Discover Bradgate Park

Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood National Nature Reserve is a 1,200-acre historic landscape recognised at the highest level of conservation protection under UK legislation for its irreplaceable habitats, species, and geology. The Bradgate Park Trust, as custodians of the land, have almost a century’s worth of experience managing public access to the site so that visitors can explore, learn about, and enjoy its beauty in ways that also enhance its conservation interest.
Despite the site’s magnitude, many visitors stick to a tarmac path that runs horizontally through the lower park, consequently missing out on much of what the site offers. Those who venture ‘off the beaten track’ have created desire lines defining key routes across the upper park. By virtue of their naturally formed existence, these routes are often muddy, water-logged, and rutted, particularly during winter. As a result, visitors stray around the tracks to avoid the boggy conditions and in the process, widen the track and cause damage to more fragile areas.
Overall Discover Bradgate Park will repair 1,000m of the most degraded existing track surface to define, improve, and promote visitor exploration of the upper park. This will involve surfacing parts of a 3.8km track with finely milled, locally sourced stone. This will provide a durable and long-lasting solution so that a greater percentage of visitors can experience the unique charm of the upper park, such as panoramic views across Leicestershire, tours and talks at Grade II listed monument Old John Tower, and the tranquillity that comes with the distinct upland character of the area.
This phase of the overall project will surface 442m of pathway in the upper park area.