Winter Walking In The Outwoods Near Loughborough

The Outwoods Near Loughborough, Leicestershire
© Copyright Ashley Dace

Woods are good places to go walking when the cold winter winds are blowing. One of the more interesting woods in North Leicestershire is the Outwoods between Woodhouse Eaves and Loughborough, and close to Beacon Hill Country Park.

Outwoods Crag
© Copyright Ashley Dace

The Outwoods is 100 acres of ancient woodland. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest as it stands on some of the oldest rocks in Britain, dating back to the pre-Cambrian era 700 million years ago. Rare fossils have been found in the rocks which are of international importance to the study of early life forms. Some are exhibited in the New Walk Museum in Leicester and Charnwood Museum in Loughborough.

Management of the Outwoods  

The Outwoods Management Committee is working with Charnwood Borough Council and Natural England to re-establish traditional oak woodland over much of the area. This process involves the removal of non-native trees and shrubs such as sycamore, rhododendron and larch, and will take many decades.

You are free to walk anywhere in the Outwoods, but if you prefer something ‘mapped out’, there are two signed walks you can follow. The blue signs will guide you round the short walk of 1.3km (0.8miles), the orange signs round the longer walk of 3km (1.8miles). The routes are relatively even and dry, but there are some steep climbs on both so it’s advisable to wear sturdy walking shoes or boots.

A leaflet showing the walks is available from the Outwoods car park. You can also download the information by clicking here.

The Outwoods car park is off Woodhouse Lane, between Nanpantan Road and Woodhouse Eaves. You can also get to the woods by foot (allow about 20 minutes) from Brook Road, opposite the Old Bulls Head in Woodhouse Eaves. 

There is a picnic area next to the car park and benches throughout the wood. 

This post is adapted from an article which appears in the December/January 13 issue of Village Connect.

The photographs in this post are licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence