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Smashing café in the Garden Centre. Had the log fire burning so it was lovely and toasty on a cold day. A nice menu with a good selection of meals. Worth a visit if passing through and in need of refreshment.

Quality food and coffee. Cycle friendly

Lovely place to be out with family

Cycling is only permitted on the one route through the park, which gets busy with walkers, take it slow in the park. Cafe and toilets in the middle.

In September 1867, 180 acres of land was purchased for a cost of £24,000. Most of the land required for the reservoir, dam and waterworks belonged to the Bradgate Estate. Lord Stamford insisted that a stone wall be built around the boundary to separate the deer park from the reservoir, instead of the proposed iron railings. This wall, 1,500 yards long was eventually built at a cost of 8s 10d per yard. Joseph Reeves, Head Gamekeeper, outside his house. Some of the Bradgate Estate land was part of the deer park, but most was farmland let out on very long leases. One farmer, Joseph Allen, lost virtually all his farm. Two members of the Matts family had theirs considerably reduced in size. The Gamekeeper’s house and land, together with a nearby bridge, were also in the area to be flooded. The house, together with its stables and outhouses, were demolished and the bricks sold. Part of the footpath between Anstey and Hallgates was submerged, as was the site of the old rabbit warren (or conery).

Bradgate Park was first enclosed as a deer park (for hunting) in the 12th Century. Herds of Red and Fallow Deer still roam freely across the Park's 800 acres today.The Park is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its importance as a wildlife habitat and its geological interest - the 600 million year old Precambrian rocks here are some of the oldest in England. Bradgate House, built around the year 1500, was one of the first unfortified, brick-built country houses in the country and was the childhood home of Lady Jane Grey and played an important role in the English Civil War. Abandoned in the 18th Century, the house is now an evocative ruin set in a landscape that has changed little since the house's heyday.

Ellis tea rooms

Racks for bikes provided. Hot food until 14:30. After that you can still get coffee & cake. Very good pasties.

Nice pub. Great foodm

Bradgate House is one of England's great 'lost country houses', a once-magnificent Tudor mansion and the birthplace of Lady Jane Grey, the tragic 'Nine Days Queen'. The story of Bradgate House goes back long before Lady Jane's birth, however, and is intertwined with the history of Bradgate Park, a large country park in which the ruins stand. Bradgate Park began as a hunting ground in the early 13th century. It was enclosed by an earthwork bank and ditch, topped by oak timbers. In 1445 the park passed by marriage to the Grey family, who owned it for the next 5 centuries. The first grey owner was Edward Grey, whose son John married Elizabeth Woodville. After John's death at the Battle of St Albans in 1461 Elizabeth married King Edward IV. One of Elizabeth's sons by her first marriage was Sir Thomas Grey, the 1st Marquess of Dorset.

Toilets available at Bradgate Park car park ( Cropston )

Rothley Station is on the Great Central Railway, the UKs only mainline heritage railway. The station has been restored to how it would have looked in 1912, down to coal fires for heating and gas lamps for lighting. Offers a choice of tea rooms. Cycles can be carried on the trains for £3.

Bradgate House was a Tudor mansion built in the early 1500s, and was lived in by the Grey family - including Lady Jane Grey - for 220 years. The house was abandoned in the 1730s, and by 1790, it was declared a ruin.

Great view over the water

Picturesque village with a grest pub.

Cracking cafe. The small English breakfast is very good value. The scones are huge as are the slices of cake!

The full story of this fabulous park can be found in the visitors centre.

Part of the Great Central railway line. Old steam trains run on this line.

A particularly scenic single track road with gates at both ends to deter motor traffic.

A lovely single track gated road that offers some a good views, a short sharp uphill, and only occasional traffic (due to the gates).