Lea Meadows

Charnwood Forest is a hilly tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; its elevation is generally 600 feet (180 m) and upwards, the area exceeding this height being about 6,100 acres (25 km2). The highest point, Bardon Hill, is 912 feet (278 m). On its western flank lies an abandoned coalfield, with Coalville and other former mining villages, now being regenerated and replanted as part of the National Forest. The M1 motorway, between junctions 22 and 23, cuts through Charnwood Forest. The hard stone of Charnwood Forest has been quarried for centuries, and was a source of whetstones and quern-stones. The granite quarries at Bardon Hill, Buddon Hill and Whitwick supply crushed aggregate to a wide area of southern Britain. The forest is an important recreational area with woodland walks, noted for their displays of bluebells in the early spring, rock climbing and hillwalking. Popular places with public access include Bardon Hill, Beacon Hill, Bradgate Park, Swithland Wood and the Outwoods and Stoneywell Cottage (National Trust).

Stoneywell is a National Trust property in Ulverscroft, a dispersed settlement near Coalville in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire. Stoneywell is the largest of a small group of cottages designed in the Arts and Crafts style by Ernest Gimson. It was built in collaboration with Detmar Blow in 1899 for Ernest's brother Sydney Gimson as a summer residence, and along with much original furniture, it remained in the Gimson family for over a century. As part of a highly influential vernacular movement, it has become well known within Arts and Crafts circles. In spring 2013 the National Trust announced that following a year-long appeal, it had been able to acquire the house with its Arts and Crafts contents, gardens and woodland. It was opened to the public in February 2015.

Ulverscroft Priory is a former hermitage and priory in Ulverscroft, Leicestershire.

Ulverscroft is a civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire. It has a population of about 100. The population in 2011 is included in the civil parish of Newtown Linford. There is no village by the name, but there was previously an Ulverscroft Priory. There are some good examples of early Arts and Crafts movement architecture in and around Ulverscroft including Stoneywell by Ernest Gimson. Stoneywell, now a National Trust property, opened to the public in 2015.

Benscliffe Wood is a 9.8 hectares (24 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Leicestershire.This wood has one of the richest varieties of lichens in the East Midlands, with over thirty species growing on Precambrian rocks. Eleven of the species are rare in the county.The site is private land with no public access.

Rocky Plantation is a 3.4-hectare (8.4-acre) nature reserve north of Markfield in Leicestershire. It is owned by the National Trust and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.This site has mixed woodland, including some mature sessile oaks, and rocky outcrops. There is a variety of fungi and birds, including great spotted woodpeckers and nuthatches.Admission is restricted to National and Wildlife trust members. There is access from Priory Lane.

Newtown Linford is a linear village in Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was 1,000 at the 2001 census, including Ulverscroft, increasing to 1,103 at the 2011 census.The village lies in a valley in the Charnwood Forest area, and has four access roads. The first is from Anstey, then there are roads which lead to the A50 at Groby and at Markfield (the former passing Groby Pool). Another road that leads north towards Ulverscroft, or Loughborough, Woodhouse, Woodhouse Eaves, Swithland etc.

Ulverscroft Valley is a 110.8 hectares (274 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Markfield in Leicestershire. The site is in five separate blocks, and two areas are nature reserves managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT). Lea Meadows is owned by the LRWT and it is also a scheduled monument. Part of Ulverscroft Nature Reserve is owned by the LRWT and part is owned by the National Trust and leased to the LRWT.

Bradgate House is a 19th-century ruin in Groby, Leicestershire, England. Built in 1856 for the seventh Earl of Stamford, George Harry Grey, it was intended as a replacement for the 16th century Bradgate House built circa 1520, built by his ancestor Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset and home of Lady Jane Grey. The house was constructed in a Jacobean style on a site 2 miles south-west of Bradgate Park. The large, handsome mansion was referred to as "Calendar House", supposedly having 365 windows, 52 rooms and 12 main chimneys. The Earl of Stamford was known for his extravagance. The stable block alone, built when the Earl became master of the Quorn Hunt, cost £30,000, a massive sum for those days. The house was sold for demolition in 1925 and subsequently demolished, leaving only the quadrangular stable block (52.6789°N 1.2511°W / 52.6789; -1.2511 (Bradgate House stables)), a grandiose building even in its current dilapidated state.

Field Head is a small settlement along the A511 on the edge of the Charnwood Forest in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. It is mainly a ribbon development along the A511 from the top of Bradgate Hill to the Coach and Horses public house. However, in the 1960s development of an area South of the A511 effectively doubled the size of the settlement. It is part of the civil parish of Groby. The population is included in the civil parish of Ratby. The settlement is most notable for the Fieldhead Hotel, which was originally a farmhouse built around 1672. It is a small hotel and restaurant, within the parish boundaries of Newtown Linford.

Ulverscroft is a 56-hectare (140-acre) nature reserve north of Markfield in Leicestershire, England. It is managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, which shares its ownership with the National Trust. The site is partly in Ulverscroft Valley, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.The site's diverse habitats include woodland, heath, wet grassland, a pond, a meadow, marshes and sphagnum bog. The meadow has a rich flora, including fragrant orchid, devil's-bit scabious and bitter vetch.There is access from Whitcrofts Lane.

Markfield is a large village in both the National Forest and Charnwood Forest and in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. The settlement dates back to at least the time of the Norman conquest and is mentioned in the Domesday Book under the name Merchenefeld. A variant of this is still used as the name for the village primary school, Mercenfeld. It is to the south-east of Junction 22 of the M1, and to the south of the A50. The highest point in Markfield is shown on OS sheet 129 at 222 metres above sea level. Nearby places are Newtown Linford, Groby, Field Head, and Stanton under Bardon. In the 1841 census its population was recorded at 1,203. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 5681. In 2012 Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council published an overview of Markfield conservation area.