YHA National Forest (Overseal) - Moira / Donisthorpe Circuit

The hostel shares its site with the Conkers Camping and Caravanning Club. There is ample parking.

By car: From the north, take the A444 from Burton south to Overseal then at the end of the village go left up Moira Road (signed to Moira). The hostel is on the left just before the railway bridge.

From the south take the A444 north to Overseal. At the beginning of the village go right up Moira Road (signed to Moira). The hostel is on the left just before the railway bridge.

There should not be any problem parking even if you are not staying at the hostel, but if you have problems go on under the railway bridge then turn left into Conkers Waterside and start at Route Point 8.

By bus: Arriva route 8 between Burton (which has a railway station) and Ashby half hourly Mon-Sat which calls at Overseal, 800m from the hostel. Phone 0844 800 44 11

Arriva route 9A (The National Forest Hopper) between Burton and Ashby hourly Mon-Sat which calls at Moira crossroads, 1km from the hostel.

Midland Classic route 19 from Burton to Measham which calls at Overseal hourly Mon-Sat. and 21E which operates on weekday evenings and Sundays. Phone 01283 500228.

[1]  Go through the staff section of the YHA car park and up the steps onto the metalled trail in the trees and turn right. Follow this for just under 2km. You initially cross over a road by bridge and looking over to your left and slightly forward, you will see the Moira Furnace Plantation and playing fields of which more later.   Crossing bridges over two more roads, the elevated former rail track levels out by another road and after passing two gates you enter Donisthorpe Woodland Park (A) on your left, near the sign about the area when it was Donisthorpe Colliery before restoration.

[2]  Take the path going diagonally up the hill on your left, swinging to parallel your original route until you reach a T-junction where you turn left and then fork right alongside a deep river cutting until you climb up to meet the newly re-watered stretch of the Ashby Canal (B). Turn left when you reach the canal and carry on until you reach a footbridge over it. At this point ignore the large path on your left but take the second, the other side of a small stream.   Follow this to a path junction by a stile. Turn right then follow the path round to the left to come out above a set of old lime kilns.   Drop down through a gate to have a look at them and then continue on the metalled path, turning right by the edge of the woods to come out at Moira Furnace (C) itself.There are toilets here and nearby tearooms

You may wish to explore the warren of small paths through Furnace Plantation - it can be damp and gloomy but it has a good population of insects/mini-creatures and an associated range of birdlife.

[3]  Take the tow path on the near side of the canal and follow it to the left - it swings about and reaches an unusual double lock at Shortheath Road. Cross the road before coming alongside a basin where the canal finishes.   Keep following the path or divert across the car park for Conkers Waterside (D) and facilities before continuing alongside a miniature rail track. There are toilets here.

[4]  Take the path to the left over the rail track and follow this as it zigzags back to the track you started your walk on.  Warning: if you hear a train whistle and the alarms sound the gates on the railway will soon be closing automatically. (E) - If you go straight on rather than turning left at the rail crossing you come to the main part of the Conkers facility with cafe etc.)   At the path T-junction go straight on through the gap or turn left for 50m (signed 'Measham') to walk back to the YHA, leaving the track at the point you originally joined it.

(A) DONISTHORPE WOODLAND PARK  is a 36-hectare former colliery site in The National Forest where there are 20 hectares of mixed woodland and 3km (1.85 miles) of stone-surfaced paths, which are suitable for most users. There are links to the 6km (3.7 miles) Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail and Moira Furnace & Plantation, along the towpath of the restored Ashby Canal.  The colliery dated back to 1857.  The area has recorded history going back much further. The name Donisthorpe suggests that the settlement be of Scandinavian origin. However, archaeological evidence suggests that the area was occupied much earlier. There is evidence of Neolithic and Roman occupation and it is probable that a Roman road from Leicester to Chester ran through this area. The north-west of the parish of Donisthorpe is bordered by the open area of the Ashby Woulds and the Ashby Woulds trail runs through the area. The west of the parish is bounded by the Hooborough Brook which forms the country boundary and runs in the park. 

