Beacon Hill, Leicestershire

Beacon Hill
Highest point
Elevation	248 m (814 ft)
Prominence	c. 57 metres (187 ft)
Geography
Location	Charnwood Forest, England
OS grid	SK509148
Topo map	OS Landranger 129

Beacon Hill, near Loughborough, in Leicestershire, England, is a popular country park. It is one of several beacon hills in the United Kingdom.

The park consists of over 135 hectares (330 acres) of grassland and woodland and offers recreational walking, and some short climbs. With a maximum height of 248 metres (814 ft), it is the second highest point in Leicestershire after Bardon Hill.

An extinct volcano, in Whitwick, 4 miles (6 km) to the west, was responsible for the fine-grained igneous rocks that the hill consists of. Beacon Hill was the site of a Bronze Age hill fort. Today a toposcope indicates landmarks which can be seen from the summit. These include Lincoln Cathedral and the hills of the Peak District.

Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station is aligned so that, seen from the summit, only two of its eight cooling towers are visible.

On a clear day Belvoir Castle can be seen as well as the hills in the Peak District. Derby, Nottingham, and the tower of Lincoln Cathedral can be seen with a pair of binoculars. Loughborough is seen below the hill as is Beaumanor Hall. You can also hear and see steam trains on the Great Central Railway which has stations at Loughborough, Quorn and Woodhouse.

It was featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the Midlands. There are some very interesting rocks on the summit.

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Wikipedia