If you’re getting the bus to or from Thurcaston and Cropston, you’ll now find it easier to discover more about Charnwood Forest Geopark.
Building on the success of the design and installation of the Sandham Bridge Geosite, we have once again worked together with Thurcaston and Cropston Parish Council to raise the profile of the Geopark within the villages, and make it easier for visitors to travel by bus and discover the rich heritage of this area.
Each of the parish’s four bus shelters have now been fitted with a Geopark information panel, welcoming visitors to Charnwood Forest. The panel includes information about the international importance of the region’s rocks and fossils, as well as introductions to our biodiversity and cultural history. Visitors are then encouraged to visit some of the nearby Geosites within the parish, which not only includes the packhorse bridge at Sandham Bridge, but also the Tremendous Teichichnus Geosite in the grounds of All Saints’ Church.
As well as looking great, it is hoped the new signage will encourage more visitors to leave their car at home, and take the bus. In addition, projects like this help to raise the profile of the Geopark in general, which supports Charnwood Forest’s aspiration to become a UNESCO Global Geopark.
This project has been co-funded by Thurcaston and Cropston Parish Council and the Geopark – which is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund through the Charnwood Forest Landscape Partnership Scheme.
If any other parishes are interested in raising the profile of the Geopark in their area, please do get in touch.