Routes

Planner

Features

Updates

App

Get the App

Routes

Running trails & routes

Old John Tower, Bradgate Park – Swithland Wood loop from Woodhouse

Routes

Running trails & routes

Old John Tower, Bradgate Park – Swithland Wood loop from Woodhouse

Hard

runners

Old John Tower, Bradgate Park – Swithland Wood loop from Woodhouse

01:52

16.0km

290m

Running

Hard run. Very good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.

Last updated: May 12, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Parking

Get Directions

554 m

Beacon Plantation

Forest

3.99 km

The Labyrinth

Highlight • Trail

A great spot for the kids to burn off the remaining energy after walking up the hill. This area is full of winding duck boarding, and you have to bob and weave between trees and bushes, there's wood sculptures too. It reminds of a dark fairy-tale forest.

Tip by

8.34 km

Old John Tower

Highlight • Historical Site

Theres no cyclist access :(

Tip by

8.68 km

Old John Tower, Bradgate Park

Highlight • Monument

Old John is the highest hill in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England, on the southern edge of Charnwood Forest. It gives its name to the folly that stands at its top. The hill stands at 696 foot (212 m) high, and is a prominent landmark across Leicester and Leicestershire.

The earliest recorded use of the name is on a map of 1754, which records a windmill on the site, some 30 years before the tower was built. The tower itself began life as a ruined folly, built in 1784, during the time of George Grey, 5th Earl of Stamford. He got Thomas Sketchley of Anstey to build him the mock ruin, which had strong similarities to Mow Cop, Staffordshire. It was adapted in the mid-19th century by the seventh Earl to serve as an observation tower for the practice circuit he laid out for his horses, along with the building of a stable block lower down the hill.

Tip by

10.4 km

Bradgate Park

Highlight • Settlement

Large car park, toilets, and an ice cream van in the summer months. What more do you need. £3 all day parking.

Tip by

11.4 km

Swithland Wood

Highlight • Natural Monument

Swithland Wood (situated directly across the road on the northern side of Bradgate Park) was one of the first disposals of the Bradgate Estate by the Grey family in 1921. It was purchased by a local timber merchant who felled much of the timber. To prevent the removal of further timber, and to conserve the Wood as one of the most wildlife rich and attractive woodlands in Leicestershire, The Rotary Club of Leicester launched an appeal for its purchase to ensure public access into the future.

Tip by

11.5 km

Swithland Wood

Highlight • Forest

Swithland Wood is a small remnant of the original Charnwood Forest managed by part of the Bradgate Estate. As a small chunk of ancient woodland, Swithland consists of mature oak, birch, alder and lime with supports a rich variety of butterflies, moths and birds. This chunk of woodland is the type that would of previously covered all of the British mainland whilst groups of hunter gatherers moved through the landscape.

Tip by