Bradgate Park and Cropston Reservoir facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
The River Lin in Bradgate Park
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| Area of Search | Leicestershire |
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| Interest | Biological Geological |
| Area | 399.7 hectares |
| Notification | 1988 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Bradgate Park and Cropston Reservoir is a very special place located north-west of Leicester in England. It covers a huge area of nearly 400 hectares, which is about the size of 400 football fields! This site is known as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because it's important for both its geology (rocks and earth) and its biology (plants and animals).
It's also recognized as a Nature Conservation Review site, meaning it's a top spot for protecting wildlife. Inside Bradgate Park, you'll find Geological Conservation Review sites, which are places where very old and important rocks can be studied. There's even a Scheduled Monument, which is a historic site protected by law.
Discover Bradgate Park and Cropston Reservoir
Bradgate Park is famous for having some of the best examples of ancient parkland in the county. This means it has very old trees and landscapes that have been around for a long time. Next to it, Cropston Reservoir is a large lake where you can find unusual and rare plants growing along its shores.
Ancient Rocks and Fossils
One of the most amazing things about Bradgate Park is its rocks! The park has rocks called Charnian rocks, which are incredibly old. They formed about 600 million years ago during a time called the Ediacaran period. To give you an idea, that's even before dinosaurs existed!
These rocks are super important because they contain some of the earliest known fossils of complex life forms on Earth. Scientists have used the rocks here to understand how life developed millions of years ago. Natural England, a group that protects nature, says this site is "a site of great importance to the study of Precambrian palaeontology." This means it's a key place for learning about life from the time before the Cambrian period, which is when many different types of animals first appeared.
Exploring the Park
Bradgate Park and Cropston Reservoir are great places to visit. There are many footpaths that you can follow to explore the park's ancient trees, see the wildlife, and walk around the beautiful reservoir. It's a perfect spot for a walk and to learn about Earth's ancient past.
