The catchment area of the Rotary Club of the Soar Valley embraces the large villages of Quorn, Mountsorrel, Barrow Upon Soar, Birstall, Rothley and Sileby and a number of smaller communities all on or near the River Soar as it flows from Leicester to Loughborough in Leicestershire.. The area edges onto Charnwood Forest and the only double tracked preserved main railway line in Britain , The Great Central Railway forms a spine through our area.

Charnwood Forest paths providing some fine walks It reaches the second highest point in Leicestershire at Beacon Hill . is a mainly wooded area characterized by many rocky outcrops.

Quorn , also known as Quorndon, is a large village noted historically the former home of the Quorn Hunt. The village has a number of noted restaurants.

Mountsorrel
Little of its history is recorded prior to the building of the castle in 1080. There are several suggestions as to the origin of the name Mountsorrel. Many believe that it derives from the name Mount Soar Hill, as the village stands on the bank of the River Soar under the Castle Hill. T he most likely explanation comes from the French name “Mountsorrel”. In the year 1151, The Village is a centre of quarrying. Recently a sports and leisure centre serving the Soar Valley villages opened in Mountsorrel.

Barrow Upon Soar
Barrow-upon-Soar is about two miles from Mountsorrel, on the opposite bank of the Soar. The village retains many old timber framed buildings particularly clustered around the parish church and a noted public house, The Navigation, resting on the banks of the River Soar at the bottom of Mill Lane . On the outskirts of the village is a gypsum mine

Birstall.
The oldest part of the village has several examples of timber framed cottages; whilst the much restored St. James the Greater Parish Church includes the remains of Saxon sculpture in the south wall of its medieval nave. Birstall has grown to a near suburb of Leicester in recent years and is close to Watermead Park with its fine birdlife and many walks

Rothley.
Rothley Temple, or Rothley Preceptory, and its Chapel, all now part of the Rothley Court Hotel (where our Rotary Club meet), features in the village history. Who were the Knights Templars and what is their connection with the St. John Ambulance Brigade that we know today? Visit then Rothley Court Hotel to find out. The story of Rothley is sewn into a tapestry in 1999 and displayed in the Parish Church .

Sileby This is an industrial village. The bricks used in the construction of St. Pancras station in London were manufactured here. The village is also noted for textiles and shoe making. Sileby suffered the murder of a policeman in 1903.

Picture shows The Free Trade Pub in Sileby