Aylestone Meadows is an Local Nature Reserve in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, United Kingdom. It is owned and managed by

Leicester City Council Leicester City Council is the local authority for the city of Leicester, in the ceremonial county of Leicestershire, England. Leicester has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council ...

. It is Leicester's largest

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

situated on the floodplains of the

River Soar The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the East Midlands as well as the principal river of Leicestershire, England. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north throug ...

and River Biam along with several locks of the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

. It has a high

wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...

value, and has trails that are popular venue with hikers, families on outings, dog walkers and cyclists. A patchwork of flood meadows, woodland and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

from the city centre, these habitats host many rare and common flora and fauna. A

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low Parapet#Bridg ...

provides evidence of trade and previous settlement. The area frequently floods, resulting in fertile land and good grazing areas, and so a settlement grew from prehistoric times to become the village of

Aylestone Aylestone is a suburb of Leicester in Leicestershire, England, southwest of the city centre and east of the River Soar. St Andrew's Church, Aylestone dates from the 13th century. The area around the church retains much of the former villag ...

. The construction of the Packhorse Bridge from local granite enabled transportation of goods across an area prone to flooding and includes several passing areas.

Geography

Following the Last Glacial Period, the

Bytham River The Bytham River is said to have been one of the great Pleistocene rivers of central and eastern England until it was destroyed by the advancing ice sheets of the Anglian Glaciation around 450,000 years ago. The river is named after Castle By ...

was diverted and the former bed became the

Soar Valley The Soar Valley is a river valley following the course of the River Soar in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands of England. Part of the Drainage basin of the River Trent stretching from south of Leicester to Trent Lock, th ...

. Now

canalised River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and b ...

through the city centre, the area represents the upstream remnant of the flood plain that once stretched to the

River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...

. In July 2019, a landscaping project began in the northern section of the park with the primary aim of restoring the flood-relieving

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

that has been lost over time. The scheme is expected to last through 2020. Neighboring areas include ylestone and Aylestone Park to the east, Westcotes and the city centre to the north and Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields to the west. The

and the former

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

traverse the park along with one public road, Middleton Street/Braunstone Lane East.

References

{{coord, 52.605, -1.160, type:landmark_region:GB_dim:3000, display=title Local Nature Reserves in Leicestershire