Come Visit Us
How To Get Here
The Easy Way
Take The Bus
Taking the bus is one of the easiest ways to travel to and in the Geopark. Bus routes connect Charnwood Forest to nearby towns and cities such as Loughborough, Leicester, Coalville and Ashby De La Zouch, as well as East Midlands Airport.
Use the map below the find the bus route that works for your journey. Further details of each bus route, including the timetable, can be found on the operators website using the links below:
11/11A 12 16/16A/X16 27/28
29/29A/29B/X29 74 127
153 154
LC5/5X LC15 LC16
Skylink (for Shepshed and Coalville)
Skylink (for Loughborough and Leicester)
Further travel guides and information can be found on the Choose How You Move website.
From Across the UK
Train Travel
Charnwood Forest is easily reached from across the country, with a train to either Loughborough or Leicester. Direct services from London’s St Pancras station take just over an hour to get to Leicester. Once in Leicester of Loughborough, change onto a bus for easy access into the Geopark.
For those visiting the eastern part of the Geopark, local rail services to Barrow Upon Soar, Sileby, and Syston may be of use for accessing Charnwood Forest.
Plan you journey on the National Rail website.
Great Central Railway
Make your journey through Charnwood Forest even more enjoyable with a ride on the Great Central Railway. Board this heritage railway in Leicester or Loughborough, and hop off in the Geopark for easy connection to many of our geosites and enjoyable country walking routes.
Reaching Us By Coach
Coach Travel
Our neighbouring towns and cities are served by a number of coach companies that provide affordable long distance transport from around the UK. Most major cities and airports are served by a direct coach service. Routes include:
London, Northampton, and Luton Airport to Loughborough with National Express
London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Stansted Airport to Leicester with National Express
London, Cardiff, Plymouth, Newcastle, Aberdeen to Leicester with Flixbus
Take The Bike
Cycle
Our Geopark is well served by connections to the National Cycle Network. The south of Charnwood Forest is crossed by Route 63 from Burton to Wisbech, the east by Route 6 from Watford to Lancashire, and the north by Route 52 from Warwick to Loughborough. For more information see the Sustans website.
Why make cycling part of your trip to the Geopark, and journey between our geosites with an electric bike from our Geopartner National Forest e-bike Holidays.
On Your Bike
In Your Car
Driving
The M1 passes through the Geopark, and can be accessed from junctions 21A, 22, and 23. The M69 and M42 offer easy access for the West Midlands, and trunk roads provide great connections with the rest of the country.
For more information on parking locations, see our Map page.
Once you arrive in Charnwood Forest, why not consider leaving the car, and let the bus carry you around the Geopark. Or, perhaps take one of our hiking routes and see our geosites on foot.
International Travel
The Geopark is well served by a number of airports. East Midlands Airport (EMA) is our closest airport, just a 30 minute bus ride away, with these bus connections running up to every 20 minutes. With over 80 destinations, this is the easiest airport to use, particularly for visitors from Europe. Other airports in the Midlands and South have direct flights to destinations around the world, with direct coach connections to Leicester and Loughborough.
With international rail connections through London St Pancras, visitors from western Europe can easily travel to Charnwood Forest. London St Pancras has direct connection to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Transfers to the Leicester and Loughborough trains in St Pancras are just a few minutes walk away in the same station.
