Route: The National Forest Way

The route submitted follows the route of the National Forest Way, Westbound. Beginning at Beacon Hill Park in Leicestershire the route takes you along a mainly trail course to The National Arboretum in Staffordshire. Whilst the route is mainly across trails, there are plenty of road crossing and meeting points on the route which makes it easy for a support crew to pass over essential supplies. Starting at Beacon Hill Park (lower carpark) the first few miles takes you across to Bradgate Park on and undulating course. From there, you continue onto Thornton Reservoir, before crossing field and farmlands to Sence Valley Park and then onto Ashby De La Zouch. This sees the move into Derbyshire as you head towards Calke Abbey and into the village of Ticknall and onto Foremarke Reservoir, before entering the village of Hartshorne. From this point you continue through South Derbyshire, weaving through farm land and villages to Conkers, through the Waterside carpark and back onto the trails which bring you into Rosliston Forestry Centre. From here the route heads toward the county of Staffordshire where it skirts around Burton upon Trent, taking you to Branston Water Park, up a steady climb through Tatenhill Common and through Rangemore before dropping down towards Jackson’s Bank. From Jackson’s Bank, the route heads towards Yoxall with a section of this running along the busy A515. Yoxall marks 5 mile to the end across fields and trails and crossing the river Trent into Alrewas before the railway line after leaving the canal and down a short section to the finish at the entrance to the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire. The total distance is 75 miles with 6000ft of climbing.

.https://www.nationalforest.org/visit/national-forest-way?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmvSoBhDOARIsAK6aV7hH8I3XTJvbwW7xIA0kv2o_jWEUAFNAIT6xqqQ1BYHKndNRobycpdwaAioMEALw_wcB