Leicester's Parks

By public transport: Leicester is comprehensively served by public transport.

[1] From the Clock Tower head along East Gates, the pedestrianised street with the Highcross Shopping Centre on your right.  Continue along keeping the shopping centre to your right and bearing right where the road forks, with Silver Street heading off to the left.  Continue along High Street to where it opens out into St Nicholas Place, then keep on to the junction with Vaughan Way. Cross over Vaughan Way at the pedestrian crossings to reach St. Nicholas Church. Go left round St. Nicholas Circle with the Holiday Inn on your left, then veer right into St. Augustine Road, and almost immediately immediately cross over at the pedestrian crossing to reach the entrance to Castle Gardens (A).Go through the entrance and keep to the right along the footpath with the Grand Union Canal on your right until you reach the exit gates. 

[2] As you exit the park, turn left.  Continue straight along this road, (The Newarke) until you reach the pedestrianised area of Magazine Square, adjacent to the De Montfort University buildings.  Aim towards the Magazine Gateway that you can see straight ahead of you as you walk along Magazine Square. At the pedestrian crossing to the right of the Magazine, cross over the main road (Oxford Street) and keep to the right hand side of Newarke Street directly ahead of you, taking care when crossing over Upper Brown Street.  Follow the road round as it makes a sharp right turn (Welford Road), where there is a pelican crossing.  Cross over onto the island by the statue then cross right to reach the council offices (The New Walk Centre).  Go left then first right into New Walk (B). Keep on down New Walk, crossing over King Street, passing the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery then crossing over Waterloo Way.

[3] Carry on along New Walk, crossing over De Montfort Street at the pedestrian crossing and walking past the Oval. Cross over University Road at the pedestrian crossing into Upper New Walk and continue until it ends at Granville Road. As you emerge from New Walk, cross over Granville Road at the pelican crossing, walk straight ahead across Victoria Park (C) car park onto a footpath with the Pavilion on your left.  Just after the pavilion fork left onto a long straight footpath lined with an avenue of trees (parallel to London Road).  Keep walking straight along this footpath until the footpath turns right (parallel to Victoria Park Road).  Keep walking straight ahead along this footpath until you come to another tree-lined footpath on your right with bollards at its entrance. Turn right onto this footpath and keep walking straight ahead until you reach Victoria Park War Memorial (D). Just past the War Memorial turn right onto a broad roadway to reach De Montfort Hall (E).

[4] Retrace your footsteps until you come to a downward facing footpath opposite the War Memorial (the Peace Walk).  Go through the gates and walk straight ahead down the Peace Walk until you come to University Road (F) University of Leicester. Cross over University Road into Lancaster Road at the pedestrian crossing, keeping to the right hand side footpath. Head straight along Lancaster Road, crossing over De Montfort Street then Tigers Way at the pedestrian crossing then West Street. Where the road bends right into Newtown Street keep on down the path with Nelson Mandela Park (G) on your left and the walls of Leicester Prison on your right.

[5] At the end of the footpath, turn right along Welford Road and past the entrance of Leicester Prison (H). Walk straight ahead along Welford Road, taking care crossing over Tower Street, Regent Road (by the pelican crossing), Mill Street and Marlborough Street until you come to Leicester City Council offices on your right. Follow round right into Welford Place.  Cross over Wellington Street at the pedestrian crossing into Belvoir Street. 

[6]  Go next left up Bowling Green Street then first right into Bishop Street.and keep on to reach Town Hall Square.  Cross over Bishop Street into the Square.  Keep on past the Town Hall (I) into Horsefair Street. Go right to Granby Street / Gallowtree Gate. Cross left over the pedestrian crossing and keep on along Gallowtree Gate until you reach our destination, the Clock Tower.

(A) In 2013, Castle Gardens, together with many other Leicester City parks won the 'Green Flag Award'.  Situated alongside the busy St. Nicholas Circle, Castle Gardens provide formal peaceful gardens adjacent to the site of Leicester's Castle.  The area around Leicester Castle is a scheduled Monument of major importance and includes Castle View and the Castle Yard, plus parts of Castle Street and Castle Gardens.  The Magazine Gateway is detached, but the whole area is now officially defined as a single monument. http://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council-services/lc/parks-green-spaces/local-parks/castlegardens

(B) New Walk is a late 18th century urban public walk, extending for 1,100 metres, developed in the 19th century with residences and some public buildings.  Originally known as Queen's Walk, New Walk was laid out in 1785 by Leicester Corporation as a pedestrian way connecting the town from the area of Welford Place with the racecourse (now Victoria Park) to the south east. http://www.leicestergov.uk/your-council-services/ep/planning/conservation/historic-parks-and-gardens/new-walk

(C) Victoria Park is a public park of 69 acres.  It is in the south east, just outside Leicester city centre, backing onto the University of Leicester and close to Leicester railway station.  The park was historically part of the South Fields of Leicester, and was used from 1806 to 1883 as a racecourse.  It was opened in 1882.  Leicester Fosse (who later became Leicester City Football Club) played here on various occasions between 1884 and 1890.

(D) The War Memorial, a quadriffons arch, was designed by Edwin Lutyens and built in 1923 to commemorate the dead of the First World War.  The memorial, a Grade I listed building, stands at the top of an ornamental walkway ('Peace Walk') with gates (also designed by Lutyens) opening onto University Road.

(E) De Montfort Hall is a music and performance venue and is named after Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.  The hall was built by the Corporation of Leicester in the early 20th century and was finished in 1913 costing £21,000.  The architect was Shirley Harrsion (1876-1961) son of Stockdale Harrison architect of Vaughan College.

Its indoor auditorium seating capacity is approximately 2000.  The hall features in Grey Owl (film) in a real life enactment of director Richard Attenborough and his brother David Attenborough. 

(F) The university has established itself as a leading research-led university and has been named University of the Year 2008 by the Times Higher Education.  It has a vision of becoming an established top ten university by 2015.  The university is most famous for the invention of Genetic Fingerprinting and for the discovery of the remains of King Richard III

(G) On Friday 1st August 2007, the local council held 'Nelson Mandela Sports Festival', as a celebration of 21 years of the park having held the name.  At the event 21 trees were planted to mark the 21 years of the park and the 21 wards of Leicester.  The event was filmed so it could be given to Nelson Mandela himself to watch.

(H) HM Prison Leicester is a local men's prison, located in the Southfields area of Leicester.  The term 'local' means that the prison holds people on remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced prisoners.  Leicester Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service and is situated immediately north of Nelson Mandela Park, a sign of which quotes Nelson Mandela: 'There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere'.

The prison was designed by William Parsons to resemble a castle.  The oldest part dates from 1825 and it opened in 1828.  The gatehouse including the adjoining building to the north and south, and the perimeter wall are grade II listed.  Between 1900 and 1953, 8 executions took place at the prison.  The last was that of John Reynolds, convicted of the murder at Leicester Assizes and hanged on November 17, 1953.

(I) The town hall was built on the former cattle market between 1874 and 1876 in Queen Anne style by Francis Hames.  Before it was built, the Guildhall acted as the town hall.

Leicester Town Council accepted on 29th October 1878, 'a handsome ornamental fountain to be placed in the centre of the land fronting the Town Hall Buildings' which was a gift to the Borough from Israel Hart, a former Mayor of Leicester.  It is constructed of bronze-painted cast iron, Shap granite and Ross of Mull granite.  Frances Hames, the architect of the town hall also designed the layout of Town Hall Square and the fountain which was unveiled by Sir Israel Hart on 28 September 1879.  There is an identical fountain at Portoli, Portugal.