Holywell Walk - Loughborough University

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Walk down the hill through the young plantation. Continue
until you reach the bottom fence with its kissing gate in the
corner on your right. This opens into the Holywell Park car
park.
Walk down through the car park and into the coach park.
Continue diagonally across and follow the sign to the
Holywell Building.
HOLYWELL BUILDING
This building houses Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, the Energy Technologies Institute and the
Mechatronics Research Centre.
At the end of the next car park turn left signed Holywell
Building. Walk towards the sculpture. On your left is the
Holywell Building and ahead the Garendon Wing. Over to
the right is the Charnwood Wing.
GARENDON AND CHARNWOOD WINGS
Named after the Garendon area of Loughborough which
in turn was named after Garendon Abbey (founded 1133,
dissolved in 1536), and Charnwood after Charnwood Forest
to the west of the campus. They contain a number of
University departments and research centres.
On passing the sculpture, turn sharp right keeping the
Sir Denis Rooke Building on your left. Once at the main
entrance, turn right onto the bridge.
SIR DENIS ROOKE BUILDING
Named after Sir Denis Rooke, OM (1924-2008), University
Chancellor 1989-2003. Became Chairman of British Gas in
1976. In 1986 he oversaw the privatisation of the company,
retiring in 1989. The Sir Denis Rooke Building is located
in the magnifi cent setting of Holywell Park, which was
acquired by the University in April 2003 from Advantica, and
expands the campus to more than 400 acres. This building
is managed by imago as a conference centre.
At the end of the bridge turn left, keeping to the footpath.
On your right are the main car parks for the site. The
screening of the car parks by trees and shrubs makes this
area worth visiting several times as the seasons change.
Walk past the lake on your left. At its end there is a
viewing platform.
The buildings on your left are used by diverse high tech
companies.
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Continue along the road past the mini-roundabout and
security gate. Please note this vehicular entrance is closed
Monday to Friday 21.00 hrs to 5.30 hrs and from Saturday
13.00 hrs to Monday 5.30 hrs.
Through the trees on your right is the Henry Ford College.
HENRY FORD COLLEGE
The College was opened on 9 February 2001 by Gordon
Brown MP when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. The
College, built on the University campus, but separate from
the University, is owned and run by the Ford Motor Company.
It provides training for Ford employees, from ‘Welcome to
Ford’ up to a Masters programme run in conjunction with the
University Business School.
Walk on to the Holywell Park bus stop and the end of this
walk.
It will take about 15 minutes to walk back to the library if
there is no bus available.
Optional 25 minute Burleigh Wood Walk
BURLEIGH WOOD WALK
At the kissing gate turn left through the hedge, then turn
right. With the rear of the houses on your left, in about 60
metres you arrive at the stile entrance to Burleigh Wood.
Climb the stile, and you will see an information board
with details of all the paths and features. This walk can
be diffi cult in wet conditions and the full circuit will take
approximately 25 minutes.
BURLEIGH WOOD
This is ancient woodland and part of the old Burleigh Estate.
First mentioned in a document in 1470 and known to be
woodland by 1540. The University joined the nearby Holywell
Wood (not open to the public) to Burleigh with a plantation.
Holywell is fi rst recorded in 1240 and as woodland in
1330. The western edge of Burleigh Wood has a very well
preserved section of bank and ditch which enclosed the
ancient Park. The Park was disparked in the mid-1600s and
the estate of over 330 acres was sold. Burleigh Hall was
fi nally demolished in 1961 to make way for the expansion of
the University.
We recommend a visit when the bluebells are in full bloom.
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Image: Ernie Miller
Walks devised and written by Ernie and Sheila Miller, 2009.
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WALK SIX:
The Holywell Walk
Approximately 40 minutes
PLUS optional 25 minute Burleigh Wood Walk

SCIENCE SCIENCE &
ENTERPRISE
ENTERPRISE
PARK PARK
UNDER DEVELOPMENT
HOLYWELL
HOLYWELL
PARK
PARK
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LOUGHBOROUGH
LOUGHBOROUGH
PARK
PARK
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6
SPORTSPARK
SPORTSPARK
UNDER DEVELOPMENT
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Finish
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Image: Ernie Miller
Start
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This walk starts at the Library bus shelter and fi nishes at
the Holywell bus stop. The walk goes across some unpaved
areas and is more suitable for a dry day. Some paths are
unlit and the walk should be done in daylight.
With the library behind you, turn right. As you approach
the corner cross to the opposite footpath. On your left is a
footpath leading to the Coniston Crescent entrance to the
campus. Walk through the gate. For a short portion of the
walk we leave the campus.
This part of Loughborough was constructed in the early
1960s. Many of the roads were named after areas of the
Lake District.
On reaching the road (Coniston Crescent) turn right. Walk
down the hill past the junction with Holywell Drive, until
you reach the T-junction with Kirkstone Drive. Turn right. At
the end of the road turn left and join the footpath. On your
right is a children’s play area. Continue along the path. On
your left a gap in the fence leads to Patterdale Drive. Walk
down the concrete steps, keeping the metal fence on your
right. After a while there is a metal fence on both sides of
the path. Where the left-hand fence ends, there is a gap in
the trees leading to a pleasant grassed area adjacent to
Nicolson Road.
Follow the path keeping the metal fence on your right.
Beyond the fence on your right are some of the University
sports fi elds, laid out in 2009.
This section of the walk is well wooded and contains
many mature trees including oak, ash, cherry, hawthorn,
sycamore, holly, hazel and elder.
Carry on to the end of the metal fence where it joins a
metal access gate. At this point there is a good view of this
part of the campus with Burleigh Court in the distance.
Turn left, walk up the rising ground keeping the wire fence
on your right. At the kissing gate you can extend your walk
to include Burleigh Wood (see section 10/11 of this walk).
Turn right through the kissing gate. The buildings in the
distance were originally built as the British Gas Research
Centre. To the left of these, behind the trees, is Holywell
Hall, also owned by the University.
HOLYWELL HALL
Founded as a hermitage sometime before 1180, it belonged
to Garendon Abbey. It had ceased to be a hermitage well
before 1536.
The Hall, as it was once called, could today be described
as a farmhouse. The name is a corruption of Holy Well Haw
and takes its name from the Holy Well, a spring close to the
farm buildings. It is said never to have failed even in the dry
year of 1976. In the medieval period it was believed it had
healing properties and survives to the present day.