Monday 1st
October 2018
We had decided, when we first came to Leicester that we were going to
stay until Tuesday. We arrived here on Friday, the moorings are supposed to be limited
to just 2 days and, leaving tomorrow, will mean we will have been here for four
days. Apart from periods when we have been waiting or having repairs done, this
is the longest we have stayed anywhere.
Leicester has, very much, a bad reputation in canal circles. Of course
all places will have good and bad areas, but if you listen to stories, you will
never go anywhere or moor anywhere. Leicester has been a delight and a
surprise. To be recommended to anybody for a weekend, there is so much to do
and see.
However, while it is exciting to come into a city, we are all
Leicestered out and are looking forward to moving on. We would have moved today
but we met a couple while in Mountsorrel two days before Leicester, who wanted
to meet up. But somehow, lines got crossed and they thought we were still in
Mountsorrel. We are now to meet them in Market Harborough next Sunday.
I had a visit to a local DIY shop. These older, hardware shops I find absolutely
fascinating. Like Arkwright’s stores in Open All Hours. The place was so full of
stuff you couldn’t even walk down the aisles, and yet whatever you asked for, they
went straight to it.
We again, went into the city, we now know it very well, always a sign
to move on, and did more tourist stuff along with some shopping. The so-called "Lanes" quarter of the city are a delight, full of boutiquey, chic shops, bars and restaurants.
Jewry Wall, ruins of Roman
Baths
Bow Bridge
We visited the Jewry Wall, ruins of Roman Baths, with the highest
surviving Roman Wall in Britain, but with a museum housed in a bloody awful
1960’s structure. St. Nichols Church, dating from the 9th/10th
century, the oldest building in Leicester. After some shopping, including another
visit to the market, we visited the Guildhall but weren’t allowed in on account
of Harvey. The Guildhall was built in the 14th century and was a
building of importance during the reign of Richard III. The Castle area, with
St. Mary de Castro church, founded in 1107, the place of King Henry VI’s
coronation in 1426, and the site of the surviving Norman Motte, was an oasis
within the city.
We crossed the river here and passed under West Bridge, seeing a
bloody big rat that didn’t move off the path and I actually kicked into the
river. Horrible, vile creatures, they really give me the shits. We crossed the
river again, over Bow Bridge. This bridge was built in 1863, replacing a medieval
bridge on the same site. King Richard III actually crossed this bridge on his
way to Bosworth Field and the battle in which he was killed. The last English
King to die in battle on English soil. Legend has it that, during the
dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII, Richard’s bones
were thrown into the River Soar from this bridge. Apparently, when Richard’s
remains were interred in Leicester Cathedral, the procession crossed the bridge
and followed the route to Market Bosworth and, such was the public interest,
thousands of people lined the route.
On the way back to the boat it was interesting watching the university
archaeology department excavating the site next to where we are moored prior to
new construction being carried out.
Later in the day we filled with water, doing a couple of washes at the
same time, and did more shopping in Tesco’s. And then watched more Game of
Thrones in the evening. It turned out though, that we only had the first 7 episodes
of series 4 on the laptop and so had to purchase the remaining three episodes
on-line.
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