinct contrast to the regular management and use of the sports pitches. Since the railway sidings became disused in the late 1960s, it has been allowed to re-wild. Largely left un-managed, the site has naturally re-vegetated to create a mosaic of pioneer/early colonising species, succession species and scrub.
The Nature Garden occupies a small pocket of fairly level grassy land of about 500 m2 surrounded by houses. It appears to have been ‘left over’ at the end of the initial development of East Goscote. East Goscote is a modern village developed in the 1960s by Jelson Homes on the site of a WWII munitions factory. Recent research indicates that the plot might have been the site of a building dating from WWII which was used during the construction and then removed.
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.
Edith Weston is a small village very close to the south side of Rutland Water. St Mary the Virgin church itself has an 'unusual' layout, which may be of interest, and the north arcade dates to the 12th century whilst the south aisle arcade is dated a little later to the early 13th century. The pretty churchyard is walled with a few mature trees.
The small village of Egleton is very near to Rutland Water and the Anglian Water Bird Watching Centre is accessed via the village. The church dates to the 12th century. The churchyard contains some matures trees and is sheltered from the adjacent road by a hedgerow.
Until 2015 this site was a piece of regularly mown amenity grassland which formed part of the former John Ellis School site (the school was demolished in the early 1990s).
The area was identified as part of a strategic flood alleviation scheme with works planned along the River Soar to improve flood storage during storm events. Fortunately both the Environment Agency and City Council sought to implement blue-green techniques for flood storage rather than rely on traditional engineering methods that could have resulted in high walls and hard infrastructure.
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.