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British Elite Middle Distance Championships
British Age Class Middle Distance Championships
10th May 2009



The Event Area in detail


The BMDC is being held on the western edges of the Charnwood Forest Area. The area as a whole has numerous locations which sustain events up to what was known as a badge event.


These include Bradgate Park & Swithland Woods, Beacon Hill and The Outwoods and of course the area we are using for this event which has been extended by recent plantings. The Charnwood Forest area itself is seeking Regional Park status and is now part of the larger new National Forest in the making which is linking Charnwood to the Needwood Forest in Staffordshire to create a 200 sq. mile forest in the heart of England.


To understand the complex and varied landscape of Charnwood we need to understand how it came to be.


Rocks laid down during the Precambrian Period are the oldest found within the Charnwood area, and date from around 560-600 million years ago. At this time what is now England lay within the southern hemisphere along a subduction zone, where the pressures from plate movement caused magma to rise to the surface and form a chain of active volcanoes known as an island arc. The material erupting from these volcanoes accumulated on the sea floor surrounding the volcanoes, forming the rocks of the 'Charnian Supergroup', which is at least 3.5km thick.


Primitive life began to evolve at this time, the fossils of which can be found throughout Charnwood Forest. Igneous rocks, for example the diorites that intruded the Charnian Supergroup, are worked in quarries throughout Charnwood Forest.


During the Cambrian Period when subduction finally ceased, the volcanoes were worn down by erosion allowing the sea to advance over the land. The Swithland Slates represent the muddy material laid down on the sea floor at this time, probably about 530 million years ago. Fossilised animal burrows can be found within these rocks and examples are particularly notable on slate gravestones, as in Ratby churchyard. Swithland Slate has been quarried since Roman time and continues to a small extent, to be worked today.


This was followed by the Ordovician Period and about 450 million years ago, igneous rock, created through the solidification of molten magma was forced to the surface by subduction, forming the Mountsorrel Complex. These igneous rocks are known as granodiorites and are made up of large crystals due to a slow cooling process. It is believed that Ordovician granodiorite has been worked around Mountsorrel since Roman times but there is also evidence of Late Neolithic, Early Bronze Age, Early Iron Age and Norman activity. The Buddon Wood (Mountsorrel) Quarry currently exploits a particularly large mass of Ordovician granodiorite.


The collision of two continental plates occurred towards the end of the Silurian Period, approximately 420 million years ago. This caused the formation of mountains, the remnants of which today form the Charnwood hills. Structures produced by this movement include folds and cleavage, the latter formed when the crystallisation of new minerals cause rocks to break along parallel surfaces. This occurs in all Charnian rock but is particularly prominent in Swithland Slate.


At the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, 355 million years ago, England and Scotland lay close to the equator and formed part of a continental landmass that was partially covered with a warm sea. Sediments from this period were rich in calcareous fossils and formed as Carboniferous Limestone, which can be found in the northern parts of Charnwood Forest, such as found at Grace Dieu. This rock does not extend throughout the whole area, however, since much of Charnwood was still a mountain range at this time. In the latter part of the Carboniferous Period the sea over sections of Charnwood was replaced by a large delta, containing humid swamps and rainforests, in which the Coal Measures accumulated. Coal seams, ironstone and fireclay deposits resulted from these environments, and can be found to the west of Charnwood Forest where they form part of the Leicestershire coalfield.


The Permian Period was one of constant erosion, lasting about 40 million years. This erosion stripped away most of the Carboniferous rock. During the Triassic Period the Charnwood area became covered in sediments. The rugged nature of the landscape produced a highly irregular erosional unconformity, seen in many Charnwood quarries, with drainage courses such as wadis commonly developing. Initially, sand and gravel was transported by large rivers flowing north and north eastwards across England, an example of which is the Shepshed Sandstone. In the latter part of the Triassic period England moved further away from the equator and a vast desert of Aeolian dust formed the red muds and silts of the Mercia Mudstone Group. During this period, flash floods caused water to cover large areas which deposited thin beds of siltstone and sandstone. A high, saline water table caused the precipitation of gypsum. The continual accumulation of sediment coupled with subsidence eventually caused the Mercia Mudstone to completely bury the Charnwood mountain range. Amongst features that have been uncovered are 'tors' of granodiorite formed by wind erosion during the Triassic Period, seen in Buddon Wood Quarry.


Once the Charnwood Hills had been buried, a tropical sea advanced across the area, depositing Jurassic and Cretaceous mudstone and limestone. This sea was destroyed by tectonic movement accompanying the opening of the Atlantic Ocean.


By the beginning of the Quanternary Period around 2 million years ago, much of the strata formed during the Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous Periods had been eroded from the Charnwood Forest area. The onset of the Anglian Ice advance, approximately 440,000 years ago, saw the advance of glaciers across much of England. From tills deposited in Charnwood, two ice-sheets covered the area: a sheet from the north-west carrying Triassic and Carboniferous rock; and a sheet from the north-east carrying fragments of flint and chalk. As the glaciers retreated 'superficial deposits' accumulated consisting of sand and gravel and till.


In more recent time the development of rivers has formed floodplains floored by clay and silt (alluvium).


The topography of Charnwood Forest is distinct and varied. The central Charnwood Forest area is high, and rocky. It forms an upland island, isolated within the Midland plain, which is generally low and flat. The highest point, Bardon Hill, is 278m high. The hill has two very distinct faces: one preserved as an SSSI, the other removed by Bardon Hill Quarry. Beacon Hill is the second highest point in Charnwood Forest, rising to a height of 245m. It has long views over Charnwood Forest and the Soar Valley and beyond. Other high points and viewpoints include Old John Tower in Bradgate Country Park, Billa Barra Hill near Stanton under Bardon and Hill Hole Quarry at Markfield.


The topography rises to form a characteristic spine down the centre of Charnwood Forest. Land in the rest of the area is gently rolling or undulating and small streams and brooks transect the area creating localised changes in topography. The River Soar, Rothley Brook and Grand Union Canal corridor form a low lying floodplain landscape in the east. The landscape to the north, beyond Loughborough and Shepshed, is the typical low and flat land of the Midland plain.


The hydrology and drainage of Charnwood Forest and the surrounding area are defined by Charnwood's high relief and the fast flowing streams that drain from Charnwood to the north and east into the River Soar and to the south and east into the River Sence, which lies beyond the Charnwood Forest landscape character area. The Grand Union Canal runs parallel and at points crosses the River Soar emphasising the flat floodplain landscape to the east of the Charnwood Forest itself. Rothley Brook flows into the River Soar and also forms a flat floodplain that separates the south-eastern extent of the Charnwood Forest area from the urban extent of Leicester City.


A number of smaller brooks and streams carve through their way through fields and woodland from the higher land of Charnwood Forest into the several reservoirs or towards the River Sence, the River Soar or Rothley Brook. The streams tend to be small but provide ecological interest and influence the character of the landscape surrounding them. These are largely unpolluted, fast flowing and well oxygenated. Species include brown trout, minnow, crayfish and much invertebrate life.


There are a number of large water bodies within Charnwood Forest. Swithland, Cropston and Thornton reservoirs are all man-made and constructed in the late 19th century while Blackbrook Reservoir was first constructed in the late 18th century but replaced with a gravity dam in 1906. Groby Pool is an SSSI, as are Swithland and Cropston Reservoirs; all of which are important nature reserves for wetland birds

Charnwood Forest contains a wealth of ecological habitats and species which, because of the upland topography, wetter and cooler climate and poorer soils, are rare in other parts of Leicestershire. These include heath and acid grasslands and heathers. Cross-leaved heath and bilberry are prevalent and a wide variety of associated vertebrate and invertebrate species are common. These habitats are at risk however from natural woodland regeneration. Meadows are to be found with fragrant orchid, meadow buttercup, meadow saxifrage and many other associated species

The area has many valuable woodlands. There are areas of semi-natural ancient woodland, as well as some woodlands which are known to have been present since the Doomsday Book of 1086. This is because they sit on the pre-Cambrian spine which has made the site unsuitable for agriculture. Examples include Buddon Wood and Swithland Wood.


Groby Pool has a rich population of aquatic flora and fauna, and Blackbrook, Cropston and Swithland Reservoirs make a major contribution to the wildlife and birdlife.


There are 20 Sites of Special Scientific Interest; both ecological and geological, covering what equates to almost 12% of the 'Forest' area (according to English Nature's Charnwood Forest Natural Area Profile), which is a high proportion. There are also locally designated wildlife sites including three Local Nature Reserves, Woodland Trust sites, Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust sites and the Country Parks. Charnwood Lodge is designated as a National Nature Reserve due to the pre-Cambrian rocks which are visible as jagged peaks protruding through the overlying Mercian Mudstones.


There is a rich tapestry of archaeology and cultural heritage in the Charnwood Forest landscape. This has led to the designation of numerous Scheduled Monuments, a wide variety of listed buildings and a Conservation Area in the historic core of almost every settlement in and around Charnwood Forest. The earliest archaeological record is found at a site in Bradgate Park which provides clear evidence of man's presence in the area in Palaeolithic times. This is an important site as archaeological remains of the period are rare. Mesolithic activity is evident at Grace Dieu and in the vicinity of the present Mount St Bernard's Abbey. Buddon Hill and Beacon Hill are sites of Bronze Age and/or Iron Age settlements. Beacon Hill is a nationally important site and is a Scheduled Monument. It is the site of a Bronze Age hill fort, evident today in a series of earthworks. Spearheads, the mould of an axe and bronze bracelets have been found in the area. Beacon Hill is now owned by Leicestershire County Council and is a publicly accessible open space.


Charnwood Forest has several castle sites, such as the site of the motte and bailey Castle at Mountsorrel, Whitwick castle site, the remains of a castle at Groby and a hill fort site at Woodhouse, all of which are scheduled monuments. There are also moated sites such as a prehistoric site at Bardon, a moated lodge at Newton Linford and a moated lodge at Quorn. Other Scheduled Monuments in the Forest include the Packhorse Bridge at Anstey, the Market Cross at Mountsorrel, Bradgate House at Newton Linford and Rothley Cross at Rothley.


There are a number of large country houses within the area including Quorn Hall, built during the reign of Charles II, Beaumanor Hall, a stately home in Woodhouse which was built in the nineteenth century, and Swithland Hall, ancestral home of the Earls of Lanesborough.


The Great Central Railway passes through Charnwood Forest, with stations at Quorn and Rothley. It was opened in 1899, and closed due to a decline in use in 1966. It was then re-opened as a tourist facility in 1969 and is the UK's only double track, main line heritage railway. Between 1791 and 1794 the Charnwood Forest Canal was built to take coal from mines to in the north northwest of the county to Loughborough. Problems with the engineering meant the canal was never used to its full potential and when the feeder canal from Blackbrook Reservoir was destroyed as the reservoir dam burst in 1799 the canal became unused. Remains of the canal can still be seen in places, particularly south of Osgathorpe, but there is generally little evidence of the canal to be seen in the landscape.


The natural resources of the Charnwood Forest landscape have been exploited since Neolithic times, when Charnwood stone and wood from the forests were used to make hand-axes. It is believed prehistoric activity was generally localised. Roman activity in the area tended to remain within the Soar valley but Swithland Slate is known to have been quarried for use in Roman Leicester. Exploitation of the landscape continued around the edges of Charnwood Forest throughout the Anglo-Saxon period and there is evidence of Scandinavian influences around Charnwood, evident in place names such as Groby. Within the Domesday Book Charnwood was identified as a wooded tract called Hereswode. By this time most of the settlements in Leicestershire existed in some form however colonisation of the Charnwood area predominantly occurred some 200 years later in the 12th and 13th centuries. The only Domesday settlement recorded was Charley, with settlements such as Woodhouse Eaves and Newton Linford first recorded in the late 13th century. Many of these new settlements were linked to those around the edge of Charnwood, for example Newton Linford was a daughter settlement of Groby.


During the medieval period monastic orders settled in and around Charnwood: Ulverscroft Priory was founded between 1134 and 1150; Charley Hall Augustine Priory in 1190; and Grace Dieu in 1230. The medieval period also introduced hunting parks to the Charnwood area including Groby, Bradgate, Quorndon, Beaumanor and Bardon. The end of the medieval period saw the development of a number of larger 'country houses' set in formal park landscapes, such as the 15th century Bradgate House, remains of which still stand within Bradgate Country Park.


Unlike much of Leicestershire, colonisation within the Charnwood area slowed beyond the Middle-Ages. As a result the landscape remained largely unaffected by enclosures until the 19th century. By this time many of the hunting parks and much of the woodland had gone. Change started to occur within Charnwood Forest with the expansion of quarrying and the introduction of canals. Systematic quarrying of the granite began in the late 18th century, at sites such as Mountsorrel and Shepshed. The Soar and Wreake Navigations and the now defunct Charnwood Forest Canal enabled aggregates to be transported countrywide. Extensive quarrying continued throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, in particular for roadstone. The slate industry also expanded rapidly but by the 1840s went into rapid decline as a result of competition from Welsh and Cumbrian slate.


Other major 19th century landscape changes included the construction of Swithland and Cropston Reservoirs and the introduction of railways with branch lines to serve the quarries. In the 20th century the principal changes included the steady expansion of the settlements at the edges of Charnwood Forest into farmland and undeveloped land; the reduction in grazing of the surviving heathland areas; a change from pasture to arable farming stimulated by agricultural subsidies; a reduction in hedgerows and hedgerow trees due to intensified farming practices and Dutch Elm Disease; the construction of the M1, roads and other communications infrastructure that sever fields.


Gracedieu and Thringstone Woods where the event is being held have a multitude of owners which can be something of a logistical nightmare. One pocket known as Gracedieu Wood is owned by N W Leicestershire DC and is one side of Gracedieu Ancient Woodland and was created with help of from the National Forest on what had been an arable field just outside Thringstone. This block is about 10 acres in size and has some rock features. Another block is Spring Barrow Lodge, much the same size and off Turolough Road again planted with financial assistance from the National Forest. Some of the nearby existing woodlands and meadows are owned by Gracedieu School and more by the Gracedieu Estate. It has in the past been the venue for a CompassSport Cup Final.


As previously mentioned there is evidence of mans activities going back to Mesolithic times. The actual school is in Grace Dieu Manor and is set in 120 acres of beautiful rolling countryside and adjoins the woodlands. On 25 July 1833, Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps de Lisle married Laura Mary Clifford and received a settlement of £1200 per annum and the Manor of Grace Dieu made to him by his father Charles March Phillipps of Garendon Park. Grace Dieu received its name from the Priory founded by Roesia de Verdun, c. 1240, and dedicated to Our Lady, 'de Gratia Dei', or in the Norman French of the period, Grace Dieu, and it is still so called to the present day. The Priory was dissolved in 1538 by Henry VIII, and the picturesque remains are greatly admired.


Grace Dieu Priory was an Augustinian nunnery founded around 1240. In 1377 there were 16 nuns and a hospital for poor people, yet during the Dissolution it was converted into a Tudor mansion. For the last few years, the land has been owned and managed by the Grace Dieu Priory Trust, which was set up to save the ruins. English Heritage has been working closely with the Priory Trust since the work began in 2003, to give archaeological, architectural and general technical advice, along with funding towards the project to ensure that the site is preserved for future generations to enjoy.

During the years 1833 to 1834 Ambrose de Lisle built a splendid manor house at Grace Dieu; it was designed by William Railton in the Tudor-Gothic style. A small chapel was attached. But in 1837 Augustus Welby Pugin visited Grace Dieu; he was very impressed by what he saw, and greatly enlarged the house and chapel. Later, Sir Banister Fletcher, whose grand stair-case still stands, also enlarged the house. Grace Dieu Manor faces south and east. The windows are Perpendicular style, mullioned and transomed with arched lights. Acres of lawns, gardens, trees - the cedars of Lebanon were famous - surrounded the manor house which had a fine view of the rocks and wooded slopes of Charnwood Forest.


The school opened on 1933 when the Rosminian Fathers opened Grace Dieu as a Preparatory School for Ratcliffe College. During the war years the school grew in numbers: Grace Dieu was a safe and desirable place for parents to send their boys in those grim years. Since then Grace Dieu has gone from strength to strength.


The de Lisle family still own much of the Gracedieu Estate and allow us to use the various woodlands for orienteering. The de Lisle Arms was a popular inn on the edge of the Whitwick but, perhaps a sign of the times, it is now an equally popular restaurant, 'Out of India'.


The overall event area is perhaps the best we have in LEI country in that it covers a large block of land, has many different types of vegetation, and has considerable relief, water features and many dramatic rock formations not least of which is the nearby High Sharpley.


Adjacent to Cademan Woods, also part of the event area, this is a politically sensitive area with serious 'history'. It is a towering sharp ridge of miniature pinnacles surrounded by a field of boulders with the jagged summit commanding superb views. The location can realistically claim to be unique in the area and indeed pretty well anywhere. Despite being small it can be very challenging especially when the undergrowth is over head high in the autumn.


The area is of small crags on and around a rocky ridge which runs from High Sharpley to Gun Hill where there is an old ruin. The rock is very coarse granite (Precambrian porphyroid) and the outcrops lie on the extension of the ridge through Cademan Wood just across the road and are thought to be part of the rim of an ancient volcano.


There is claimed to have been an access route through the site in the past and The Ramblers' Association has sought to reopen it for many years and it has been the scene of mass protests and 'questions in the house'. More recently the RA and LCC sought to have it included in the 'right to roam' under the CRoW Act. There is evidence to demonstrate that tree cover is self regenerating shrub,only there because it has not been managed. The decision of the appeal however sided against open access to the ridge area but agreed that much of the rest qualified. However it was decided that this element had insufficient size to warrant inclusion as access land. The Planning Inspector accepted that historically the public used this land for open recreation until the 1970's but that was outside the scope of the appeal which was to decide land type definition and identifiable boundaries.


As things stand at present the public are not welcome at this location. The area is owned by the DeLisle, Gracedieu Estate and despite this history we have always found them supportive of a responsible body if we make proper arrangements as we have on this occasion, so those whose courses go that far will be having a rare opportunity. There is a shooting syndicate in the area and by agreement with them we only use it at agreed times of the year and we do not access the Gun Hill bit.


In the area between Gracedieu and High Sharpley we have Broad Hill, Temple Hill, Cademan Woods and High Cademan. In the midst of these is an open area of rough acid grassland, and south of Broad Hill is a granite quarry known as Grimley's Rock.

This fine wooded uphill area to the north of the village of Whitwick contains a number of natural granite tors and bosses, some of which peep above the trees and give good views.