Leicester, Leicestershire
Leicester is a medium-sized city in the East Midlands. It made a convenient halfway point for me to spend a few days between housesits and I’m really glad I did. The city has a long history and traces still remain of its past from medieval times to the present day. In Canada, we tend to sweep away all traces of the past. In Europe, they are integrated into the present day.
Leicester Castle dates back to the 12th century. Richard III would have spent the night here before heading out to do battle and lose his life at Bosworth. {Richard III had scoliosis, a curved spine, and so do I. It’s funny the things that can create a bond between oneself and a historical figure.} The photo is of the entrance to the castle complex.
The Newarke Gateway was built in 1400 and opened onto a religious precinct with a church, a charity hospital, and other related buildings. The gateway has had many uses over the years from holding Catholics imprisoned for their beliefs during the reign of Elizabeth I to storing munitions during the English Civil War and serving as a recruitment centre during World War I. It is now the entry to De Montfort University.
Two houses built in the 1500s have been turned into a museum with a collection of toys from the 1500s to the present and a 1950s street scene.
I spent a very happy morning on the New Walk. Built on the traces of a Roman road, it was established in 1849. It’s one-kilometre long, travelling from the town centre to Victoria Park, which was originally a racecourse.
Lovely old houses and public gardens line the walk and I was impressed by the tree-lined alleys in the park.
Construction began on the town hall in 1874 and there is a lovely fountain in the square that was later replicated in Porto, Portugal.
The Christmas lights had been turned on the day I arrived. They’re so welcome when darkness falls at 4:30 in the afternoon.
Leicester prides itself on being a super-diverse city with 59% of the population from minority ethnic backgrounds. I took advantage of it to have an excellent Indian lunch and felt very comfortable in the mixed social surroundings as it wasn’t noticeably different from being in Vancouver.
