[1] Leave the college campus onto Belgrave Gate. Turn left and go to the traffic island.
[2] Bear left onto Abbey Park Road and continue to the bridge over the Grand Union Canal.
[3] Turn left just past the bridge and take either the steps or the slope onto the canal towpath. Turn left and take the path to walk under Abbey Park road. Continue along the towpath for nearly 1 kilometre to eventually cross the canal using Swans Nest Bridge. Turn left to walk past the North Lock and continue forward to the pedestrian suspension footbridge.
(A) Note the old factory buildings on the right. These were at the heart of Leicester's prosperity in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is also a view of the 1910 factory chimney of the Leicester clothes manufacturer Wolsey. This large concern was named in honour of Cardinal Wolsey - King Henry VIII's chief adviser who died in Leicester in 1530 and is buried in Abbey Park.
(B) Belgrave Lock (North Lock) 44 is the start (or finish!) of the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal which runs from London to Birmingham and gave Leicester access to markets in major cities such as Birmingham, London and Manchester. At the start one of the most important commodities carried was coal from the East Midlands coalfields. The canal, opened in the early 19th century, avoids the weirs and races of the River Soar. The canal was instrumental in helping Leicester to benefit and profit from the Industrial Revolution.
The towpath is quite narrow and in places is a little uneven. Take care and walk in single file to avoid the edge of the towpath. There are some overhanging brambles in places which should be avoided. Beware of cyclists.
[4] Cross over the bridge and turn left along the path. Bear right just before the footbridge on the left. Continue onto Corporation Road past the Abbey Pumping Station on the left.
(C) Abbey Pumping Station was opened in 1891. It used four Leicester built beam steam engines to pump millions of litres of the city's sewage to the treatment works in Beaumont Leys. Three of the engines have been restored and can regularly be seen in action. After it closed in 1964 it became Leicester's Museum of Science and Technology showcasing the industrial history of the city. It is open to the public and is free entry.
[5] Turn left onto Wallingford Road and continue past the Abbey Pumping station towards the Space Centre.
(D) The National Space Centre, by the river, is a Millennium Project which opened in 2001. It is the UK's largest visitor attraction devoted to space and space exploration. It is a registered charity and receives no government funding. It hosts a planetarium and a Russian Soyuz space rocket. There a six galleries with exhibits of space exploration, near earth objects, the universe, the planets and much more.
[6] Turn left between the Abbey Pumping Station and the Space Centre and take the path to the River Soar. Turn right and continue with the river on your left.
Take care on this riverside path. Keep away from the edge and beware of cyclists.
[7] Cross Abbey Park Road at the pedestrian crossing and turn left to return to the College by the way you came.