Thornton Reservoir Walk

Join us for a Sunday afternoon walk through the National Forest. We’ll start at Thornton Reservoir, pass through Thornton village, then head into Bagworth Heath Woods before looping back to where we began. It’s a good way to get some fresh air, stretch your legs and meet some new people.

The route

📍 Start and finish: Reservoir Road, Thornton

🥾 Distance: 9.4 km (about 5.8 miles), one full loop

⏱️ Time: roughly 2.5 hours of walking, so allow around 3 hours with stops and chats

⛰️ Difficulty: moderate, mostly flat with about 60m of climbing, but it’s a decent distance so a reasonable level of fitness helps

🗺️ Route: https://www.komoot.com/tour/3373030094

What to expect

🌊 We start by walking along the east and north shores of Thornton Reservoir, which is home to plenty of birds and other wildlife.

🏘️ We then pass through Thornton village, with a few short stretches on quiet lanes.

🌳 Next comes Bagworth Heath Woods, a mix of woodland, heath and ponds on a reclaimed colliery site.

🍂 The paths are mostly gravel and natural trail, so they’re easy underfoot, but it can get muddy in November.

What to bring

👟 Sturdy walking shoes or boots

🧥 Warm, waterproof layers

💧 Water and a snack

📱 A charged phone (you can follow along on Komoot if you like)

Good to know

🚗 There’s parking right by the start point both in the car park and on street parking. Carpooling from Leicester is welcome, so ask in the comments if you’d like to share a lift.

🐕 Dogs welcome

🕛 Please arrive by 11:50am so we can set off promptly at 12:00pm.

🌤️ We’ll keep an eye on the weather and post an update if anything changes.

All abilities are welcome. We’ll keep a relaxed, sociable pace so nobody gets left behind. Hope to see you there!