Walking and Running

Looking for a place to go for a walk or run? 

Here you can find information about where you can walk or run in North West Leicestershire including routes and downloadable maps. 

North West Leicestershire District Council:

Find more places using our places to visit page

You could also visit a nature site for a walk. Take a look at our Nature Sites page for more information.

For information on walking in our parks visit our Local parks and Outdoor Spaces page.

To find out more about exploring our heritage sites take a look at our Walking in North West Leicestershire Page

Guided walking groups

• Monday - 10:00am - (starting 12th April)  Moria Furance Guided Walk 2021 (PDF Document, 1.64 Mb)
• Snibstone Discovery Park Guided Walk (PDF Document, 1.05 Mb) - every Monday 1000-1100

Walking and Running by Area

Ashby

• National Forest Waymarked trail - Walks in the Heart of The National Forest
• National Forest: Stage 5 National Forest Way - Ashby to Ticknall
• Conkers in Moira has a range of outdoor attractions such as the Activity Trail
• Country Walking Ashby de la Zouch - Find a map here.
• Forestry England: Hicks Lodge National Forest 

Castle Donington

• Country Walking Breedon on the Hill- Find a map here.

Coalville

• Coalville Forest Adventure park, off Linden Way, is a well surfaced circular walk site with play areas, parking and 800m jogging circuit etc.
• Coalville Park - is just a few minutes' walk away from the town centre on London Road. Here there is plenty for you to enjoy, to suit all age groups including tennis courts, a children’s play area and skate park.
• Holly Hayes wood 
• Nature Alive - this small but interesting nature reserve is a former brownfield site and is trapped between the Coalville ring road and a mineral railway line. It has a number of ponds, scrub and low fertility grassland.
• Snibston Country Park - the grounds of Snibston Discovery Park form a mini Country Park covering over 40 hectares of mixed habitats. Find a map here.
• Peter Elderfield Memorial Wood - find more information here.
• Whitwick Park - There is plenty for you to enjoy, including tennis courts, a children’s play area, skate park and the bowling green home to Whitwick Park Bowls Club.
• National Forest Waymarked trail - The Grange Walkwhich includes Snibston Country Park, Hugglescote Circuit, Urban Forest Park and more
• Disused railway line and Hermitage Recreation Ground.

Ibstock

• Sence Valley Forest Park - access for all. Sence valley is a 60ha country park. It includes the River Sence and three major lakes, which attract a wide variety of wildfowl.

• National Forest Waymarked trail - The Birthday Walk
• National Forest: Stage 4 National Forest Way - Ashby to Ibstock

Measham

• National Forest: The Donisthorpe Woodland Park

Finding Walks near you

Active Together and local partners are here to help you find a range of physical activity, sport and wellbeing opportunities across Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland. Visit their Get Active Search Engine to find local parks/open spaces, clubs, community groups and their activity sessions near you.

Other sources of walks and routes

Other short, medium and long distance walks in the National Forest are available to download. They can be found along with other walks in the National Forest on their website

You could also visit the Walking in England - Walking in Leicestershire page which has information on free walk routes, ordnance survey maps, finding a walking club and walking books. Take a look now.

Orienteering

Orienteering is an exciting and challenging outdoor sport. The aim is to navigate between control points marked on an orienteering map. If you would like to find our more, visit the British Orienteering webpage.

If you would like to give orienteering a go more locally in North West Leicestershire, then have a look at the Leicestershire Orienteering club website. They have lots of great information as well as links to where you can find permanent orienteering courses across the district.

Geocaching

Geocaching is an exciting outdoor adventure for the whole family. It is a modern day twist on a treasure hunt it is suitable for the whole family. All you need is a handheld GPS and a sense of fun. A ‘cache’ is a small waterproof treasure box hidden outdoors.

For more information, please visit our geocaching page.

Walk and run leader training

Walk leader training will be delivered at the Council for free and each person will receive a walking kit. The contents of the training is below:

• Benefit of Walking
• Walking as a group
• Beginners walking group
• Being a walk leader, Roles/Responsibilities
• Preparation and planning
• Risk Assessments
• Good Practice
• Insurance and Paperwork

Booking is essential, to register your interest please contact Katie Hayes on katie.hayes@nwleicestershire.gov.uk or 01530 454735. 

Leicestershire County Council: 

Use Leicestershire County Council's interactive tool to locate public footpaths in your area and more

Additional Walking

Short, medium and long walks with all abilities are catered for with our easy access routes which are also suitable for wheelchairs.

See Nature Alive at Coalville. Sence Valley Forest Park at Ibstock. Trails for walkers and cyclists offer routes for you to discover diverse scenery and an abundance of wildlife. The Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail running from the village of Measham to Albert Village enables you to explore Leicestershire's Countryside.

The long distance National Forest Way runs right through North West Leicestershire. The 75-mile trail extends from the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire to Beacon Hill Country Park in Leicestershire, and can be walked west to east or east to west. The Way is divided into 12 stages with directional leaflets available for each stage. Walkers can dip in for a day, walk for the weekend or take on the whole 75 miles in one go! Individual stages of the walk only available to download from the National Forest Website.

Walks in the National Forest is a series of short, medium and long distance walks available to download with some access for all. They can be found along with other walks in the National Forest on their website

The National Forest Walking Festival is held in May.

The local group of the Ramblers Association for this area is Coalville Ramblers. The group organises walks regularly on Wednesdays, Thursdays and weekends. The walks are from 5 miles upwards in North West Leicestershire and surrounding areas. 

If you are interested in finding out more, you see the current programme of walks and make contact with the group by visiting their website here, or by emailing info@coalvilleramblers.org.uk