The Soar Valley in Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 is the basin of the River Soar

River Soar

The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...

, which rises south of Leicester

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

 and flows north through Charnwood

Charnwood

Charnwood may refer to:* Charnwood , a local government district in the county of Leicestershire, England* Charnwood , an electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England...

 before meeting the River Trent

River Trent

The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

 at Trent Lock on the Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

 border.

Soar Valley embraces the large villages of Quorn

Quorn, Leicestershire

Quorn is a village in Leicestershire, England, situated next to the university town of Loughborough. Quorn's name was shortened from Quorndon in 1889, to avoid postal difficulties owing to its similarity to the name of another village, Quarndon, a few miles away. Its original name is said to derive...

, Mountsorrel

Mountsorrel

Mountsorrel is a village in Leicestershire on the River Soar, just south of Loughborough with a population in 2001 of 6,662 inhabitants.-Geography:...

, Barrow upon Soar

Barrow upon Soar

Barrow upon Soar is a large village in northern Leicestershire, in the Soar Valley between Leicester and Loughborough. It has a population of around 5,000 and is part of the Charnwood local government district....

, Birstall

Birstall, Leicestershire

Birstall is a large village and civil parish within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is three miles north of the Leicester city centre and is part of the wider Leicester Urban Area....

, Rothley and Sileby

Sileby

Sileby is a former industrial village and civil parish in the Soar Valley in Leicestershire, between Leicester and Loughborough. Nearby villages include Barrow upon Soar, Mountsorrel, Ratcliffe-on-the-Wreake, Seagrave and Cossington....

 and a number of smaller communities all on or near the River Soar as it flows from Leicester to Loughborough

Loughborough

Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...

 in Leicestershire. The area edges onto Charnwood Forest

Charnwood Forest

Charnwood Forest is an upland tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough, and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; its elevation is generally 600 ft and upwards, the area...

 and the only double tracked preserved main railway line in Britain, the Great Central Railway

Great Central Railway (preserved)

The Great Central Railway is a heritage railway split into two adjacent sections, one in Leicestershire and the other Nottinghamshire.The Leicestershire section is currently Britain's only double track mainline heritage railway, with of working double track, period signalling, locomotives and...

 forms a spine through the area.

Ward and electoral district

Downstream from Stanford on Soar

Stanford on Soar

Stanford on Soar is a village and civil parish located on the River Soar, just within the Nottinghamshire side of the Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire boundary, in the Borough of Rushcliffe. It is around a mile north of Loughborough in Leicestershire. It is the southernmost place within the county of...

 the River Soar forms the boundary with Nottinghamshire and in that county Soar Valley is an electoral district for purposes of electing a councillor to Nottinghamshire County Council. The most recent election was in 2009 when Linda Sykes, of the Conservative party, won the seat. For the election of a councillor to Rushcliffe

Rushcliffe

Rushcliffe is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in West Bridgford. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by merging the West Bridgford Urban District, the Bingham Rural District and part of Basford Rural District.-Political representation:The...

 Borough Council, there is a Soar Valley ward

Wards of the United Kingdom

A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...

, which covers a smaller area than the electoral district of the same name, and consists of the three parishes of Sutton Bonington

Sutton Bonington

Sutton Bonington is a village and civil parish lying along the valley of the River Soar in the Borough of Rushcliffe, south west Nottinghamshire, England. The University of Nottingham has a site just to the north of the village: Sutton Bonington Campus....

, Kingston on Soar

Kingston on Soar

Kingston on Soar is a village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. It has a population of 239, as of the 2001 census.It has 4 centres of population: the Village, Kingston Hall, New Kingston and Kingston Fields....

 and Ratcliffe on Soar. The most recent election was in 2007 when Terry Holt, of the Liberal Democrats, won the seat.