The National Forest is right in the heart of the country, embracing 200 square miles of the Midlands. It spans across parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire, and sits between the cities of Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Birmingham. The M1 runs through it, plus the A38 and A42. It’s main towns and villages include Burton upon Trent (famous for its brewing), Coalville and Swadlincote (formerly associated with the clay and coal mining industries) and the historic town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch.
In the early 90s, large swathes of the Midlands landscape had been scarred by centuries of coal mining and clay extraction. Since then, we have been transforming this place from black to green through the planting of millions of trees.
