this is the 10th cache we hidden on what was meant to be a staright forward to holwell and back! anyways have hidden a couple cheeky caches on the route we toulk home (the long way) lol. this is a camo tube hidden in the ivy!
The Holwell Wander
This is one our family favourite little or big walks whichever way you want to do it! We have visited this nature reserve over the years watching our children grow to love the place just as much as ourselves! We have often had a little stroll round the reserve and surrounding areas and have also done the walk from our home to holwell and back and it was a favourite of ours in the beautiful countryside so we thought we would share our journey with you and have some fun hiding and finding caches along the way! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did ❤️
This trio of reserves together form a hidden gem in the Leicestershire countryside, just a few miles from Melton Mowbray and on the edge of the Vale of Belvoir. With a mosaic of habitats and steeped in geology and history, you can easily spend a few hours exploring the varied habitats and spotting the wildlife that lives there. There are steps and some slopes so come with good footwear.
Originally a quarry, the reserves are built on the mines and the infrastructure that supported them. Dramatic bare rock faces, slopes and spoil heaps have now been colonised by herb-rich grassland. These hollows make ideal sheltered sun-traps, perfect for spotting butterflies in the spring and summer. Common blue, dingy skipper, green hairstreak, Essex skipper and more are all at home here. You’ll also have a chance of admiring common spotted-orchids, and even spotting a bee orchid or two.
In the early spring, areas of the reserves that turn white with snowdrops. You’ll also be in with a chance of spotting some lovely woodland birds, which make the most of the feeders. Bird screens are set up at various points to give you the best views. Tits, finches, woodpeckers, sparrows and more all pay regular visits, and if you’re lucky you might even see a marsh tit. Willow warblers, blackcaps, lesser whitethroat and spotted flycatchers all nest here in late spring. Green woodpeckers make the most of the grasslands, you’ll be able to hear them yaffling around the whole area. Buzzards, kestrels and red kites have all been seen soaring overhead.
The entrance to old mine tunnels can be seen on the reserve. The constant temperatures and fissured rocks of the tunnels provide ideal conditions for bats. Natterer’s, Daubenton’s, brown long-eared and pipistrelle bats have all been recorded.
Quarrying has left shallow, lime-rich soils providing ideal conditions for many species of wildflower including St. Johns-wort, meadow vetchling, viper’s-bugloss and hare’s-foot clover. The rich herb layer includes ragged-robin, marsh thistle and common toadflax. In all 142 plant species have been recorded from the reserve. 95 different species of moth have been recorded as well as several species of dragonfly, including the large red and common blue damsels, and the brown hawker and ruddy darter.
All in all, the diversity of these reserves is truly outstanding, and worth a visit at any time of year
A little key info you also may need to know
Location
Main Street, Holwell, Melton Mowbray
LE14 4SZ
OS Map Reference
SK 741234, 739235 and 741236 (Sheet 129)
Size 16 hectares
Entry fee free
Grazing animals
Livestock may be present
Access
The reserves of Brown’s Hill Quarry, Holwell Mineral Line and North Quarry lie about 5 km north of Melton Mowbray.
Please note that there are steps and steep parts of the reserve.
Dogs
No dogs permitted In the reserve itself