Garendon Park 3

Way back in March this year, I was lucky enough to take part in an organised walk around the privately owned Garendon Estate. I say, ‘privately owned’, as much of it is, and as such is not open to the public, although there are a number of footpaths, some of which will be opening soon. [1]

We were invited along initially really to view the heritage of the park - see my earlier post after that first visit for a bit of the history of Garendon. Recently, I was very lucky to be invited along again, this time to view more of the flora and fauna, as well as the stunning obelisk.

At one time, some of the grounds of the estate were laid out as a pleasure park, and evidence of some of the features of was still to be seen, like a ‘canal’ which at one time was at the bottom of the garden, and included a pool – which reminded me a bit of Burleigh Brook Park.  We also saw one of the avenues of trees, along with some giant Wellingtonia trees, hazel, field maple, and oaks, to name but a few!

Surrounding the 'canal'

Around the 'canal'

An avenue of trees

What an avenue of trees on the estate looked like nearly 100 years ago

A Wellingtonia on the estate from nearly 100 years ago

I visited on what was one of the first beautiful sunny days we’d had, and it was so lovely to see everything in full bloom, as we made our way to the obelisk [2], which along with the Temple of Venus and the Triumphal Arch, was one of the follies designed by Ambrose Phillips (1707-1737), who had, apparently, designed many more such structures, but since he died very young, these were never created.

The obelisk

The obelisk

Here are a few more photographs of my visit.

 Not only did we see trees, crops, and grasses, we also saw animals!

 

Hope you've enjoyed this quick visit to Garendon! 

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Notes

[1] For details concerning the re-opening of the park to the public please consult either Charnwood Borough Council, or the housebuilders

[2] I've written so many posts related to obelisks on the blog! Here are a few examples:

https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2016/11/obelisks-everywhere.html

https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/06/life-in-locked-down-loughborough.html

https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2017/04/loughborough-charnwood-college-garendon.html

https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2016/03/william-railtons-bavarian-gates.html

https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2019/04/garendon-and-marathon.html

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posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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Copyright:

The copyright © of all content on this blog rests with me, however, you are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follows:

Dyer, Lynne (2023). Garendon Park Part 3. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2023/06/garendon-park-3.html [Accessed 18 June 2023]

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Life in Locked Down Loughborough

Lockdown Life in Loughborough

So, it's been a couple of months since I last invited a guest blogger to write a post for the blog the first on the fate of Zeppelin L 20 and its commander, the second about artists in Loughborough, Leicester and Leicestershire. The contribution from today's guest blogger is a little different, in that it's a reflection of what a young twenty-something, who is Loughborough-born, but also a student at Loughborough University, has discovered about her hometown during the period of lockdown, from the end of March 2020 to today. Do, please read on!

"When my mum asked me if I’d write a blog post about my life during lockdown I initially thought, gosh what on earth would I have to write about? Surely, I have nothing worthy to say whilst I’ve been hiding away in my studio flat in student accommodation… Surely other people have had a more colourful lockdown experience?

The truth is, I have felt privileged to reside in the bubble of my student accommodation, continuing my studies towards my PhD accompanied by my partner. Many of my friends are key workers and remained working for the duration of lockdown, other friends have been furloughed but I have continued to receive financial support from my research stipend.

One thing I have been extremely grateful for that I perhaps had not appreciated before, is the extensive nature surrounding my small hometown. I have always known there are many beautiful areas in close proximity to me but it is a shame that it has taken a global pandemic to slow my pace of life and to encourage me to use my two feet and get out there and see what’s about!

Loughborough Canal during lockdown April 2020

It has now been several weeks since we were allowed outside for longer than one hour and for multiple bouts of exercise. Prior to this change, my walks were somewhat short and limited in the freedom but pleasant, nonetheless. I am now extremely familiar with my University’s campus and the treats that can be found hidden in genius places (I am of course referring to Geocaches – I highly recommend looking into Geocaches ⁽¹⁾,  if like me you like to have a purpose to your walk, other than simply walking).

Venturing a bit further than the University my partner and I took some time to explore Burleigh Woods. We followed the trail leading out from the Holywell end of the campus and found ourselves in a lovely woodland area. It has been years since I have explored that end of Loughborough. Our timing was perfect, the tranquility of the wood, the vibrancy of late spring meant there was plenty for us to see. We followed the wood round and peeked out towards the direction of the Priory, normally something I’d only ever see from the roadside.

Burleigh Woods

 

We continued full circle to find ourselves back at the Holywell conference centre. Eager for more “treasure” my partner insisted we continue across the A512, through the playground behind the Harvester [formerly the Sea Around Us] towards the Bluebell Line. When I think about it I really am ashamed I haven’t paid more attention to the history of my little hometown. To think a path I have walked many a time used to be a railway line! By this point my little legs were aching for a rest, much to my partner’s dismay. I promised him we’d return to locate any remaining treasure.

And return we did! Only this time we began our walk by retracing our steps down the path, beginning at the park on Garendon Road, our destination was Booth Wood, with of course plenty of stops for Geocaching. Booth Wood is another area I don’t think I’ve ever paid much attention to, but I’m glad I have now. The woodlands are beautiful, small and compact but encompassing and grand. We explored for a while and ventured on to find ourselves at the Obelisk! Now this was something I’d heard about, thanks Mum! A funny structure, with, as I understand it, the purpose of indicating grandeur and rank of the landowner. 

