Dogging in Leicestershire: area guide

The lie of the land in Leicestershire

Leicester is the heart of the county, a large and varied city on the River Soar. Around it are Loughborough in the north, Hinckley in the south-west, Coalville in the north-west, Market Harborough in the south-east and Melton Mowbray in the east. Lutterworth sits near the southern border, close to where the motorways meet.

The ground is softer than in the Peak or the Pennines. To the north-west of Leicester are the rocky hills of Charnwood Forest, which are old, craggy and partly wooded. Beyond them, the north-west corner reaches into the National Forest, a long-term tree-planting project that covers parts of three counties. East of the city the land is rolling pasture and quiet villages, with the Vale of Belvoir and the Wreake valley.

Leicestershire sits in the middle of England, so people reach it from every direction. Drivers from Nottingham, Derby, Coventry, Birmingham and Northampton all pass through, and many more cross it on the way north or south. Because so many people pass through, we keep this guide to the lie of the land and leave out individual places.

Getting about safely

The M1 runs through the western side of the county, with the M69 linking it to Hinckley and Coventry and the A42 heading north-west towards Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The A46 Fosse Way crosses the county on its way from Leicester to Newark, the A6 follows the Soar valley and the A5 marks part of the south-western edge. Where the M1 and the Leicester ring roads meet, traffic builds fast at rush hour and after any crash.

Leicester has fast trains to London St Pancras, taking about an hour or a little more, plus direct links to Nottingham, Derby, Birmingham and Peterborough. Loughborough and Market Harborough also have stations on the Midland Main Line. Evening services run later on the main line than on the smaller routes, but they still thin out after about 10pm. Check the last train before you leave, particularly on a Sunday.

Country lanes in the east and the Charnwood hills are narrow and twisty, with hedges close to the road and few streetlights. In the Soar and Wreake valleys, the rivers can flood low roads and fields after wet weather, which happens most often around Leicester, Loughborough and Barrow upon Soar. Winter fog gathers on the open land. Mobile signal is usually fine, although some Charnwood hollows are patchy.