Croft, Leicestershire

Croft railway station was a railway station serving the village of Croft in Leicestershire. It was on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line about 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Leicester. The line is owned by Network Rail.

Croft Pasture is a 6.2-hectare (15-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the outskirts of Croft in Leicestershire. Most of the site, totalling 5.8 hectares, is owned and managed by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.The River Soar runs through this unimproved grazed meadow, which is dominated by common bent and crested dog's-tail. A knoll in the north of the site has uncommon flora such as meadow saxifrage, common stork's-bill and subterranean clover.There is access from Station Road.

Croft and Huncote Quarry is a 35.3-hectare (87-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Croft in Leicestershire. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.This site exposes igneous tonalite rocks 452 million years old, in the Ordivician period, and it helps to document the growth of continental crust beneath central England. This layer is unconformably overlain by Triassic mineralised manganese.The site is private land with no public access.

Croft Hill is a 128m high natural hill rising up the Soar flood-plain north of Croft&quarry in Leicestershire, England. It stands out as an isolated landmark, and has been used as a meeting place for centuries.The hill is a 2-hectare (4.9-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, overlooking the deep quarry and provides a number of habitats including broad leaved woodland, scrub land, acidic grassland and two other distinct areas of grassland. It is an important area in view of the variety of flora, fauna, birds and butterflies which inhabit or visit at various times of the year.This site has short, tussocky grass in an open habitat, a nationally rare vegetation type. The granitic soil is thin and short of nutrients. The nationally scarce upright chickweed is abundant in some areas.There is access to the site from Croft Hill Road, between the villages of Huncote and Croft, although there is no car park. The area also consists of a smaller tailings hill east of the quarry, both hills can be reached by foot. Adjacent to the small hill is a nature reserve with an enclosed lake, where visitors can stand on a wooden deck over the water. The lake has a collection of reeds and other natural flora.

Huncote is a village and civil parish in the district of Blaby in the county of Leicestershire, England. It is just west of Narborough, and is on the Thurlaston Brook. The place-name Huncote is the etymological root of the American surnames Hunnicutt, and Honeycut.

Sutton in the Elms is a settlement in the northwest of Broughton Astley (where the population is listed), Leicestershire. Its name is sometimes abbreviated to Sutton Elms. Sutton is one of the three settlements mentioned in Domesday that now comprise Broughton Astley: namely Broctone, Sutone and Torp.

Potters Marston is a village and civil parish in the district of Blaby in Leicestershire, England. It has a population of around 40, and is roughly between Huncote and Stoney Stanton, but closest to Croft. It has a view of the remaining side of Croft Quarry and has 12 houses. The population of the village at the 2011 census was included in the civil parish of Croft. The Church has a congregation of around 10 people, and was originally a barn which became a school house. The area is home to the remains of a medieval kiln. The kiln appears to have operated from around 1100AD until around 1300AD. The resulting pottery known as Potters Marston Ware makes up around half the pottery found in Leicester on sites dating from its period of operation.

St Mary's Church is a church in Broughton Astley, Leicestershire. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Broughton Astley is a large village and civil parish located in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated in the south of Leicestershire, about 6 miles (10 km) east of Hinckley, about 9 miles (14 km) from the centre of Leicester, and about 14 miles from Coventry. The parish borders the Blaby district to the north, as well as sharing borders with the parishes of Cosby, Leire, and Dunton Bassett. The population of the civil parish (which includes Sutton in the Elms) at the time of the 2011 census was 8,940. A tributary of the River Soar runs through it.

Stanegarth was built in 1910 as a steam-powered tugboat by Lytham Ship Builders Company for service with the British Waterways Board. She was converted to diesel power in 1957. The tug used to tow three dredging hoppers, each crewed by two men, on the trip to and from Gloucester to Purton.On 6 June 2000 she was scuttled at Stoney Cove to produce an artificial reef suitable for wreck diving. The wreck now sits in 20 metres (66 ft) of fresh water and measures more than 18 metres (59 ft) long with a beam of 5 metres (16 ft). A plaque attached to it reads "Stanegarth project by Stoney Cove and Diver Magazine June 2008".

Thomas Estley Community College is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in Broughton Astley, Leicestershire, England. It caters for students aged 11–16. It forms part of The Success Academy Trust, together with Cosby Primary School, Hallbrook Primary School and Richmond Primary School. Subjects are: English, Science, CRE, History, Geography, French, Spanish, PE, Drama, Music, Computing, Art, Textiles, Resistant Materials, and Systems and Control. Dance, Health and Social Care, and Business are also included as a GCSE subject. The school hosts a satellite site of Birkett House School, offering alternative education for pupils with moderate learning difficulties.

Stoney Cove is a large flooded quarry which is a popular inland scuba diving site, located between Stoney Stanton and Broughton Astley in Leicestershire, England.