Selected parish/ward / Wild Places / Footpaths / Parish/ward boundaries
To find out more about local Wild Places (red boundaries on the map), visit the Wild Places page. Contact NatureSpot if you have an idea for any additional Wild Places.
Knighton Ward is in the south-east of the City of Leicester. The population at the time of the 2021 census was 16,831. The ward covers an area of 415 hectares (1.6 square miles). Knighton Park is a significant area of green open space at the southern boundary of the ward, where it meets with Oadby and Wigston. There is not a lot of public open space in the rest of the ward, but parts of the ward are characterised by large gardens with mature trees, which are gradually being diminished by backland development. Leicester University manages the Attenborough Arboretum, which is a good place to view native and introduced trees and a variety of wildlife. There is a small local nature reserve at the Wash Brook Nature Reserve on the edge of the ward next to the Midland Mainline. Knighton Wild is also involved in the management of St Mary Magdalen Churchyard and Knighton Green. Knighton Green is a small area of grass and woodland on the Wash Brook.
Get involved this year with Knighton Wild in meetings and practical activities.
Help us with practical conservation work in Knighton
In conjunction with St Mary Magdalene parish church and Leicester City Council we maintain part of the churchyard and parts of Knighton Green for wildlife. Our next working session is on Saturday 28th March 2026 at 10.30am.
If you can spare some time, please come along at 10.30am for a session until lunchtime (weather pemitting). No experience is necessary. Please wear sensible gardening clothes, shoes and gloves. Meet at the west end of Knighton Green by the noticeboard at the end of Church Lane.
It would be helpful if anyone can bring gardening tools to use as well as ours – rakes, shears, cordless hedge-trimmers, strimmers, scythes, sickles, secateurs, loppers, small garden hand tools or garden forks. Do bring a mug. Tea and coffee provided.
If you would like to join us for that working session please e-mail Nicky by clicking here (or emailing martinicky@hotmail.com with your name and contact details).
Record Wildlife in Your Garden
Why not record the wildlife you see in your garden and around your home in Knighton. Have a look at the Knighton Wild website for updates from some of our members on what they've seen and identification suggestions and help. You can record what you see on NatureSpot. Why not register if you haven't already?
If you are interested and have ideas for future local activities then please contact us:
Parish/ward species count:
Thanks to NatureSpot, Leicester City Council and Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust for supporting the work of Knighton Wild in Knighton.
Welcome to the Knighton Ward page in NatureSpot. Knighton Wild is the local wildlife group in Knighton and exists to encourage people to enjoy and record our local wildlife and improve the local environment for wildlife. News in this section. Upcoming events in the Parish Update section below.
Richard Garnett, Chair of Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society (LROS) will be talking about House Sparrows, their habits, the decline in their numbers and the survey tat LROS carried out in 2025 to establish the population in Leiceseter, Leicestershire and Rutland. Wednesday 22nd April, 7.30pm, Knighton Parish Centre, Knighton LE2 3WG. Admssion: £3.00 cash on the door.
The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Local Nature Recovery Strategy is now being implemented. You can find more information about it on the County Council website.
One of the parts of the strategy is a list of 100 indicator species.
Following Alan Cann's talk on Harvestmen on 25th September 2025, a group of us joined him for a walk in Knighton Park to look for Harvestmen. We found three species: Oligolophus hanseni, Paroligolophus agrestis and Opilio canestrinii.
The images and records below are all from the parish/ward and have been submitted by members of the public.
The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.
In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.
