Name: Bradgate Park
Address: Newtown Linford, Charnwood, Leicestershire, LE7 7FW, United Kingdom
Rating: 5

🐾 Dog-Friendly Bradgate Park at a Glance
🦮 Lead Rules: Keep your dog on a lead in marked areas, especially around deer and in lower park areas; off-lead elsewhere only if under effective control.
🚶 Walk Length: 1–4 mile walking options, from short scenic loops to longer rugged trails.
🌿 Terrain: Mix of rocky outcrops, grassland, woodland, and paved carriageway.
🐑 Livestock & Wildlife: Free-roaming wild deer (red and fallow).
🏰 History & Ruins: Ruins of Bradgate House (15th-century manor), Old John Tower folly, historic earthworks.
🚻 Facilities: Visitor centre, cafe at the Deer Barns with toilets.
🅿️ Parking: Paid parking at Newtown Linford, Cropston and Old John.
☕ Dog-Friendly Nearby: Cafes in Newtown Linford; plenty of countryside pubs around Charnwood Forest.

About

Bradgate Park is a deer park with 830 acres of accessible parkland to explore, making it an ideal location for taking your dog. The park varies from rugged areas with rocky outcrops to a hard carriageway beside the river. The highest point is marked by Old John Tower and the Yeomanry War Memorial, while lower down, you have the ruins of Bradgate House, the childhood home of Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for Nine Days in 1553.

Dog Access and Rules

Bradgate Park requests that dogs be kept on a lead in the lower section of the Park (between the River Lin and across the carriageway up to the Middle Wall). It has clear markers to identify where pets can be let off the lead, provided they are controlled effectively.

Water bowls are available at the Cafe and Visitor Centre. Alternatively, the water from the River Lin is fresh and cool, and can be paddled in and drunk from, while dogs remain on a lead.

Things To See & Do

Bradgate Park feels like stepping into a wild, magical patch of Leicestershire, one part rugged wilderness, one part history, and one part peaceful riverside. The park includes ancient oak trees, rocky hilltops, heather, a river and open grassland. The deer roaming freely gives it a real sense of untamed beauty, but there’s also quiet space to sit and watch the world go by.

You can spend a whole day at the park, and this can be a lazy day or a full-on, energetic one. Walks can be flat along the tarmac road beside the river, or you can head up the hills, like the one to Old John Tower.

What to See & Highlights

Bradgate House Ruins: These red-brick remains speak of the grand history. Lady Jane Grey’s childhood home is here.
Old John Tower: This folly sits atop the park’s highest hill (212 m) and offers a great viewpoint.
Deer Herd: Red and fallow deer roam freely, a real treat, but remember to keep dogs under control.
River Lin & Little Matlock: A small river runs through, and the Little Matlock area has both rocky charm and lovely woodland.

Access and Facilities

The Visitor Centre is located in the heart of the Park at the Deer Barns, where you will also find toilets and a Cafe that, although it does not allow dogs, offers takeaway options.

This is a large park and has three car park options, with Newtown Linford and Cropston being at either end of the carriageway:

Newtown Linford car park use postcode: LE6 0HB
Old John car park use postcode: LE6 0AH
Cropston car park use postcode: LE7 7HQ

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PAWprints

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Excellent

1 review

Molly

September 14, 2025, 2:41 pm

If you want a dog walk I recommend Old John car park as the road can get very busy and more natural paths and hill.

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