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Wednesday 12 August 2015

Leamington Aldi rather than Spar!

We woke up to a gorgeous day and the light through the trees made it look magical. The night before we watching to see if we could see any of the meteor shower but it was still too light. However we did see the space station go overhead. We had seen it a couple of days ago but this was much clearer.

Looking back towards Radford Bottom Lock.

We left at out more usual time of near to 1000 and headed on towards Leamington. The canal was initialy through nice countryside and then got into the suburbs.

It was by the suburbs that we spotted several trees laden with plums etc. I nearly carried on but temptation got the better of me and I stopped. I couldn't get near the side but was just able to get close enough to jump ashore. I then got Helen close enough to hold the boat alongside whilst I picked the fruit. In the end I managed to collect about 6 lbs of yellow mirabelles and 6lb of bullaces. I will be busy over the next couple of days, but it is supposed to be raining.

We moored up by Bridge 40 by lunchtime and then walked into town. The canal goes through the old town. Before the spa was built this was the main town. This is Bath Street and is named after the bath houses that were originally over this side of the River Leam. The railway goes over the road making me think of a London street scene. The Regency theme is already starting here.

All Saints Church has these lovely carvings on the front. In front of the church was a pool of brine but it wasn't allowed to be utilised. The first baths were on the other side of the road.

The Royal Pump Rooms were built later on the north side of the river that was rough ground at that time. With the discovery of the cure speculators started to develop the land into the place that you see today. The pump room was built and now has a mueum and art gallery too.

Opposite the Pump Room is Jephson's Gardens. The gardens were laid out in 1831 and were known as Newbold Pleasure Gardens. The building is the South Lodge. The gardens were renamed Jephson's Gardens after a Doctor Jephson who was almost single handedly responsible for promotion of Leamington as a spa town. 

As we passed work men turned on the fountain. It is the Hickman Fountain, named after the philanthropist in 1869. Hickman undertook much of the work of building the park up using unemployed people as the labour force to provide them with an income.

Leamington Town Hall was opened in 1884 and was the second town hall built as the town grew. The statue of Queen Victoria was actually shifted on the plinth when a stick of bombs fell in the area in 1940.

This is the Parade which has some very nice shops. It also was the Regency style balconies. All the buildings are brick but covered with stucco for effect.

The town seems to have two sides. By the canal, the old town, the style is small narrow streets that are higgldy piggldy as in a place that has grown up unplaned and the new part to the north of the River Leam that was planned and and developed almost over a couple of decades with wide streets and big house terraces. We went on a guided walk this evening and had a walk round the NW of the town which took us to parts we otherwise would not have seen. There is a leaflet for a walk round the old town that we will get tomorrow so that we can get the full picture of the place.



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