Wild places

Bouskell Park is an attractive area of parkland set on the remains of a medieval village. It is an old Victorian parkland with a pond, grassland and woodland

Bradgate Park is Leicestershire’s most popular park. Located in Charnwood Forest just northwest of Leicester it covers 850 acres (3 km²). The River Lin runs through it, flowing into Cropston Reservoir which was constructed on part of the park. The landscape is rocky moorland with a covering of coarse grass and bracken.

Three miles south-west from Oakham lies the pretty village of Braunston. All Saints Church is in the centre of the village and is set in a moderately-sized churchyard. The earliest parts of the church date to the 12th century.

Breedon Hill is the largest area of species-rich carboniferous limestone grassland in Leicestershire. The site has been dug for limestone for a very long time and  is full of hummocks and dips. It has an interesting limestone flora and superb views. There are the remains of an iron age hill fort, though part of it has been quarried away.

The tiny ironstone village of Bringhurst is situated 2 miles south of Eye Brooke Reservoir, 2.5 miles northwest of Corby. The earliest parts of the church date from the 12th century, and the churchyard is open and grassy, with a few trees and a wildflower area. 

Brocks Hill Country Park was opened in 1999 and covers 67 acres, containing young broadleaved plantation woodland, orchards, hedgerows, ponds, meadows and a medieval ridge and furrow field, with a network of accessible paths. Some of the grasslands have been in existence since the country park was previously farmland, however, the newer wildflower meadows also contain a range of species. The combination of habitats and garden areas make Brocks Hill a biodiverse urban-fringe site. Lucas Marsh, a Wildlife Trust nature reserve, adjoins the park.

Three miles south-west of Oakham is the small village of Brooke, which is at the head of the River Gwash. St Peter's church dates to the 12th century, and, interestingly, appeared on film in the 2005 film adaption of Pride & Prejudice. The quaint churchyard is small with largely open grassy space, but features a variety of tree and plant species.

Brooke Hill Wood is a 15.6 hectare (38.5 acre) site on the southern edges of Oakham. It is adjacent to Gorse Field, Harris Grove and Ball's Meadow, another Woodland Trust site. The map includes both sites.

Broombriggs Farm and Windmill Hill covers an area of 62 hectares, and is located to the west of Woodhouse Eaves and to the south of Beacon Hill. Broombriggs Farm is a mosaic of small fields enclosed by dry stone walls, hedgerows, fences and woodlands. They are managed to provide permanent pasture for grazing livestock and to grow various arable crops.

The majority of the church grounds are grassed and subject to mowing but an area at the back of the church supports a number of mature trees with a small patch of open ground in the centre. This area is being nurtured to become a wildlife area and work is ongoing to enhance the existing planting and making wildlife features to encourage wildlife onto the site.

Brown's Wood, formerly Manor Farm Woodland, lies just north of Thornton Reservoir. It was planted in part due to the heavy metal group Iron Maiden liaising with the Carbon Neutral Company to plant enough saplings to offset the carbon dioxide generated by the production and distribution of their 2003 album Dance of Death.

Several public footpaths cross the site.

This 80 hectare site is a country park with a visitor centre and a network of well-marked paths. It has extensive mature woodland, unimproved grassland and a number of other features such as ponds and streams.

Whilst clearly not a road verge, this wildflower area was surveyed in 2020 by NatureSpot volunteers as part of the Urban Verges Trial run by the County Council. It has a similar objective of creating wildflower grassland from regularly mown grass and persuading the public to support this action.

The wildflower area lies between a group of trees and within the wider amenity parkland.

This 4 hectare site has a number of different habitats, principally mesotrophic grassland, wet woodland, a pond and flood meadow. It additionally has areas of rough grassland and scrub and several mature Ash and Oak trees.

Owned and managed by Loughborough University, Burleigh Wood is situated in the South-West corner of the campus. It consists of ancient woodland with a circular path running around it. To the North it has been extended with new planting.

This is a plantation woodland, possibly ancient, lying just north of Rutland Water towards Exton. It is now managed as part of the Rutland Falcony and Owl Centre, who are undertaking a number of conservation projects to improve the biodiversity of the wood.