The Obelisk from Burleigh school playing fields

Having recently learned about the grounds on which the Obelisk was built it felt rather nice to turn my back to the Obelisk and absorb the landscape. A moment of reflection made me rather sad that this landscape would be, and is, changing somewhat with the ongoing building developments. Our walk brought us round to Nether Top Game farm, where we rested a moment and, yes you guessed it, searched for more treasure! If there was monetary value attached to the treasure, I’d surely be wealthy by now with all the treasure hunting I’ve done over the last few weeks. Satisfied with our finds, we continued on to Stonebow Bridge where we crossed the Blackbrook. By now I was definitely ready to return home!

My usual spots for outdoor exercise include the Outwoods, Charnwood Water and Beacon Hill. I have enjoyed visiting new areas, but that’s not to say I have neglected my favourite spots. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Outwoods (closed during initial lockdown period but “opened” up as rules changed) and observing the change in the surroundings. Ongoing work to reintroduce native trees meant that established non-native trees were felled, which I was initially saddened by, but the motivation seems reasonable. The Outwoods is perfectly spacious and full of lots of little nice spots to stop and observe, making it a perfect place to wander aimlessly.

The Outwoods

Our shorter walks have also enabled us to walk through and explore the local streets, and I’ve been able to reflect on how much Loughborough has changed just during my lifetime let alone across the many decades. Places I have taken for granted such as Queen’s Park and Lodge Farm (although I’m told I’m one of few who refer to it as Lodge Farm  ⁽²⁾), have provided some form of comfort knowing they’re still there and fairly tranquil in this unsettling time when the world is responding to a global pandemic.

Queen's Park during summer 2019

Disclaimer: it should be noted that hygiene precautions were taken when searching for Geocaches!

Footnotes

(1) Geocaches - an item, like a container which holds a number of other items, that has been hidden at a location whose coordinates have been posted on the Internet.

(2) Lodge Farm is the large grassy area off Outwoods Drive, and beside Brookfield Avenue and the Wood Brook, although its postal address is Oakley Drive, and is where I learned to ride my bike without stabilisers. 

About the author

Ursula Davis was born and brought up in Loughborough. She attended Pinfold Gate Day Nursery which was in the Warner School, followed by Holywell Primary School, Garendon High School and then Burleigh. After graduating from Reading University she continued her studies at Loughborough, gaining an MSc, and then went to work at UCAS. She is currently back in Loughborough, where she is studying for a PhD at the university. In her spare time Ursula enjoys power-lifting, cycling and socialising with her friends, as well as growing plants, and the odd bit of macrame!  

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2020). Life in locked down Loughborough. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2020/06/life-in-locked-down-loughborough.html [Accessed: 14 June 2020]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

If you wish to leave a comment, please do so in the comments box that appears below this blogpost. Alternatively, you can contact me via lynneaboutloughborough[at]gmail[dot]com.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne     

National Memorial Arboretum connections to Loughborough

I recently visited the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas Staffordshire. I hadn't really thought much about what I expected to see, but I was staggered by the size of the place, the thousands of people remembered in the memorials and their inscriptions, by the plaques to civilians, by the extent of the actual tree-planting, and the general poignancy of the place.

Of course, everywhere I looked and turned there were things that reminded me of Loughborough. Here's a few of the connections that struck me as I wandered around.

There were several mentions of Charnwood Forest and the aim of linking up with it:

The site was close to the River Trent and the River Tame, which reminded me of the River Soar and there were some lovely bridges:

There was also a working quarry nearby:

One of the first things I came across was mention of Loughborough's twin town, Epinal:

This was followed by a stunning lion statue: the connection here is perhaps a bit obscure, but it reminded me of the lions at Nelson's column, which was designed by William Railton who was also responsible for designing quite a number of buildings in and around Loughborough, including the Bavarian or Red Arch on the Garendon estate. There was also an obelisk-type memorial which reminded me of the one on the Garendon estate:

Next up was the memorial to the Richard Emmanuel Rendell, which reminded me of our own Rendell Street and school:

The shot at dawn memorial was heart-wrenching, and the name Beaumont stood out for me, as the name of former lords of the manor of Loughborough:

There was a bench with mention of Operation Herrick, the codename for British operations in the war in Afghanistan:

I was then reminded of the lady who used to live next door to me who was in the Women's Land Army:

There were also quite a number of memorials made of slate, though not of the Swithland variety:

Masons were also remembered:

Bells featured quite extensively at the NMA too:

And the memorial to the people of the Showman's Guild of Great Britain reminded me of our November fair, the last in the traveling season: 

Sadly, the memorial to the horses that had been killed during wartime was missing, but nonetheless it reminded me of Songster:

There were also extensive information boards relating to the work done at Bletchley Park, and mention of the 'Y' listening stations, of which nearby Beaumanor was one:

I can't easily ignore ironwork, so found the gates into this small memorial garden, quite beautiful:

And finally, the quote from W.H. Davies' poem, 'Leisure' is one close to my heart:

If you haven't yet visited, I would highly recommend it.

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2019). National Memorial Arboretum and connections to Loughborough. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2019/04/national-memorial-arboretum-connections.html [Accessed 21 April 2019]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne