Travel to the heart of the forest

The dates of the Heart of the Forest Open Top Bus Tour have just been announced. The hop-on, hop-off ‘Heart of The Forest Tour’ will start on Friday 24 July and run every Friday for the six weeks of the summer holidays (until Friday 28 August), with four tours per day.

Not only does this give passengers a glimpse of the growing woodlands over the hedgerows while travelling to the fantastic attractions, but the on-board guide will furnish them with local myths, fascinating historical snippets and maybe a gag or two!

The big red bus will start its journey picking up passengers in Leicester city centre. It will then travel to the pretty market town of Ashby de la Zouch where it will start its four laps of key attractions in The National Forest.

The tour is being organised by North West Leicestershire District Council in partnership with the National Forest Company and Roberts Coaches with support from Snibston, Conkers, Donington le Heath Manor House, Moira Furnace, YHA National Forest and Leicestershire County Council Road Safety Team.

The route includes Ashby Castle, Conkers Waterside, YHA National Forest, Moira Furnace, Sence Valley Forest Park, Donington le Heath Manor House, Coalville town Centre, Snibston Discovery Park and then back to Ashby de la Zouch town centre.

Timetables and tickets will be available from Ashby Tourist Information Centre.

The open top tour is just one of the huge choice of things to do in The National Forest during the long summer break, ensuring young ones and their older companions alike are kept entertained - whatever the summer weather brings! For more information on attractions, activities, events and places to stay in and around The National Forest, the 2009 visitor guides to the Forest and Beyond are bursting with great ideas. These are available from Tourist Information Centres or from the National Forest Company.

For more information, visit nationalforest.org.

Attractions en route
Ashby de la Zouch Castle – english-heritage.org.uk
Conkers – visitconkers.com
Donington le Heath Manor House - leics.gov.uk/donington
Moira Furnace – moirafurnace.com
Sence Valley Forest Park, Forestry Commission – forestry.gov.uk
Snibston Discovery Park – snibston.com
YHA National Forest – yha.org.uk/nationalforest