The town is one of six in Leicestershire going for the £3 million prize
Loughborough is the latest Leicestershire town to throw its hat into the ring(Image: Loughborough University)
Towns across the country are entering their bids to become the UK Town of Culture 2028 and Loughborough has become the sixth in Leicestershire to throw its hat into the ring.
The winning town will get £3 million from the Government to put on various events to showcase their unique cultural story with the aim of attracting more visitors and boosting civic pride.
The latest bid, led by Loughborough University and Charnwood Borough Council, involves various community groups and education organisations and Loughborough will have to compete against five other local towns – Market Harborough, Coalville, Ashby, Hinckley and Melton.
And what’s so special about Loughborough? The town has a lot going for it.
I’ve visited it dozens of times during my 22 years in Leicestershire, including a few weeks working in the Leicester Mercury’s office there, back in the days when it existed.
Apart from Leicester, it was always the place I preferred to be, as a reporter. There’s always a lot going on.
While a lot of the ‘Best Places to Live’ accolades normally go to Market Harborough – which I’ve always found to be a lovely place for a day’s shopping or a pub crawl – I’d argue that Loughborough just has more going for it.
The students from the university and Loughborough College help make the town feel vibrant and youthful compared to other towns in the county. During term time there’s no end of sports events and university union things going on.
With all the sport-based courses the university is famous for, it’s not surprising to see lots of young people running around the streets of the town.
Sports aside, the town has Queen’s Park with its landmark carillon tower, which includes a delightfully pokey military history museum on the upstairs floors. In my opinion, it’s the best town park in the county.
The town has a lot of history, too. Opened in 1859, the John Taylor Bellfounders has made about 25,000 bells that can be found in about 100 countries around the globe.
It made the biggest bell in St Paul’s Cathedral in London and also once made a 2,000lb bell for the Australian metal band AC/DC. It is the last remaining working bell foundry in the country.
There’s also the Brush Electrical Machines factory and the town’s market is probably the best in the county now that Leicester’s has been moved and compacted.
And while Thomas Cook was based in Leicester when he organised his first ever day trip, the location was Loughborough.
There’s also the main railway station, which sits on the East Midlands Main Line, and The Great Central Railway station to the south of the town.
Then there’s the Grand Union Canal which – unlike most of the stretch of the canal through central Leicester – has always seemed to me to be a nice place for a lunchtime stroll.
The canal is in the heart of the town and a great place for a lunchtime stroll(Image: Google)
While the town centre isn’t exactly a mecca for shoppers – the less said about Carillon Court the better – the shopping streets have a lot of character and a lot going on.
Culturally, there’s always a lot happening, with Loughborough Town Hall hosting all kinds of theatre, live music and art events.
And places to visit around the town include Charnwood Museum, Burleigh’s Gin Distillery and plenty of nice old buildings like All Saints Church, The Old Rectory and The Great Hall.
Just outside the town, there’s a lot of natural beauty with Charnwood Forest – including Beacon Hill Country Park, where my parents used to take us for a scramble on the rocks when my sister and I were young.
The Sockman statue is utterly bizarre but he’s always smiling
Then there’s also Outwoods and Jubilee Wood just to the west of the town, plus Swithland Woods and Bradgate Park not far to the south.
And last but not least, is there any sculpture or work of art elsewhere in Leicestershire that can compete with the bizarre Sockman – a dumpy bronze man sitting on a bollard, grinning and showing off his single sock? His weird smile says it all.