Beacon Hill, near

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

, in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, England, is a popular

country park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

. It is one of several beacon hills in the United Kingdom. It is part of

Beacon Hill, Hangingstone and Outwoods Beacon Hill, Hangingstone and Outwoods is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) south of Loughborough in Leicestershire. It is also a Geological Conservation Review and a Nature Conservation Review site. The ...

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

Description

The park consists of over of grassland and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

and offers recreational walking, and some short climbs. With a maximum height of , it is the second highest point in Leicestershire after

Bardon Hill Bardon Hill is the highest Hill in Leicestershire and on a clear day the Malvern and Shropshire Hills (approx. 50–60 miles), summits in Derbyshire (approx. 30–40 miles) and Lincoln Cathedral (almost 50 miles away) can be seen. However, ...

, although the OS map shows Birch Hill, which is near Copt Oak to be 254m. An extinct volcano, in

Whitwick Whitwick is a large village in Leicestershire, England, close to the town of Coalville in the northwest of the county. It lies in an ancient parish which formerly included the equally historic villages of Thringstone and Swannington. It was an ...

, to the west, was responsible for the fine-grained igneous rocks that the hill consists of. Beacon Hill was the site of a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

hill fort. Today a

toposcope A toposcope, topograph, or orientation table is a kind of graphic display erected at viewing points on hills, mountains or other high places which indicates the direction, and usually the distance, to notable landscape features which can be seen f ...

indicates landmarks which can be seen from the summit. These include

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

and the hills of the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by Uniper at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, England. Commissioned in 1968 by the Central Electricity Generating Board, the station has a capacity of 2,000&nb ...

is aligned so that, seen from the summit, only two of its eight

cooling tower A cooling tower is a device that rejects waste heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a coolant stream, usually a water stream to a lower temperature. Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and ...

s are visible. On a clear day

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...

can be seen as well as the hills in the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, and the tower of

can be seen with a pair of

binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

is seen below the hill as is

Beaumanor Hall Beaumanor Hall is a stately home with a park in the small village of Woodhouse on the edge of the Charnwood Forest, near the town of Loughborough in Leicestershire, England. The present hall was built in 1842–8 by architect William Railton and ...

. You can also hear and see steam trains on the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

which has stations at

Quorn Quorn is a brand of meat substitute products, or the company that makes them. Quorn originated in the UK and is sold primarily in Europe, but is available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Quorn is sold as bo ...

and Woodhouse. It was featured on the 2005 TV programme

Seven Natural Wonders ''Seven Natural Wonders'' is a television series that was broadcast on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005. The programme takes an area of England each week and, from votes by the people living in that area, shows the 'seven natural wonders' of t ...

as one of the wonders of the Midlands. There are some very interesting rocks on the summit. Nearby are two small woods both accessible to the public.

Jubilee Wood Jubilee Wood comprises of mixed woodland with rocky outcrops. It was presented to Leicestershire County Council in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The site is adjoining The Outwoods, managed by Charnwood Borough Counci ...

is north-west of the lower Beacon hill car park on the

Woodhouse Eaves Woodhouse Eaves is a village in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England. Nearby are the villages of Quorn, Swithland, and Newtown Linford. Breakback Road leads from the village to Nanpantan and Loughborough. The church of St Paul is a ...

Nanpantan Nanpantan is a suburb in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is located in the south-west of the town of Loughborough, but the village is slightly separated from the main built-up area of Loughborough. It is also the site of ...

road and the

Outwoods Outwoods may refer to the following places in England: * Outwoods, East Staffordshire, Staffordshire *Outwoods, Leicestershire The Outwoods is a ancient wood and visitor attraction overlooking Loughborough and the Soar Valley in Leicestershire, ...

which is adjacent to

Beacon Hill Leicestershire Digital Terrain Model

The park has been awarded the

Green Flag Award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

Native tree collection

The park contains a collection of native trees, first planted in 1996. Many of the trees are labelled, and there are several boxes that provide audio commentary on the biology and historical interest of selected tree species at the push of a button.

Access

There are car parks top and bottom, accessible from Beacon Road or Breakback Road, with a pay on exit barrier system, accepting cash and card. For access by public transport, buses between

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

and

via Anstey serve

. Service 154 operated by

Centrebus Centrebus is a bus company based in Leicester operating services in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. Centrebus have a 51% shareholding in High Peak Buses and since December 2019 through c ...

runs Monday to Friday and

Kinchbus Kinchbus is a bus operator in Loughborough, England. Since 1998 it has been a subsidiary of the Wellglade Group. History Kinchbus was founded in 1987 by former Leicester City Football Club director Gilbert Kinch trading as GK Kinch and base ...

service 123 on Saturdays.

Features and activities

Beacon Hill Country Park has picnic areas, walking routes, a barbecue site (seasonal), horse tracks and permanent orienteering markers. Each August the park opens for a country fair. Old man beacon.jpg, Old man of the Beacon The Shepherd and the Ram by Peter Leadbeater, Beacon Hill, Leicestershire.jpg, ''The Shepherd and the Ram'' chainsaw sculpture by Peter Leadbeater on Beacon Hill Whistlewood_at_beacon_hill_country_fair.jpg, Wood craft demonstration at the Country Fair Beacon Hill, Leicestershire - toposcope.jpg, The

on the top Beacon Hill, Leicestershire - toposcope plate.jpg, The plate on the toposcope

References

External links