20 Attractions to Explore Near Donington Park Circuit

The Aeropark is both an aviation museum and a viewing area where you can study the preserved planes of yesteryear or watch the modern airliners of today taking-off and landing at a growing international passenger and cargo airport. The museum includes a large number of aircraft on external display and also offers two viewing mounds for watching aircraft arriving and departing East Midlands Airport.

Melbourne Hall has the best surviving example of the work of London and Wise. It represents the French style in England. It was not a seat of power in the eighteenth century but Lord Melbourne was prime minister when Queen Victoria came to power in 1837. It has a parterre, avenues, basins, lead statuary, an excellent wrought iron arbor, and a yew tunnel.

This beautiful 210-acre reservoir was built in 1964. It has a visitor center and wildflower meadow. You can enjoy bird watching, dinghy, and sailboarding with the Staunton Harold Sailing Club. The reservoir also includes two nature reserves, coarse fishing and the Staunton Harold Sailing Club. Has an events programme and features a large adventure play area.

This baroque mansion, built-in 1701-4 by an unknown architect for Sir John Harpur, incorporates parts of an Elizabethan house and is located on the site of an earlier medieval priory. The house and stables are little restored, with many abandoned areas vividly portraying a period in the 20th century when numerous country houses did not survive to tell their story. One of the unique attractions in this area and it will be a new experience.

Elvaston Castle is a stately home in Elvaston, Derbyshire, England. The Gothic Revival castle and surrounding parkland is run and owned by Derbyshire County Council as a country park known as Elvaston Castle Country Park. Its Country Park has approximately 321 acres of open parkland, woodland, and more formal historical gardens. One of the iconic attractions in this area.

Elvaston Castle is a gothic revival masterpiece designed by James Wyatt in the early 1800s based on the original house dating back to 1633. The gardens are locally renowned for their rockwork structures and fine examples of topiary originally introduced and designed by William Barron in the 19th Century. The country park has 200 acres of woodlands, parkland, and formal gardens.

Grace Dieu was founded in 1235 as an Augustinian nunnery, and was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538. The site is surrounded by earthworks that suggest fish ponds and is known for its resident ghost.The priory was fairly large, having in 1337 sixteen nuns. It also had an attached hospital which cared for twelve poor people. The ruins stand in a valley bottom bounded by a small brook on the edge of Charnwood Forest and are situated on the A512 road from Loughborough to Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestersh

Foremark Reservoir is a reservoir in South Derbyshire owned by Severn Trent which is also a 230-acre (0.93 km2) nature reserve open to the public for walking, fishing, bird watching, and horse riding. One of the iconic attractions where you can spend some nice time in the middle of nature.

It was the first Catholic Abbey to be founded in this country after the Reformation. This is a Cistercian Monastery of white monks founded in 1835 as a continuation of Garendon Abbey. Includes gardens, high calvary, gift shop, and Abbey Church. The abbey was the first permanent monastery to be founded in England since the Reformation and is the sole Trappist house in England. The monks brew the only Trappist beer in Britain.

Ashby de la Zouch Castle was the purpose-built seat of one of the most powerful men in late 15th-century English politics, William, Lord Hastings. Constructed on the site of an older manor house, two large towers and various smaller buildings had been constructed by 1483, when Hastings was executed by Richard, Duke of Gloucester.

Mercia Marina Is Derbyshire's largest waterside marina attraction, shopping, and holiday destination with more than 20 businesses, 11 shops, 2 restaurants, 2 coffee houses and so more. The marina is host to The Boardwalk, the perfect place for a day out or relaxing for a few hours.

Attenborough Nature Reserve was established in 1966 and opened by Sir David Attenborough. The reserve is best known for its birds. The area is an important site for winter wildfowl and often holds a high proportion of the county's shoveler and diving ducks The reserve now covers 145 hectares of lakes, wetland, grassland and scrub. It sits at the confluence of the River Erewash and the Trent, and is part of an area designated as the Attenborough Gravel Pits Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Charnwood Museum is a local history museum in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. This Museum reflects the history and industries of Loughborough and the surrounding area. Permanent displays include: Coming to Charnwood, The Natural World, Living off the Land and Earning a Living. It has a café and a shop and is fully accessible to disabled visitors. It runs many events including art and craft workshops held every school holiday for children, talks, tours and lectures throughout the year.

The Loughborough Carillon was built as a War Memorial to commemorate WW1. It is in Queen's Park, and is a well-known landmark, visible from several miles away. The Carillon was designed by Sir Walter Tapper, and is now grade II listed. The carillon has 47 bells, all of which were cast at John Taylor Bell Foundry in Loughborough. The carillon was built by William Moss and Sons Ltd of Loughborough.

Queen's Park is well used as a place to play, relax or learn and is easily reached by foot, bicycle, car or bus. Pay and display car parking is available close to the park off Granby Street. There is a 'figure-of-eight' walk that passes alongside a watercourse, which is spanned by a stone bridge. There is also another, smaller lake. The dominant feature of the park is the Carillon Tower, which is a war memorial.

This rare and beautiful house is a surviving example of a family home which was built in the 13th century and then modernised in the 17th Century, one of the oldest houses in Leicestershire. It was once owned by a relative of one of the Gunpowder plotters, and is now managed by Leicestershire County Council. All the rooms are fully furnished as they might have been at the time and the mixture of original and replica furniture and household objects can be touched and used - with one exception.

The Outwoods is 110 acres of ancient woodland to the south of Loughborough and is one of the oldest surviving woodland sites in Charnwood. The Outwoods supports a rich variety of plants, insects and birds typical of such old woodlands. The Outwoods is open all year round and the car park and toilets are open from approximately 7am until dusk. Adjacent to the Outwoods is the smaller Jubilee Wood and close by is Beacon Hill.

Hicks Lodge, which is owned by Forestry England, is a fantastic day out for the whole family - from budding cyclists to the more confident. Set in beautiful young woodland at the heart of the National Forest, it has been designed with the whole family in mind with a variety of trails to explore.

The Great Central Railway is the UK's only double track, mainline heritage railway. It’s the only place in the world where full size steam engines can be seen passing each other – just as it was when steam ruled the rails. Train rides are available every weekend and Bank Holiday throughout the year and daily in May through to September.

The 7.5mile stretch of road between Macclesfield and Buxton, in the county of Cheshire, has been named the most dangerous road in Britain. Known locally as Cat and Fiddle, it should more fittingly be dubbed 'the widow-maker' because of its mounting death toll. It is famous for its scenic views across the Greater Manchester conurbation, the Peak District National Park and the Cheshire Plain, and for its many bends. It is extremely popular with motorcyclists and is often classed as the most danger