About the reserve

Bloody Oaks Quarry, or Roundstone Hill as it is sometimes called, is one of the best places in Leicestershire and Rutland to enjoy a spot of wildflower hunting or butterfly watching. Most of this tiny reserve is species-rich limestone grassland, which is rare in the two counties, making it a real gem for Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.

The quarry is probably the most northerly location in Britain for chalk milkwort. Over 120 species of flowering plants have been recorded here – an incredible achievement for such a small, but precious, reserve. These included horseshoe vetch, yellow-wort, autumn gentian, common thyme and both pyramidal and bee orchids. Fallow deer and common lizard are regularly seen.  Butterflies recorded include grizzled skipper and recently marbled white has colonised the nature reserve.

Bloody Oaks Quarry is mentioned in J. E. Lousley’s ‘Wild Flowers of Chalk and Limestone’ New Naturalist book (1950) as an old working of great interest. It is formed by a long-disused shallow pit dug into the Upper Lincolnshire limestone, and was first mentioned as a quarry in 1883 by Ordnance Survey. We manage the reserve primarily for its flora (and associated wildlife) by controlling the scrub and using grazing in autumn to keep the grasslands open. You can support our work in this precious spot by becoming a volunteer with LRWT or by joining us a member.