The Rally

Tudor Road
The Rally is an unusual wedge of land sandwiched between the back gardens of terraced houses in Tudor Road and Bonchurch Street as well as being partly skirted by the Grand Union Canal.
How To Get There

History

The Rally was once part of the historic Leicester and Swannington Railway, the very first to be opened in the Midlands. John Biggs of the wealthy hosiery family got together with a number of likeminded people who saw the coming of steam as a new age. The group met at the Bell Hotel in Humberstone Gate in 1830 and came up with the idea to link the coalfields of Bagworth,
Nailstone, Ibstock, Ellistown, Desford and Snibston to Leicester. Robert Stevenson was contracted as chief engineer.

The elected Chairman was Clement Winstanley of Braunstone Hall and he remained in post until the Leicester and Swannington was dissolved and became part of the Midland Railway Company, sixteen years after its original conception.

The inaugural run, from West Bridge in Leicester to Bagworth, took place on 17th July 1832. The first engine was called ‘Comet’ and to get it to Leicester it had to be transported by sea and canal. The rolling stock had to be specially converted to take the 400 passengers. There was only one mishap, which occurred when the train’s chimney stack struck the roof of the newly constructed Glenfield Tunnel (the longest in England at that time, being one mile and thirty six yards long).

To cope with the increasing popularity of travelling by train, the new West Bridge passenger station was opened in 1893. However, the line reverted back to the transportation of coal and raw materials in 1928, when a dedicated passenger service was opened that offered more facilities.

Special Features
An interesting feature of the Park is an original signal standing beside a piece of track. This is left as a reminder of the Park’s historic past and recalls the days of steam when Leicester was amongst the first to utilise the new mode of transport.

The Forest Way cycle path is integrated into the park and there is a small nature area by the St Augustine’s Road entrance. There is also a paved seating area, a junior football pitch and a casual BMX trail.

 

 

Facilities include:

 

 

 

For further details please contact Sport On Parks 0116 233 3028

Access Information
There are access points from Fosse Road North, St Augustine’s Road, Tudor Road, Bonchurch Street and the Grand Union canal. On- street parking is available.
There are tarmac paths throughout the Park.
The Tudor Road, Bonchurch Street and St Augustine’s Road entrances are the most accessible for disabled users.

Parks Users
There is no User Group at present, so we would welcome enquiries from anyone interested in helping to set one up.  Contact the park for more details on telephone number 0116 254 8481

For more information contact: Parks Services