Posts tagged Leicestershire
East Midlands parkruns
 

The parkrun Regionnaire status used to be a major part of parkrun tourism. Changes in the parkrun website in 2019 removed the regions making it harder to track completion status. All is not lost though as here’s the complete parkrun guide to what’s in and what’s out of the counties of East of England.

The East Midlands is a varied and centrally positioned region of England, lying at the heart of the country and forming an important geographic and economic link between the north and south. It comprises six ceremonial counties—Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (excluding the northern unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire), Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, and Rutland.

Its landscapes are defined by striking contrasts. In the north, the Peak District rises in a sweep of rugged gritstone edges, moorland plateaus, and deep valleys, forming one of Britain’s most celebrated upland national parks. Nottinghamshire is home to the ancient oak woodlands of Sherwood Forest, long associated with folklore and now protected for their ecological and cultural significance. To the south, Rutland Water stands as one of Europe’s largest man‑made reservoirs and an internationally important wetland habitat.

Across the wider region, the scenery shifts from the broad, meandering valley of the River Trent to the volcanic outcrops and wooded hills of Charnwood Forest. Lincolnshire contributes some of the country’s most extensive agricultural landscapes, stretching out to a coastline of wide sandy beaches and low‑lying coastal plains.

Together, these elements create a region of remarkable diversity—rich in natural beauty, deep in history, and shaped by the varied terrains that define the centre of England.


The counties of the East Midlands

parkrun event numbers per county

There are currently 65 parkrun events in the present-day counties of the East Midlands region. The Historic Counties, prior to the various boundary changes had a further 8 events.

Notes and exceptions.

  • Numbers of event above exclude prison parkruns and permanently cancelled events.

  • Market Harborough was in the historic county of Northamptonshire but is in the present-day county of Leicestershire.

  • 6 parkrun events in the north of Lincolnshire are in the Yorkshire and the Humber region.

  • 2 parkrun events, Graves and Rother Valley, were in the historic county of Derbyshire but are now in South Yorkshire in the Yorkshire and the Humber Region.

  • Events that are in the Yorkshire and the Humber region are highlighted in yellow in the table above.


The East Midlands Counties parkrun pages

Click on each of the images below to go to the page with details of the parkrun events for the county.


More parkrun posts

parkruns are free, weekly, community 5k events all around the world. I started in December 2012 and have been obsessive about it ever since. See my parkrun Collection page for details.

Featured and popular parkrun posts:


Completing All Leicestershire parkruns

There are currently 14 parkrun events in the present-day county of Leicestershire of which I have not yet completed any. The first was Braunstone, which started on 25th September 2010, and the newest is Bittesby Country Park, which started on 25th July 2026. The name for having completed all parkrun events in the county is “Flaw-Leics”.

The location of the Market Harborough event was in the historic county of Northamptonshire but is now in present-day Leicestershire.

Numbers exclude 2k Junior parkruns and any events that are not open to the general public such as prisons or armed forces facilities.



All of the Leicestershire parkrun events …

Below are each of the Leicestershire 5k parkrun events in alphabetical order. A few things to note:

  • The interactive maps below take you to the approximate location for the course, typically the centre of the park. See the course instructions in the parkrun page for each event for specific directions to the start.

  • Course maps and elevation profiles show the route at the time that I ran it and may have changed since then. See the Course page in the event’s page on parkrun.org.uk for the current course outline. Note that course outlines are from Garmin data during a specific run and may vary from the officially measured distance.

  • Please contact me if you spot an event that doesn’t have a course map and elevation profile and you would like to donate one from your own run. I’m also interested in maps and elevation profiles for courses that have changed or where there’s regular a alternative route (e.g. Horsham). I’ll need a GPX file from your run plus the date. I’ll include a credit for you and will donate £1 to parkrun.


Abbey Park

 

Beacon Hill Country Park

 

Belvoir Castle

 

Bittesby Country Park

 

Braunstone

 

Conkers

 

Dishley, Loughborough

 

Hastings High School

 

Leicester Victoria

 

Market Bosworth Country Park

 

Market Harborough

 

Melton Mowbray

 

Sence Valley Forest Park

 

Watermead Country Park

 

More parkrun posts

parkruns are free, weekly, community 5k events all around the world. I started in December 2012 and have been obsessive about it ever since. See my parkrun Collection page for details.

Featured and popular parkrun posts:


Nether Hall: Leicester City High Point

Significance: Highest point of the Unitary Authority of Leicester City
Member of:
N/A
Parent Peak:
Cleve Hill, NHN = Beacon Hill Leicestershire
Historic County: Leicestershire (of which Bardon Hill is the County Top)
Elevation:
110m
Date “climbed”:
July 15th 2023
Coordinates:
52° 39' 8'' N, 1° 2' 54'' W
Map:
Leicester & Hinckley Map | The National Forest | Ordnance Survey | OS Explorer Map 233
Links:
Wikipedia (Leicester City), Peakbagger, Hillbagging

Nether Hall is the high point of the Unitary Authority of Leicester City, within the Ceremonial and Historic Counties of Leicestershire. From the map, while planning the trip, I was expecting a fairly urban area but it turned out to be a pleasant suburb.

This is a quick drive-by with free on-street parking at the eastern end of Keyham Lane West near the junction with Hamilton Lane. The high point is on the eastern side of Hamilton Lane at the entrance to a footpath to the golf course.


Bardon Hill: Leicestershire County Top

Bardon Hill, Leicestershire County Top


Significance: Highest peak in Leicestershire (Historic CT)
Member of: Marilyn
Parent Peak: Thorpe Cloud. NHN = Thorpe Cloud
Elevation: 278m
Date climbed: October 14th 2014
Coordinates: 52° 42' 52'' N, 1° 19' 14'' W
Route Start / End: On-street parking at Vercor Close, Coalville, LE67 4QS
Route Distance: 4.3 km (2.7 miles)
Route Elevation Change: +/- 91m
Subsidiary tops on route: None
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other routes touched (walk): Ivanhoe Way
Other routes touched (cycle): none
OS Trig Pillar: TP1022 - Bardon Hill
Map: OS Explorer 245: The National Forest
Guidebook: The UK's County Tops (Jonny Muir), Walking the County High Points of England (David Bathurst)
Links: Wikipedia (Leicestershire), Wikipedia (Bardon Hill), Peakbagger, Hillbagging



OTHER HIGH POINTS IN Leicestershire