Croft Hill
Croft Hill
5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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5.0
12 reviews
Excellent
10
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2
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0
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0
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0
Rachel W
Leicester, UK246 contributions
Oct 2021 • Friends
A beautiful walk on a sunny autumn morning. My mother in her 60’s made it to the top. You just have to be relatively fit and wear proper walking boots. Took the dog on an extending lead as would be loathe to let them off with the quarry so close. Did the full circle and stopped for photos etc took about 1 hour 30
Written October 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ninkynank
3 contributions
Apr 2021
Very nice place and some lovely footpaths.
I parked in the car park by the park and used the footpath that goes under the railway line.
There are many footpaths that lead to the hill and one that goes around the hill if you don't fancy going up but the view is amazing.
I parked in the car park by the park and used the footpath that goes under the railway line.
There are many footpaths that lead to the hill and one that goes around the hill if you don't fancy going up but the view is amazing.
Written April 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ryan FF
Stoney Stanton, UK5 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
Good for a short trip out to walk the dog, cracking views, Makes it a worthy trip out.
I met a friend who also was pleasantly surprised by the views.
I would recommend if you live close by to visit for a short trip out.
I will be definitely making another trip in better warmer conditions.
I met a friend who also was pleasantly surprised by the views.
I would recommend if you live close by to visit for a short trip out.
I will be definitely making another trip in better warmer conditions.
Written January 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ross H
Leicestershire, UK112 contributions
May 2017
I recommend to park in centre of Croft and then you can visit The Heathcote Arms after your walk. It’s quite a long walk to circumnavigate the entire quarry but it’s a simple stroll to the top. It has special views and it gives you an interpreting insight into the active quarry.
Written October 29, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Martin C
3 contributions
May 2017 • Couples
I have lived in the area for nearly 20 year's and have said endlessly that I must go here for the views. Well today with my partner and our dog off we set to find ourselves truly enchanted on a relatively straightforward walk and for me a rambler, my better half with a keen eye for pictures and an enthusiastic pooch we easily spent 2.5 hours wandering about and wishing we'd brought a picnic!! The views on this lovely sunny clear day were amazing and we both agreed it was worth the effort not to mention the wait and we absolutely recommend this to everyone.
Written May 15, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kim Jong Bing B... T
Broughton Astley, UK13 contributions
Sep 2022
There's a great circular walk around Croft Hill using a mixture of well-marked paths and permissive routes that aren't shown on maps. It is a stiff climb to the top of the hill and the whole walk is a little over 3 miles, with some short steep ascents and descents, but it's about an hour if you're reasonably fit and there are stunning views from the top.
My suggestion is to start at the car park (use LE9 3GQ) near Croft playing fields, then walk back up Winston Avenue for about 70 yards and look for a footpath going under the railway line on your right. Walk all the way along here and you'll reach Dovecote Road, where you turn left and follow it, staying to the right and passing the Heathcote Pub and church. Take the first road on the right past a large white house and carpark until you reach a kissing gate, which is the start of well-marked paths that you can use to get to the top of Croft Hill. There are several routes (including one that goes around the base of the hill if you don't fancy the hike to the top - but that's really missing the point). You should do the final steep section in around 5 minutes (less if you're very fit) and enjoy views across the majority of Leicestershire, including Bardon, Beacon and Old John, over eleven miles to the North. Billesdon Coplow and Rutland are just about visible at around 15 miles to the ENE and South to the ridge with the South Leicestershire windfarms giving a total area of over 100 square miles.
Descend the hill heading North and stay on the footpaths until you reach a viewpoint/meadow with an information board in it, where you can either descend the long staircase to your left and turn right to follow the water meadow and elevated boardwalk section (shortened in 2022) to look for lots of butterflies, or stay up high on a path that takes you around the rim of the quarry until you reach a point where a long staircase takes you down the side of this section. You can turn right at the top of the stairs, but that is often muddy as mountain bikes churn up a very narrow path and there’s little extra to see going this way.
When you get to the bottom, you'll end up crossing a bridge over the River Soar, on its long journey until it reaches the North Sea in the Humber Estuary and finally you pass through a metal fenced section that runs between the quarry and the railway. After you pass under the quarry road bridge, turn sharp right and then back over the top of the bridge, then continue through a gate on the RIGHT at the bottom of the bridge (one on the left goes almost nowhere), which takes you back across the playing fields and the car-park where you started.
Fun facts:-
Croft Hill is 128m high and the lowest point of the quarry is almost -110m. To put that into perspective, only two buildings in the UK would be higher than the hill if they were placed in the bottom of the hole – The Shard and 22 Bishopgate in London. Even the top of Blackpool tower would only just about be level with the lowest point on the edge of the quarry.
On a very clear day (with binoculars or similar) it is alleged that you can see the top of Boston Stump (St. Botolph’s Church), which is almost 60 miles away. Look slightly left of the wooded hilltop area on the horizon at Borough on the Hill (approximately 065 degrees East).
Some of the Channel Tunnel sections were produced using stone from Croft Quarry.
The hill is the remains of a long extinct volcano and has been a SSSI since 1956, racking up an astonishing 526 different types of flora and fauna.
