Loughborough

Loughborough's fortunes were built on engineering and textiles. Now, however, the largest employer is Loughborough University, this has a dramatic impact on the town. The 14,000 students account for around one in four of the town's population. This gives the town a younger profile than you might expect in term time but makes the place relatively quiet during the summer.

The university has a 437 acres (177 hectares) campus on the mostly residential western side of the town. The campus occupies a band running west from the ring road to the edge of town, splitting the northern estates from the Forest Side in the south-west. The eastern side of the town, close to the canal and the railway lines is generally older, includes the town centre and contains more of the town's industry and industrial heritage.

The university promotes itself as a centre of excellence for sport. It hosts facilities for a number of national associations including the headquarters of the Amateur Swimming Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) National Cricket Performance Centre. Loughborough provided the main camp for 'Team GB' in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics and the university's facilities were used by the Japanese Olympic team.

A major remodelling of the town centre in the 1930s means that large parts of the centre were built in Art Deco style and many of these building survive. Of note is the foyer of Reel Cinema.

• 🌍 The Sock. Market Place hosts the towns much criticised, but now much loved 'Sockman' statue. It's the work of Glaswegian artist Shona Kinloch and commemorates the once thriving hosiery industry within the town. 
• 🌍 The Carillon. Carillon Tower (universally mispronounced ca-ri-li-on) in Queen's Park is the town's war memorial and the outstanding landmark. The tower is open every afternoon plus Saturday and Thursday mornings from Good Friday to the end of September. The Carillon is a musical instrument of static bells played operated by a keyboard. Recitals are given on Thursdays lunchtimes and Sundays afternoons through the summer. 
• 🌍 Great Central Railway, Great Central Road, ☏ +44 1509 632323, sales@gcrailway.co.uk. A preserved steam mainline railway running on the old Great Central from Loughborough to Leicester North. 
• 🌍 John Taylor Bellfoundry Museum, Freehold Street, ☏ +44 1509 212241. collection of the world's largest working bell foundry. It may be possible to tour the foundry. Two hour tours of the foundry should be booked in advance. Visitors must wear flat, completely closed shoes. tour £12.50. (updated Jan 2022)
• 🌍 Charnwood museum, Granby Street, ☏ +44 1509 233754. The small Charnwood museum occupies the old swimming baths in the Queen's Park. It contains displays on the history and geology of the area and some of the current industrial base of the town along with temporary exhibits. 
• 🌍 Loughborough Carillon. Loughborough Carillon is a carillon and war memorial in Queen's Park, and is a well-known landmark, visible from several miles away. It is 152 feet (46 m) high. (updated Jan 2022)

• 🌍 Loughborough Meadows. always open. Loughborough Meadows is a 60.5 hectares (149 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Loughborough. An area of 35.3 hectares (87 acres) is managed as a nature reserve by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. Lapwings and redshanks breed in the area. free. (updated Jan 2022)

There is a twice-weekly market in central Market Place every Thursday & Saturday.

• 🌍 Fernandez Grillhouse, 7 High Street, ☏ +44 1509 262828. 

• 🌍 The Swan In The Rushes, 21 The Rushes, ☏ +44 1509 217014. 

• 🌍 Ramada Loughborough Hotel, High Street, ☏ +44 1509 233222. 
• 🌍 Premier Inn Loughborough Hotel, Southfield Road, LE11 9SA, ☏ +44 871 527 9314. 
• 🌍 The Hunting Lodge, 38 South St, Barrow upon Soar, ☏ +44 1509 412337. 

Notable beauty spots around Loughborough include:

To the west of the town: Garendon Park former deer park with limited public access but containing a number of Listed buildings and monuments such as the Temple of Venus. To the south-west of the town: Beacon Hill and the Outwoods and Jubilee wood which form the eastern edge of The National Forest.

To the south towards Leicester is Bradgate Park; a formerly royal deer park and home to Lady Jane Grey.