Shepshed Cutting

Blackbrook Reservoir is a 33.4-hectare (83-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Shepshed and Whitwick in Leicestershire.The reservoir was constructed in 1796 in order to feed the Charnwood Forest Canal, which has long since vanished. The first dam constructed was an earthworks one, and this failed on 20 February 1799. In eleven minutes the reservoir was empty and as a result local farmland was ruined, sheep were drowned, and much of Shepshed and nearby Loughborough were affected by flood waters. The dam was repaired in 1801, but the canal was no longer commercially viable. The present gravity dam was constructed in 1906 and was officially opened by the first Mayor of Loughborough Joseph Griggs. In 1957 the dam felt the effects of a magnitude 5.3 earthquake. The tremors caused heavy coping stones to shift and cracks appeared in the faces of the dam. The reservoir has a plant community on its margins which is unique in the Midlands and only found in a few northern sites. Its unusual mix of flora includes Juncus filiformis at its most southern locations, and the lake itself has native white-clawed crayfish, where it is isolated from the invasive American signal crayfish.One Barrow Lane crosses the south-eastern end of the reservoir. The lane is carried by the One Barrow Viaduct, a blue brick construction consisting of three arches. Previously it served as the entranceway drive to the now demolished One Barrow Lodge Farm. This is a public footpath which eventually leads you out on the Oaks Road, near Mount St Bernard Abbey. The dam and reservoir is managed by Severn Trent and is currently in a redundant state. There is strictly no access to the dam which is on private land - a part of the Grace Dieu & Longcliffe Estate.

One Barrow Plantation is a 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) south-west of Shepshed in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. Part of the site is in the Blackbrook Reservoir biological SSSI.This site exposes rocks dating to the late Precambrian, around 600 million years ago. The deposits are mainly volcanic ash, thought to have been deposited in the sea from volcanoes on neighbouring islands similar to those now found on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean.The site is private land with no public access. No geology is visible.

The A512 is an A road entirely in Leicestershire, UK. It links the primary destination of Loughborough with the M1, A42 road, and the town of Ashby de la Zouch. The road begins just outside Loughborough Town Centre, near to The Rushes (52.7724°N 1.2078°W / 52.7724; -1.2078 (A512 road (eastern end))). It heads out of town, crossing the A6004 Epinal Way and passing Loughborough University. On leaving the town, there is a short dual carriageway section, leading to the junction with Snells Nook Lane to Nanpantan and Woodhouse. After this junction, the road returns to single carriageway for about 1 mile (1.6 km), to Junction 23 of the M1. At this junction, much of the traffic from Loughborough turns off, and it is a much quieter A512 that enters Shepshed. After Shepshed, the road passes through Northern Charnwood Forest, near the villages of Peggs Green, Thringstone, Griffydam, Belton and Osgathorpe. Shortly before Ashby it passes Coleorton Hall on the right – a house which has played host to Scott, Wordsworth, Coleridge and others – now converted to apartments. The road ends at the junction with the A42 and A511 (formerly the A50), on the edge of Ashby (52.7491°N 1.4456°W / 52.7491; -1.4456 (A512 road (western end))). The A512 is 11 miles (18 km) long, with the M1 junction 8 miles (13 km) from the southern end.

The Charnwood Forest Canal, sometimes known as the "Forest Line of the Leicester Navigation", was opened between Thringstone and Nanpantan, with a further connection to Barrow Hill, near Worthington, in 1794 It marks the beginning of a period of history that saw the introduction of railways to supplement canals and, in the end, superseding them, leading eventually to the Midland Counties Railway. It was also one of the first uses of edge-rails for a wagonway. (This should not be confused with the Charnwood Forest Railway.)

West Goscote was a hundred of Leicestershire, that arose from the division of the ancient Goscote hundred into two. It covers the north west of the county, an area broadly corresponding to the western part of Charnwood district along with North West Leicestershire. The hundred's main town was Loughborough. Other settlements include Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Coalville and Overseal (now in Derbyshire). The hundred was created by the subdivision of the Goscote hundred in 1346.

Mount St Bernard Abbey is a Roman Catholic, Trappist monastery near Coalville, Leicestershire, England, founded in 1835 in the parish of Whitwick and now in that of Charley. The abbey was the first permanent monastery to be founded in England since the Reformation and is the sole Trappist house in England. The monks brew the only Trappist beer in Britain.

Morley Quarry is a 3.1 hectares (7.7 acres) Local Nature Reserve on the southern outskirts of Shepshed in Leicestershire.The quarries are a Regionally Important Geological Site, with rocks dating to 600 million years ago. The habitat is grassland and heath, with heather and gorse. There is a pond which has breeding toads.There is access from Morley Lane.

Shepshed railway station was a station on the Charnwood Forest Railway. Near the town of Shepshed, Leicestershire. It was opened on 16 April 1883 as a stop on the line between Loughborough Derby Road and Coalville East. The station closed on 13 April 1931 when passenger services on the line were withdrawn. Today, nothing remains of the station which is now occupied by an industrial estate, although the line is traceable.

Shepshed (often known until 1888 as Sheepshed, also Sheepshead – a name derived from the village being heavily involved in the wool industry) is a market town and civil parish in the Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England with a population of 14,875 at the 2021 census. It is the second biggest settlement in the borough, after the town of Loughborough.

Belton is a small village and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The village is located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of the town of Shepshed, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) west-northwest of Loughborough, and 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. According to the 2011 Census, the parish (Including Grace-Dieu) had a population of 734.

The Church of St John the Baptist is a church in Belton, Leicestershire. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Ives Head is a 5 hectares (12 acres) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Shepshed in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.This site exposes volcaniclastic sandstones dating to the late Precambrian, around 600 million years ago. It is important for the global understanding of the early evolution of Ediacaran environments.The site is private land with no public access.