Beacon Hill, Leicestershire
Encyclopedia
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
, in Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, England, is a popular country park. It is one of several beacon hill
Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill is a name shared by many hills, suburbs, villages and other places around the world. Many are so called because they were historically the site of a warning beacon. Others are named after other places of the same name.-In the United Kingdom:...
s in the United Kingdom.
The park consists of 135 hectares (333.6 acre) of grassland and woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
and offers recreational walking, and some short climbs. With a maximum height of 245 metres (803.8 ft), it is the second highest point in Leicestershire after Bardon Hill
Bardon Hill
Bardon Hill is a hill in the civil parish of Bardon near Coalville, Leicestershire. It the highest point in Leicestershire and the National Forest, above sea level. The hill has two very distinct faces – one half preserved as a site of special scientific interest , the other removed by Bardon Hill...
.
An extinct volcano, in Whitwick, four miles to the west, was responsible for the fine-grained igneous rocks that the hill consists of. Beacon Hill was the site of a Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
hill fort. Today a toposcope
Toposcope
A toposcope or topograph is a marker erected on hills, mountains or high places which indicates the direction, and usually the distance, to notable landscape features which can be seen from that point...
indicates landmarks which can be seen from the summit. These include Lincoln Cathedral and the hills of the Peak District.
Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station
Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station
Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station is a coal-fired power station operated by E.ON UK at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, England. Commissioned in 1968 by the then Central Electricity Generating Board, the station has a capacity of 2,000 MW...
is aligned so that, seen from the summit, only two of its eight cooling tower
Cooling tower
Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or in the case of closed circuit dry cooling towers rely...
s are visible.
On a clear day Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....
can be seen as well as the hills in the Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
. Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, and the tower of Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
can be seen with a pair of binoculars
Binoculars
Binoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects...
. Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
is seen below the hill as is Beaumanor Hall
Beaumanor Hall
Beaumanor Hall is a stately home with a park in the small village of Woodhouse on the edge of the Charnwood Forest, near the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire in the United Kingdom. It was built in 1845-7 by architect William Railton in Elizabethan style for the Herrick family. and is a Grade...
. You can also hear and see steam trains on the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
which has stations at Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
, Quorn
Quorn
Quorn is the leading brand of mycoprotein food product in the UK and Ireland. The mycoprotein used to produce Quorn is extracted from a fungus, Fusarium venenatum, which is grown in large vats....
and Woodhouse
Woodhouse
- Places :*Annesley Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, England*Dronfield Woodhouse, Derbyshire, England*Holbeck Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, England*Horsley Woodhouse, Derbyshire, England*Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, England*Over Woodhouse, Derbyshire, England...
.
It was featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders
Seven Natural Wonders
Seven Natural Wonders was a television series that was broadcast on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005. The programme took an area of England each week and, from votes by the people living in that area, showed the 'seven natural wonders' of that area in a programme.The programmes were:The series...
as one of the wonders of the Midlands. There are some very interesting rocks on the summit.
Nearby are two small woods both accessible to the public. Jubilee Wood
Jubilee Wood
Jubilee Wood is on the Woodhouse Eaves to Nanpantan road in North West Leicestershire.The site comprises of mixed woodland with rocky outcrops and was presented to Leicestershire County Council in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. It is designated a Site of Special Scientific...
is 2 miles north-west of the lower Beacon hill car park on the Woodhouse Eaves
Woodhouse Eaves
Woodhouse Eaves is a village located on the side of Beacon Hill, in the Charnwood Forest area of Leicestershire, England.It is a sizeable rural village, having several pubs and a few shops...
to Nanpantan
Nanpantan
Nanpantan is a small village in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is located in the south-west of the town of Loughborough, but the village is slightly separated from the main built-up area of Loughborough...
road and the Outwoods which is adjacent to Jubilee Wood
Jubilee Wood
Jubilee Wood is on the Woodhouse Eaves to Nanpantan road in North West Leicestershire.The site comprises of mixed woodland with rocky outcrops and was presented to Leicestershire County Council in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. It is designated a Site of Special Scientific...
.
The park has been awarded the Green Flag Award
Green Flag Award
The Green Flag Award is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the United Kingdom. The scheme was set up in 1996 to recognise and reward green spaces in England and Wales that met the laid down high standards...
.
Native tree collection
The park contains a collection of native trees, first planted in 1996. Many of the trees are labelled, and there are several boxes that provide audio commentary on the biology and historical interest of selected tree species at the push of a button.Access
There is a pay and display car park accessible from Breakback road, which is at the bottom of the hill. There is also a car park at the top of the hill on Beacon Road. For access by public transport, buses to Woodhouse EavesWoodhouse Eaves
Woodhouse Eaves is a village located on the side of Beacon Hill, in the Charnwood Forest area of Leicestershire, England.It is a sizeable rural village, having several pubs and a few shops...
run from Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
and Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
- Centrebus
Centrebus
Centrebus is a privately owned company that operate a number of services around Leicester and Leicestershire, Grantham, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, mainly in areas where Arriva has scaled down its bus operations. Centrebus also competes with Arriva on some routes in Leicester, Luton and Stevenage...
services 54, 121 and 123 all run the same route but at different times and on different days.
Features and activities
Beacon Hill Country Park has picnic areas, walking routes, a Barbecue site (seasonal), horse tracks and a permanent Orienteering Centre.External links
- Beacon Hill Country Park
- Photographs taken at Beacon Hill Country Park
- Computer generated summit panorama Beacon Hill index
- 360 degree photo from the summit of Beacon Hill
