Places to explore in LeicestershireEngland · East Midlands

A staircase of ten locks climbing the Grand Union Canal, with the remains of a Victorian boat-lift inclined plane.

Ancient deer park, ruins and folly tower.

5 km²

Fairytale Regency castle over the Vale of Belvoir.

A rare surviving early-19th-century blast furnace beside the Ashby Canal, now a museum in the National Forest.

Family zoo in 100 acres near the Warwickshire border, the only UK zoo with all four great-ape species.

Historic market town in the National Forest, its Tudor castle ruins immortalised in Scott's Ivanhoe.

Leicestershire

Preserved single-track country railway running from Shackerstone past the Bosworth battlefield country.

National Forest discovery centre at Moira, with indoor and outdoor play, trails and a treetop walkway.

Britain's only double-track heritage main line, running steam and diesel trains between Loughborough and Leicester North.

Leicester's landmark space museum under a soaring inflated rocket tower, with the UK's largest planetarium.

The stubby 18th-century tower crowning the high point of Bradgate Park, a landmark for miles around.

Ancient hillside wood above Loughborough, famous for its spring bluebells and views across Charnwood.