Country Parks in Leicestershire

Get outdoors, re-connect with nature, and explore the beauty of the countryside!

Leicestershire County Council manages many Country Parks and green spaces. All our country parks are open every day, and admission is free, however parking charges may apply.

For more information about visiting our country parks, see the Visitor Information page.

Select the Country Park or Green Space you wish to view from the map below:

Eight Welsh Pigs are being drafted in to help with an environmental project at Beacon Hill Country Park. The pigs have been employed to help clear unwanted species such as bracken, sycamore and birch scrub.

By doing what they love best – eating, rummaging and turning over the soil – the real life rotavators will leave clumps of gorse, which is one of the most valuable heathland plants in the park.

The pigs have been borrowed from Brooksby Melton College (BMC) and it is anticipated they will help clear around an acre of land.

The pigs join Beacon Hill’s unusual landscape management team which includes a mixture of English Longhorn cattle, Highland Cattle and Manx Loaghtan sheep which keep down invasive species and keep up grazing pressure for the site. There are also five alpacas which help protect the sheep from dog attacks.

The pigs are just below the summit which can be accessed via the top entrance of Beacon Hill, north west of the summit, close to where the National Forest Wood Fair will be held on Monday, August 26.

Nottingham-based chainsaw carver is back at Beacon HIll this month to carve three more eye-catching sculptures. He will be creating a 2.5m-high characterised face represented within craggy rocks, a three-metre long flower bench with plans also in the pipeline for a sculpture depicting a large sheep.

Peter will be carving all three sculptures at Beacon Hill, for four days starting on Monday May 13, then in June (10-14) and then again from July 29 to August 2. Members of the public are invited to come along to the country park (Lower Car Park LE12 8TA) and watch as over time, each piece takes shape and is carved into its unique style.

Brand new guides are now available for Beacon Hill and Watermead North Country Parks. Pick your copy up now from selected Leicestershire libraries, museums, TICs, pubs and hotels, or email us to receive your copy through the post.

   

Tel: 0116 305 5000 (8.30am-5pm Mon-Thu, 8.30am-4.30pm Fri). Outside of these times, emergencies only please.

Email: countryparks@leics.gov.uk    Emails are checked weekdays only; you will not receive a response to your email at weekends or Bank Holidays.

If you have visited one of Leicestershire County Council's Country Parks recently, we'd love to hear your views to help us plan future improvements.

Please complete our Country Parks Survey.

Conservation volunteering is a great way to get involved with your local country park.

If you would like to help our rangers carry out practical conservation tasks whilst keeping fit, meeting people, learning new skills as well as developing your knowledge of the countryside and how we try to improve our parks for visitors and wildlife, then please contact us.

    

New volunteers are always welcome to come along and join in with us, but please get in touch to let us know in advance. No previous experience is necessary, just enthusiasm and a desire to get involved.

Click here for more information about all our volunteering opportunities.

    

You could save money with a Car Park Season TIcket. Click here for more details on how to apply (valid for all Leicestershire County Council Country Parks).

For information about visiting Bradgate Park, Watermead Country Park South, or any other non-County Council green spaces, please see Non-County Council Parks and Areas.

Our fantastic Countryside Guide showcases the County’s wide variety of wonderful open spaces. Whether you just want to get out into the fresh air, relax, enjoy nature, exercise or try your hand at an environmental conservation task, there is something in here for you.
In the guide you’ll find details of over 30 country parks to visit, walking and cycling routes and trails for all abilities, plus bridleways and waterways to explore.

Copies of the Countryside Guide are available from libraries, museums and local tourist information centres, by calling 0116 305 0001, emailing customerservices@leics.gov.uk or downloading from www.leics.gov.uk/countrysideguide