Charnwood Lodge is a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Charnwood Forest, east of

Coalville Coalville is an industrial town in the district of North West Leicestershire, Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England, with a population at the 2011 census of 34,575. It lies on the A511 trunk road between Leicester and Burton upon Tr ...

in Leicestershire. It is a national nature reserve, and contains two

Geological Conservation Review The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee and is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological ...

sites. It is managed by the

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the United Kingdom. It manages nature reserves in Leicestershire and Rutland, and was founded in 1956 as the Leicestershire and Rutland Trust for Nature Con ...

. This is the largest area of moorland in the East Midlands, and it is mainly covered by

bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...

on dry hills, while wet heath is dominated by

purple moor-grass ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of grass that is native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, it grows best in acid so ...

. The site is geologically important for the 'bomb' rocks, volcanic blocks dating the Ediacaran period around 600 million years ago. Part of the site is open to the public, with access from Warren Hills Road.

References

{{Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust National nature reserves in England Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Leicestershire Geological Conservation Review sites