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A great place to walk and a visit to waterside is a must in the Sun

hicks Lodge trail blue route biking walks around the woods and lake

A great place for a simple circuit of the lake or to hook up to other nearby walks. Owned by the forestry commission, the car parks are no longer free . Card or payment by app only (cash not accepted).

hicks Lodge blue trail biking

Following the planting of 300,000 native broadleaf trees from 2012-2015, QEDJW is now flourishing into a beautiful young woodland made up of oak, field maple, silver birch, beech and hornbeam, to name just a few. Bluebell and wood anemone light up the forest floor in the ancient woodland areas in springtime, and at the lake you’ll find vegetation including bull rush and yellow iris.

Sence Valley Forest Park is a significant area of woodland planting which has transformed the former opencast coal mining site, in north-west Leicestershire, into a haven for wildlife and visitors. The coal mine closed in 1996 and only two years later 98,000 Corsican pine, larch and poplars trees were planted. Another 100 acres of land was bought in 2018 and this was planted with a range of coniferous and broadleaved trees, as a sustainable forest for the future.

Didn't see any conkers, was a bit disappointed

Great place for an hour or so out in the woods, the trail is a good workout and you can often spot animals in the evening. Deer occasionally, foxes and always crows. Try the green trail as well as it's quite twisty and turns and exciting, with lots of little up and downhills. There are some nice, welcome, benches and picnic tables 3/4 of the way round.