Hallaton Dismantled Railway
Selected Wild Place / Other Wild Places / Public Rights of Way / VC55 boundary
Limited parking near to bridge abutments off Allexton Road or access from public footpath (head northeast across fields) from junction of East Norton Road and Allexton Road.
Private – Permissive path
Site species count:
This former railway line was part of the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway which opened between 1879-1883 to transport iron ore, agricultural produce and passengers.
This section of track is relatively wide and has a permissive track with good access along the whole section. The centre of the track is maintained for vehicle access with grass verges and is bounded on the west and east by Hawthorn and Blackthorn scrub. This changes at various points where farm access to the surrounding fields crosses the track and towards the northern section the track becomes more incised with banks rising and shading the pathway.
Throughout this section there are frequent road bridges over the railway line that provide interesting architectural features and support a range of lichens and mosses. Small piles of brickwork are also present on the bank edges as reminders of its historic past.
Occasional hard-standing areas have re-colonised with pioneer plant species that require little substrate, but which contribute greatly to be mosaic of plant life. This is a little explored and under-recorded part of Leicestershire worth visiting to explore and record.
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