This is an obscure wee place just to the north of Melton Mowbray and sitting above the Vale of Belvoir

Like much of the area to the south it has been subject to extensive opencast mining (from hand cuts to dragline cuts) to win Lias Iron Ores as can still be seen by the various traces of old high walls, mineral railway and old infra-structure scatted to the south of the village.

Ironstone was first quarried from the area by the Stanton Ironworks company from 1879 until 1881. Mining resumed in 1918, as the overburden increased the company trialled underground workings in 1921. In April 1931 mining began underground by pillar and stall, and worked through to August 1943 when the working finally reached an existing high wall. Further opencast mining between 1953 and 1957 using 43RB diesel dragline, helped to reinstate much of the quarried land.

A remaining highwall where two adits daylight can still be visited today at the Holwell Nature Reserve operated by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. Details here:

http://www.lrwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/holwell-reserves/ 

Its well worth a visit at any time of the year; the adits are both grilled and used extensively by the local bat population.

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The common above the site is subject to some rather over the top signage:

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There's another couple of very small (too small) openings to adits to the right of your first photo and if you walk across the road and bear left down the gated road there's more (heavily grilled) entrances, it's a really nice place.

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