Syston railway station

Syston ( SY-stən) is a town and civil parish in the district of Charnwood in Leicestershire, England. The population was 11,508 at the 2001 census, rising to 12,804 at the 2011 census.

St Peter and St Paul's Church, Syston is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Syston, Leicestershire.

The Roundhill Academy (formerly Roundhill Community College) is a co-educational secondary school located in Thurmaston, Leicestershire, England. The most recent Ofsted inspection report (January in 2023) identified the school as "needing improvement" or "inadequate" in every category. The Roundhill Academy is a member of the Bradgate Education Partnership, a multi-academy trust.

Wreake Valley Academy (formerly Wreake Valley Community College) is a co-educational secondary school with academy status in Syston, Leicestershire, England. The school is known locally just as 'Wreake' or 'Wreake Valley', which is the name of the geographical area.

The Watermead Country Park is a network of artificial lakes in the valley of the River Soar and the old Grand Union Canal, in and to the north of Leicester and in and to the south of the Borough of Charnwood in Leicestershire. The southern part of the park, which includes the Hill and the Mammoth is located in Rushey Mead. It runs north to south along the path of the watercourses, with Birstall to the west and Thurmaston to the east. The parks provide bird watching, fishing and watersports facilities, and are managed by a partnership of Leicestershire County Council, Leicester City Council and Charnwood Borough Council.The park includes three Local Nature Reserves, Reedbed – Watermead Country Park (North), Watermead Country Park – South and Birstall Meadows.The northernmost lake is named John Merricks Lake, after the late John Merricks, a silver Olympic medallist who competed in sailing events on a nearby lake as a schoolboy. He died in a car accident in 1997. Further south is King Lear's Lake, a popular fishing lake which can be circumnavigated and is popular with people walking dogs and cyclists. A statue on the western side of the lake depicts the final scene of Shakespeare's play King Lear. The lake is also used for open water swim training by Leicester Triathlon Club, and for water training of Newfoundland Dogs. A 5km parkrun takes place at the Country Park each Saturday morning. There are several further artificial lakes continuing south following the course of the canal ending with the southernmost lake, often referred to as the Mammoth lake due to the presence of a large statue of a Mammoth atop a small hill aside the lake, from where one can see Leicester and the surrounding area for some distance in either direction. There was a previous woolly mammoth where the current one stands, although it was burned down in an arson attack several years ago. The Millennium Mammoth was built to commemorate the discovery of ice age mammoth remains found when Watermead was a quarry. In January 2010, two brothers died after falling into one of the frozen lakes. They had been plucked from the lake by a police officer, who was leaning out of a helicopter hovering above the frozen surface.

Barkby is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated north-east of Leicester, and only a short way from Leicester's urban sprawl in Thurmaston and Syston. Nearby villages are Beeby and Barkby Thorpe. Barkby Brook is the main watercourse which flows through Barkby. The parish has a population of around 300. In the 1870s John Marius Wilson stated that Barkby, "lies on an affluent of the river Wreak, 1½ mile S by E of Syston r. station, and 4½ NE of Leicester; and it includes the hamlet of Hambleton."

Birstall Meadows is a 15.6 hectares (39 acres) Local Nature Reserve east of Birstall in Leicestershire. It is part of Watermead Country Park, and is owned and managed by Leicester City Council.These meadows on the bank of the River Soar are flower-rich damp grassland. They are grazed by horses and cattle, and they have large areas of open water which provide a winter feeding ground for waterfowl.There is access from a footpath on the east bank of the River Soar.

Thurmaston is a village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, located within the Borough of Charnwood. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 9,668.It is situated four miles north of the city centre of Leicester and lies just outside the A563, Leicester's outer ring road.

St Mary's Church, Barkby is the Church of England Parish Church for Barkby, Leicestershire, England. The church mostly dates from the 13th century. It was Grade I listed in 1966.

Wanlip Meadows is a 16.2 hectares (40 acres) nature reserve south of Wanlip and north of Leicester. It is owned and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.These meadows, which are sometimes flooded by the River Soar, are grazed by cattle. There are many birds, including the uncommon Temminck's stint and wood sandpiper. Invertebrates include grass snakes, frogs and toads.There is access from a footpath along the west side of the River Soar.

Barkby Thorpe is a hamlet and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. The hamlet has a population of around 50, and is close to the Leicester urban sprawl in Thurmaston. Nearby villages are Barkby, Beeby and the abandoned village of Hamilton. The name Barkby has an Old Norse origin meaning "Barki's farm/settlement".

Cossington Gate railway station was a small station serving Cossington village in Leicestershire. It served the Midland Counties Railway, built in 1840, which shortly joined the North Midland Railway and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway to form the Midland Railway.The station was associated with a level crossing - hence Cossington Gate. Station buildings were provided in 1846 looked after by the crossing keeper. However, when the lines were quadrupled in 1873, the crossing was replaced by a bridge and the station closed.