Bricklayers Arms

Explore Thornton Reservoir and the beautiful Bricklayers Garden

The Bricklayers Arms now has its own convenient footpath, direct from the large car park, down to the Thornton Reservoir.

The steady incline down to the reservoir path makes for easy access to and from the reservoir whether you are working up an appetite or working off one our delightful meals.

Thornton Reservoir is 150 years old. Built in 1854 and opened to the public in 1997, 75 acres of clear water set in farmland.

This walk follows the paths around the beautiful Thornton reservoir. All the paths are hard surfaces and suitable for pushchairs, wheelchairs or small children on bicycles. There is a short stretch of road at the end but there is a pavement to walk on. Dog walkers will need to take leads. This walk is 3 miles long and takes a little over an hour.

Boats are available for hire for fishing. 

Using a short loop path you will come across several excellent woodcarvings made on the tops of cut-down trees. The area abounds with birds and waterfowl. Part of the Leicestershire Round is used and you pass through new plantations of the National Forest. Then it's on across farmland and fields to reach Ratby Burroughs, a wood of two halves linked by a footpath and the new Cycle Trail No 63. The northern section contains a sea of bluebells in the spring and the southern sector was newly planted in 1965 / 66.