My suggestion is to start at the car park (use LE9 3GQ) near Croft playing fields, then walk back up Winston Avenue for about 70 yards and look for a footpath going under the railway line on your right. Walk all the way along here and you'll reach Dovecote Road, where you turn left and follow it, staying to the right and passing the Heathcote Pub and church. Take the first road on the right past a large white house and carpark until you reach a kissing gate, which is the start of well-marked paths that you can use to get to the top of Croft Hill. There are several routes (including one that goes around the base of the hill if you don't fancy the hike to the top - but that's really missing the point). You should do the final steep section in around 5 minutes (less if you're very fit) and enjoy views across the majority of Leicestershire, including Bardon, Beacon and Old John, over eleven miles to the North. Billesdon Coplow and Rutland are just about visible at around 15 miles to the ENE and South to the ridge with the South Leicestershire windfarms giving a total area of over 100 square miles.
Descend the hill heading North and stay on the footpaths until you reach a viewpoint/meadow with an information board in it, where you can either descend the long staircase to your left and turn right to follow the water meadow and elevated boardwalk section (shortened in 2022) to look for lots of butterflies, or stay up high on a path that takes you around the rim of the quarry until you reach a point where a long staircase takes you down the side of this section. You can turn right at the top of the stairs, but that is often muddy as mountain bikes churn up a very narrow path and there’s little extra to see going this way.
When you get to the bottom, you'll end up crossing a bridge over the River Soar, on its long journey until it reaches the North Sea in the Humber Estuary and finally you pass through a metal fenced section that runs between the quarry and the railway. After you pass under the quarry road bridge, turn sharp right and then back over the top of the bridge, then continue through a gate on the RIGHT at the bottom of the bridge (one on the left goes almost nowhere), which takes you back across the playing fields and the car-park where you started.
Fun facts:-
Croft Hill is 128m high and the lowest point of the quarry is almost -110m. To put that into perspective, only two buildings in the UK would be higher than the hill if they were placed in the bottom of the hole – The Shard and 22 Bishopgate in London. Even the top of Blackpool tower would only just about be level with the lowest point on the edge of the quarry.
On a very clear day (with binoculars or similar) it is alleged that you can see the top of Boston Stump (St. Botolph’s Church), which is almost 60 miles away. Look slightly left of the wooded hilltop area on the horizon at Borough on the Hill (approximately 065 degrees East).
Some of the Channel Tunnel sections were produced using stone from Croft Quarry.
The hill is the remains of a long extinct volcano and has been a SSSI since 1956, racking up an astonishing 526 different types of flora and fauna.
Written September 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sue R
Lighthorne, UK58 contributions
Mar 2015 • Solo
I often visit this little gem of a place - from the top of Croft Hill you can see across to Bradgate Park hills and at one time they were all part of the same scenery hence the same craggy, fern clad nature of this little area. The walks are as challenging as you want to make them, some of the nature trail has steps hewn out of the hill which are often used by cross country runners, it is a serene place and the hill overlooks the Quarry which is still being mined and is very interesting to look down on the activity. It is a little Bradgate Park but only one hill, although the quarry have created a new hill which has been well planted and is now mature with gorse, broom and trees so extending the nature trails. There is a small pool also on which I have seen nesting swans in the past and is a haven for wildlife and the rushing river is close by as are the grazing cattle in this ancient landscape. Why not visit this unspoilt place and enjoy the views, peace and quiet and it's interesting mining history, bring your good walking shoes. Afterwards you can wander into the village and eat at the local inn. The locals know this spot well, come and enjoy this little known beauty spot.
Written May 28, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lou
2 contributions
Apr 2019 • Family
Absolutely beautiful walk to Croft hill the views are amazing would highly recommended it to all to go
Written April 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ireshael
Leicester, UK10 contributions
Jan 2017 • Couples
Visit Croft Hill first time today, lovely walk with litlle bit climbing with amazing views on the quarry and Leicestershire
Written January 8, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grace F
Leicester, UK1 contribution
Aug 2022 • Friends
Lovely walk for an evening alone or with friends or family, great breeze of air, shaded areas all around
Written July 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Would I be allowed to ride a pit bike, quad bike or an electric scooter if I was very sensible? Thanks
Written March 11, 2023
Definitely not. All powered vehicles are banned from the hill and paths because it is a quiet spot where even bikes aren't great because of the path damage that they cause. There are plenty of places to go with quad bikes, and the area is just starting to get some really amazing wildlife diversity - which could quickly be reversed if visitors don't treat it with care. Hope that helps
Written May 5, 2023
Hi, does anyone fly model gliders at croft hill?
Written February 3, 2019
Dan H
Ringstead, United Kingdom
Hi, i am planning on visiting with this in mind! i live Blaby n pass everyday, i always look at the hill and wonder if it would be suitable for a bit of gliding, otherwise its Honey Hill..
Written March 26, 2019
Is there anywhere to park nearby? Not having much luck seeing anything nearby with Google Maps.
Written December 27, 2016
Yes, best place to park is in the Red Lion car park in Huncote, treat yourself to a drink there, and then a short walk. Or the Heathcote in Croft
Written August 26, 2024
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