Humberstone Park, Leicester
Selected Wild Place / Other Wild Places / Public Rights of Way / VC55 boundary
There are several entrances to the park. Pedestrian access off Ambassador Road and Uppingham Road and vehicle access via Saltesford Road off Uppingham Road is provided. A car park is located next to the brook at Saltesford Road.
Site species count:
Humberstone Park was opened in 1925 and covers 20 acres. The Bushby Brook and old Great Northern Railway embankment have been incorporated into the park to create havens for wildlife.
The main section of the park is largely amenity grass which provides an area for football and cricket to be played, but away from this, the former railway line is designated as a Local Nature Reserve and was previously managed by Groundwork Leicester and Leicestershire before being taken over by The Conservation Volunteers. The site is now managed by Leicester Environmental Volunteers under Parks Services.
The Ambassador Road brook flows into the park from the north boundary of the park to join the Bushby Brook which dissects the park in two and flows from east to west towards the city. Both brooks have been previously heavily engineered as part of a previous flood alleviation scheme and are of limited wildlife value. The land adjacent to Ambassador Road brook has a number of large, mature trees that provide a pleasant and shaded walk where Harts tongue fern is present. The Bushy brook also has a number of mature trees and woodland planting next to the brook.
To the south and south-west boundary lies Rally Bank Local Nature Reserve which is part of the former railway line and sidings. The embankment is a steep wooded bank with some ageing mature trees and general scrub under-storey with a wider area comprised of mature hazel coppice and open grassland.
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