Leicester Botanic Garden and Attenborough Arboretum

Firmly linked with the University of Leicester, the botanical gardens were founded in 1921. When they were completed in 1925, the Gardens comprised a woodland garden which was designed to display the typical flora of the Charnwood Forest, sections devoted to medicinal plants, culinary herbs and dye plants, a rock and water garden, British order beds, an experimental area planted with various grasses on different soils, and a general planting of interesting specimens.

The Botanic Garden can be found right next to Leicester Racecourse on the edge of Oadby. It contains 16 acres of lovingly cultivated gardens around the four Edwardian Houses on the site. The grounds and greenhouses display a wide variety of features and environments with everything from an arboretum, a herb garden, woodland and herbaceous borders, rock gardens, a water garden, special collections of Skimmia, Aubrieta, and hardy Fuchsia, and a series of glasshouses displaying temperate and tropical plants, alpines and succulents. The collections of plants are all intended to underpin scientific research and teaching at the University.

The plant collections and landscape features make this garden one of the most diverse in the region. The water features (including a Koi Carp pond) and sculptures (including occasional special exhibitions) add character to the gardens. The gardens are free to enter and are the perfect place for a pleasant walk, a picnic to just to relax on one of the many benches and admire the surroundings.

The garden holds regular open events including crocus weekends, family fun days, plant sales and tours. Keep an eye on their website for the latest event information.

The Attenborough Arboretum is a satellite facility of the Botanic Garden. Opened in 1997 by Sir David Attenborough the five acre site in Knighton features one of the few surviving examples in the city of a medieval ridge-and-furrow field plus two large ponds, complete with a board-walk.

The planting scheme displays our native trees in the sequence in which they arrived in this country following the ending of the last ice-age, approximately 10,000 years ago. Visitors can record any interesting wildlife in the Arboretum on the Nature Spot website and there is also a purpose built classroom for schools and other visiting groups.

The Botanic Garden and Attenborough Arboretum are open throughout the year, seven days a week, 10am to 4pm (5pm during British Summer Time).