Location: 📍 Bradgate Park, Newtown Linford, UK
Type of Attraction: 🚶♀️🚶♂️ Park
Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍
In the UK, we have been experiencing unusually sunny weather. Couple it with some easing of lockdown restrictions, and you got yourself a date with nature!
It was a Saturday morning, and I have just messed up my kid's football session (don't ask me why). "Let's go hiking", I thought. Having only 30 min to find a place to explore, I remembered the WhatsApp message from my friend recommending Bradgate Park.
Alright, that's an hour drive, and they have got toilets open 🚻(remember, toilets are essential!). Plus, it seems like a leisurely walk rather than a hike. So, everyone agreed, and we headed out.
Arriving at the destination required £ 5.50 in cash to pay for the car park 🅿. Who carries money these days? Especially coins? Never mind, we were lucky to have a money stash still... hahaha, never mind the pandemic!
The park itself looked vast and airy, with a reservoir, a tower and ruins, and the star entertainment - deers! I thought I would be super excited about deers but not so much about the rest of the land. Boy, oh boy, I was wrong!
First, we climbed up the rocks and crossed the open area into the woodlands, which opened up onto the hill with the Leicestershire Yeomanry War Memorial - a tall obelisk. Not saying it was a hard job hiking up the terrain, but I was puffing! Complements to a non-active lifestyle these days, of course!
After a short rest and indulgence of the fantastic views and peaceful surroundings, we continued to the Old John Tower. I was even more impressed with the scenes, and the tower was in excellent condition.
We could continue following different paths but chose to walk towards the hurd of deers in the distance.
It was magic and surreal because they roamed free and were deer fawns under adult deer supervision. Too sweet to describe the moment, too shame not to mention it. I lead my family to the nearby bench to sit down and observed for some time.
Some kid has disturbed the peace of grazing fawns by running towards them. Baby deers saw the incoming danger and runoff. Well, who would blame them?
Seeing some rock formation, we continued our walk, only to find minutes later that my kid urgently requires a WC (❗). Luckily, we were near the map and stepped into the new area surrounded by a fence made of rocks. That's where we found adult deers and a lot of them! They were not afraid of humans as much and were peacefully grazing grass.
After refreshments, it felt right to head back towards the car park. The time was 5 pm, and the air began to feel a bit chillier. On the left, we passed by a vast area for deer sanctuary and were advised not to cross into it.
There were so many deers. I have never seen so many in one place!
Following the creek, we stumbled across the ruins of Bradgate House. Not sure if it is usually open to the public, but this time the gate was shut. I imagine it was quite a residency back in the days, with plenty of rooms to wander around. Remarkably, it dates back to the 16th century!
The rest of the path was a pretty sight of creek and trees. But when we have exited it, we have noticed a donation poster with a breakdown of source income for Bradgate Park. Incredibly, a staggering 74.5 % comes from car park charges and catering and only 1.5 % from donations.
So why would I return to this park? Because it feels so unique, so untouched, and so peaceful! You are right at one with nature here!