Donisthorpe is recorded in the Doomsday book which describes the land at Donisthorpe as waste, mostly in the ownership of Henry de Ferrers.

Along the south of Donisthorpe runs the Walton Way which, when it crosses the Shellbrook is known as the Saltersford - a clear indication that this part of the Walton Way was also used as Salt Way. The park itself includes 20 hectares of recently planted mixed woodlands and the Hooborough Brook flows through the site between banks with mature willows. Just to the south is Saltersford Valley with its footpaths and lakes.

(B) THE ASHBY CANAL  The Ashby Canal was completed in 1804. Running from Bedworth, on the Coventry Canal to a point about 1km NW of the Youth Hostal, it suffered from mining subsidence during the first half of the 20th century, and was progressively closed to the current terminus at Snarestone in 1966. The Ashby Canal Trust was formed to promote the restoration of the Ashby Canal from Snarestone to Moira, bringing together the various authorities and organisations with an interest in the canal. It comprises a Board of Directors with associated administrative assistance, and supports work parties, contributes to the ongoing restoration of the Snarestone to Measham length, and promotes the Moira Canal Festival. For more information see Wikipedia.

In 2010, the first length  of restored canal was opened at Snarestone, including a swingbridge and slipway.  A further short length has been completed and funding is being sought to enable this phase of the works to continue to Ilott Wharf, some 3/4 mile distant.

(C) MOIRA FURNACE is a nineteenth-century iron-making blast furnace built by the Earl of Moira in 1804, making use of local iron, limestone and coal. It is a most important industrial monument, since it is remarkably well-preserved, and dates from a formative period of the Industrial Revolution. The furnace was a coke-fuelled, steam engine blown furnace for the smelting of iron from local iron ore with an attached foundry for the manufacture of cast-iron goods.

The preserved furnace consists of the blast furnace, the attached bridgehouse, and the loading ramp. The blast furnace is the vertical structure with the blank arches at the lowest part of the site. The furnace within was supplied with raw materials (iron ore, coke, and limestone by tipping them in through a charging port at the top, accessed from the bridgeloft. The loading ramp, which spans the Ashby Canal allowed the raw materials to be raised into the bridgeloft, which comprises the top floor of the bridgehouse, the large building with the pitched roof behind the furnace. In the bridgeloft the materials were probably weighed and, maybe, mixed before being charged into the furnace.

When the furnace was fired the steam engine blower, now gone, forced a continuous blast of air into the bottom of the furnace in order to make the coke burn brighter and raise the temperature inside high enough to melt the iron (1,538 °C, 2,800 °F). The hot gases exhausted from the low chimney at the top of the furnace. When ready, the molten iron was tapped from the bottom of the furnace and run into moulds to produce pig iron.

The furnace was not successful in the long term, becoming disused in the mid 1800's.The site was acquired by North West Leicestershire District Council in 1981, who sponsored a Community Programme to restore the site and develop it as a museum and country park. Inside the bridgehouse there is now a museum, operated by the Moira Furnace Museum Trust, which is open regularly. It has information boards and displays about Moira Furnace and the industrial heritage of the area.

MOIRA FURNACE PLANTATION is about 13 acres and about half is mature woodland with many water features and a maze of small paths, and half again agricultural land crossed by a number of paths. 

(D) and (E) CONKERS   is an award winning pay-to-enter attraction at the heart of the National Forest with a mix of indoor and outdoor experiences largely aimed at the family and school groups.  It is mapped for orienteering and also has a Tree Top Walk in the Discovery Centre and numerous different indoor and outdoor activities: including orienteering, lakeside walks, sculpture & nature trails, an assault course, train rides, playgrounds & water play!  It is a popular educational resource with lakeside restaurants, specialist shops and a plant center.

For more information about the hostel, the area and the nearby Conkers visitor attraction, visit

http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/national-forest

http://www.nationalforest.org

http://www.visitconkers.com