The region where Sir David Attenborough 'learned to love wildlife'

Over the course of his illustrious career, legendary broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has brought the wonders of the natural world into the homes of millions.

And while his influence continues to be felt around the globe, the naturalist's own story can be traced back to the East Midlands, particularly Leicestershire.

From clambering up rocks in Bradgate Park, to fossil hunting on a disused railway line, Sir David's love and curiosity for nature bloomed in the county.

As he turns 100 years old, the BBC explores how Sir David was shaped by the place he once called home - and where he "learned to love wildlife".

It was on a train, while mischievously skipping school - or "playing hooky", as he called it - that a young Sir David unwittingly discovered his ancestral home.

He said: "It [the train] stopped at one station and suddenly a porter stuck his head into the window and bawled 'Attenborough!'

"I leapt to my feet and said, 'yes, sir'."

The train had actually pulled into the Nottinghamshire village of Attenborough, from which the naturalist's name hails.

"It was the first time that I ever knew that there was such a village," he said.

His father, Frederick, was raised just a few miles away in the town of Stapleford, while his mother, Mary, was born in the nearby town of Long Eaton, in Derbyshire.

The son of a shopkeeper, Frederick came from "very humble beginnings", but went on to become the second principal of University College, Leicester, in 1932.

Sir David, who was born in Isleworth, Middlesex, was just five when the family moved to Leicester and lived in College House on the campus.

It was a home that provided plentiful opportunities for a young, adventurous Sir David - and his brother, Richard - to go and explore, and cause mischief.

One favourite haunt was the nearby former Leicestershire and Rutland County Lunatic Asylum, where the pair would walk the empty corridors.

Sir David told the BBC that, on one occasion, his brother locked him in a padded cell.

"It's very alarming because there's no handle to a door, so you didn't know where you were and nobody could hear you," he said.

Sir David's interest in nature - as well as his entrepreneurial spirit - was also evident from an early age, with stories of him selling newts to the zoology department for three pence each.

His early ambitions and interest in geology were spelled out in letters written by his father.

One letter, in a collection shared by the University of Leicester, reads: "My second son David hopes to be a geologist."

He would go on to the Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester, before attaining a Natural Sciences degree from Clare College, Cambridge.

Speaking during a visit to the University of Leicester in 2018, Sir David said he owed a great deal to his time growing up on the campus.

"This university, as the city itself, has a wonderful reputation for humanity, for culture, for generosity," he said.

"It is a proud boast that I have that I was reared on this campus."

But it was out exploring the Leicestershire countryside where Sir David's appreciation, curiosity and knowledge of the natural world deepened.

One favourite spot was Charnwood Forest, the visits to which he has described as "the highlights of my Leicester boyhood".

The forest, which contains some of the oldest rocks in Britain, provided the perfect place to hunt for fossils.

Bradgate Park - situated about eight miles from Leicester city centre - was the nearest gateway for Sir David to explore the "wild countryside".

He told the BBC: "We came here as a family, up on to those rocks, up on to the tower [Old John], paddling in the stream.

"It was a vision of what the English countryside could be like."

He added: "I learned to love wildlife and be interested in wildlife since I was a boy, and a lot of it was here."

To mark Sir David's 100th birthday, a tree was planted outside College House on Friday as part of a day of celebrations across the East Midlands.

University of Leicester president and vice-chancellor, Prof Sir Nishan Canagarajah, described the naturalist as "a tireless advocate for the planet and a cherished part of our university's history".

Cara Hewitt, a ranger at Bradgate Park, told the BBC Sir David's influence is still felt among her colleagues.

"We come here and we want to care for the same land that he once had a spark for," she said.

"We consider ourselves a small park, and then to know that we still hold a place in his heart, it's amazing to think we are like a treasure to him."

Another important - but far lesser known - spot for Sir David was Tilton Railway Cutting, situated between Leicester and Oakham in Rutland.

Tucked away off a country lane, the cutting is home to marine sandstones, ironstones and clays dating back roughly 200 million years, exposed to the elements after it was dug out in the 1870s to make way for the old railway from Melton Mowbray to Market Harborough.

Although it is discouraged now, Sir David spent time hunting for brachiopods, gastropods and ammonites by breaking apart rocks with a hammer.

In his 1989 documentary series Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives, Sir David described those times as "moments of magic".

The naturalist also shone a global spotlight on the secluded spot in the opening scenes of his 2020 Netflix film, A Life on Our Planet.

In 2022, Attenborough was honoured with his very own fossil.

The 560 million-year-old specimen, believed to be the earliest known animal predator, was found by palaeontologists in Charnwood Forest.

They named it Auroralumina attenboroughii.

While his broadcasting career has taken him from the tropical rainforests of South America to the open tundras of the Arctic, Sir David has continued to champion the East Midlands and its natural landscapes.

About three decades after that serendipitous train journey, Sir David returned to the village of Attenborough and opened the Attenborough Nature Reserve in 1966.

From ceremonial ribbon cuttings at Bradgate Park, to handwriting a letter to a campaigner thanking them for fighting to save trees from a car park extension in Nottinghamshire, Sir David has maintained a special interest in the region.

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, which manages the Tilton Railway Cutting, said it joined "millions around the world in thanking a truly extraordinary naturalist".

"Few voices have done more to bring the wonders of the natural world into our homes, and our hearts, than Sir David Attenborough," a spokesperson said.

"At 100, his message remains as powerful as ever - nature matters and, together, we can help it recover.

"Happy birthday, Sir David."

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