Best Places to Visit Near Leicester
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit near Leicester are St. Mary de Castro Church, The King's Head, New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Beacon Hill Country Park, Coton Manor Gardens, The Arboretum, Rolleston Waterfall and Harper's Brook.
Leicester sits at the heart of the East Midlands, a city with Roman roots, a medieval old town and a Victorian promenade running through its centre. Close in, the old quarter around the castle holds St Mary de Castro Church, while King Street and New Walk offer a well-stocked real-ale pub in the King's Head and one of England's oldest museums at the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery.
Head north-west into Charnwood Forest and the rocky heights of Beacon Hill Country Park reward the climb with wide Midlands views. Further afield the trips fan out in every direction: south into Northamptonshire for the borders and bluebells of Coton Manor Gardens, north to Nottingham's leafy Arboretum, west toward Burton upon Trent where Rolleston Waterfall spills over its weir, and east again to the quiet wild-swimming reach of Harper's Brook near the River Nene.
Together they gather churches, gardens, viewpoints, waterfalls and wild water into one varied list. Here are eight places to visit near Leicester.
St. Mary de Castro Church
Photo: Ashley Dace via Geograph.org.uk
St Mary de Castro This medieval church stands within the precinct of Leicester Castle, in the heart of the city's old town, and is only a short step from the centre. Inside, fine Norman work survives, including a richly carved set of sedilia often reckoned the best Norman decoration in the whole county.
It became a collegiate church in 1107 and was heavily restored by George Gilbert Scott in the 1860s. Its tall spire developed cracks and had to be taken down in 2014, so the church now stands without one.
Tradition holds that Geoffrey Chaucer married here in the 1360s, though no firm record confirms it.
The King's Head
Photo: Roger Templeman via Geograph.org.uk
The King's Head Just up King Street near the New Walk promenade, this real-ale pub is run by a brewery that fills its bar with cask beer, more than a dozen handpumps pouring regular and guest ales. It is a traditional drinkers' pub rather than an old one, enlarged to its present size in the 1990s, with an open fire, a covered balcony and a roof terrace, plus rear access straight from New Walk.
Close to the city centre, it earns a place in the Good Beer Guide, and it makes an easy pause between the museum and the old town.
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery
Photo: Dave Bevis via Geograph.org.uk
New Walk Museum Set on New Walk, the Victorian tree-lined promenade that threads through the city, this is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in England, opened in 1849 and only a short walk from the centre. Its galleries take in an Egyptian collection with mummies, dinosaurs including the locally found Rutland sauropod, and the largest collection of German Expressionist art in the country, alongside natural history and Picasso ceramics.
Best of all, entry is free. The building sits a little way west of the map point, so aim for the promenade itself when you go looking.
Beacon Hill Country Park
Photo: Nigel Cox via Geograph.org.uk
Beacon Hill Country Park A dozen miles north-west in Charnwood Forest, Beacon Hill is a high, rocky summit whose top stands at around 248 metres, the second-highest point in Leicestershire. The country park spreads grassland and woodland below, laced with paths that climb to outcrops of ancient volcanic rock among the oldest in England.
From the top a stone toposcope picks out distant landmarks, and on a clear day the view reaches for miles across the Midlands. People raised a hillfort up here in the Bronze Age, and low earthworks still survive on the slopes.
The lower ground keeps meadows, picnic spots and easy trails, while the upper hill turns steeper, rockier and more open.
Coton Manor Gardens
Photo: Andy F via Geograph.org.uk
Coton Manor Gardens About twenty miles south into Northamptonshire, and worth a day-trip in that direction, Coton Manor Gardens spread over roughly ten acres around a seventeenth-century manor, laid out on several levels. They are known for a bluebell wood that comes into its own in late spring, deep herbaceous borders and a group of flamingos kept on the water garden.
A specialist nursery beside the garden raises many of the plants on show, so keen gardeners can take a little home. A cafe in the old stableyard rounds off a visit nicely.
The Arboretum
Photo: Alan Murray-Rust via Geograph.org.uk
The Arboretum A little over twenty miles north, in the centre of Nottingham, the Arboretum is that city's first public park, opened in 1852 and laid out with lawns, a lake, flower beds and a wide collection of trees. Winding paths lead past an ornate bandstand, aviaries, a rose garden and a Chinese bell tower built to house a bell brought back from China.
A listed historic park, free and open to all, it makes a green retreat close to the city centre and the university, well used for gentle walks and quiet afternoons. It suits an easy day-trip from Leicester.
Rolleston Waterfall
Photo: Alan Murray-Rust via Geograph.org.uk
Rolleston Waterfall Roughly twenty-five miles west, near Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, Rolleston Waterfall is a small man-made fall at Brook Hollows, a little green space in the village of Rolleston-on-Dove. Here water from an old estate lake, once part of the Mosley family's grounds, spills over a weir into the Alderbrook that runs through the village, more a modest overflow than a natural cascade.
Brook Hollows makes a quiet spot for a short local walk, cared for by a group of village volunteers, with the little fall its best-known feature. It is a gentle stop rather than a grand one, well worth pairing with a wander round the village.
Harper's Brook
Photo: Michael Garlick via Geograph.org.uk
Harper's Brook Some thirty miles south-east, back in Northamptonshire, Harper's Brook is a small stream and a tributary of the River Nene, rising in the country near Desborough and winding east through Brigstock and a string of villages. Near its end, where it meets the Nene toward Wadenhoe, it is used as a wild-swimming spot, the narrow brook tumbling through glades before opening into the river.
This is an informal place with no facilities, so come prepared and take care. Quiet farmland and old villages line its course, making the drive out there part of the pleasure.
It is one for a warm, unhurried day.
FAQs
How far is Beacon Hill from Leicester?
Beacon Hill Country Park lies about 12 miles north-west of Leicester in Charnwood Forest, an easy half-day out. At around 248 metres it is the second-highest point in Leicestershire, with wide views across the Midlands from its summit.
Which of these places are free to visit?
A couple certainly are. The New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester has free entry, and Nottingham's Arboretum is a free, open public park. The King's Head is a pub where you pay for your drinks, while Coton Manor is a garden with a specialist nursery and stableyard cafe.
Where can you go wild swimming near Leicester?
Harper's Brook, some thirty miles south-east in Northamptonshire near the River Nene, is used as an informal wild-swimming spot where the narrow brook opens into the river. It has no facilities, so it suits a well-prepared, unhurried day out from Leicester.
Conclusion
From the old town's Norman church to a wild brook out in the Northamptonshire countryside, this run of eight gathers a real spread of days out. Close to the centre you can wander St Mary de Castro, sink a pint at the King's Head and lose an hour among the free galleries of the New Walk Museum.
A short hop north-west lifts you onto the rocky crown of Beacon Hill, while longer trips fan out to the gardens and flamingos of Coton Manor, Nottingham's green Arboretum, the modest weir at Rolleston and the quiet swimming reach of Harper's Brook. Churches and gardens, viewpoints, waterfalls and wild water, all within easy reach: these are the places to visit near Leicester.
