My family and I moved to Newtown Linford in Leicestershire fifteen years ago when I was seven years old. Before the move I remember my parents telling me about the village and explaining how it had a very large park. I was extremely excited until it was made clear to me that Bradgate Park didn’t have swings, a slide, or any of the other equipment that a seven year old would associate with a park. Instead, as my parents described it, Bradgate was “just a park for walking in”.

Needless to say I was thoroughly disappointed at the prospect of moving to such a place without a “real” park and probably thought the rest of my childhood was doomed to be a joyless time. When we eventually made the move to Newtown Linford and began visiting Bradgate Park, my disappointment was soon forgotten and I came to see that although the park was missing a slide, my parent’s portrayal of Bradgate as “just a park for walking in” wasn’t entirely accurate.

Paddling in the River Lin

Although we did use the park for walking, particularly when we got the first family dog, Bradgate also became a place where my brother and I would go on bike rides with our Dad, where I would roller-skate with my friends and go sledging in the winter. As a child I would visit the park with family and friends and we would use the River Lin for fishing and paddling, the trees and the giant rocks for climbing and the bracken for pushing each other into.

Shirtless football

As I grew older Bradgate Park became somewhere I could escape to after a teenage outburst at home, and as the hormones continued to kick in, watching older boys playing shirtless football suddenly became more enjoyable.

One of the most wonderful things about living so close to the park has been the ability to watch it continuously transform as the seasons have come and gone. I have walked through the park when everything has been dusted in frost, when tree blossoms have splashed colour all around, and when there has been so many fallen leaves that you can barely see the main pathway.

Home of Lady Jane Grey

But the breathtaking natural beauty is not the only feature of the park, for Bradgate was once the home to Lady Jane Grey who reigned over England for just 9 days before being beheaded in the Tower of London at the age of only sixteen. For visitors to the park, the ruins of the main house are worth a visit as the small museum not only details the lives of the Grey family, but also provides information on a fuller history of the park and its flora and fauna. It is likely that you will see peacocks strutting around the house, as well as beautiful white doves that nest in the coves of the ruins.

The most prominent residents of the park however, are undoubtedly the 300 strong heard of red and fallow deer that are free to roam the entire grounds, and are fiercely protected by the rangers. For visitors with dogs that have a taste for venison, it is therefore wise to keep them on a lead. At present, Bradgate Park is a hub of activity and is used by many people including ramblers, cyclists, artists, photographers, horse riders and I’ve even witnessed people skiing there in the winter.

Old John

Of course many do visit the park just for a walk and my advice to such people would be to venture off the main pathway, this way you are guaranteed a fantastic view of Leicestershire, you get to see all the little nooks and crannies that are so often missed, and you’re more likely to come into closer proximity with a congregation of deer, as well as some other character named Old John…, not as it sounds an aged local, but actually a wonderful folly.

 Bradgate Park is open all year round. There are paying car parks at Newtown Linford, Hunts Hill and Cropston Reservoir, which are accessible from dawn until dusk.