We
were lying in bed discussing what to do today when Ferndale went passed on her
way to the Hatton flight. There was a
mad waving session and then they cruised away.
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| A strange house at Cape of Good Hope |
We
decided that, as we have already done Warwick, we would go back to Leamington
Spa and have a look round there. Another
reason to go there was to go to the Carphone Warehouse as Richard lost his
phone yesterday. On inspection of the
pockets in his jeans I discovered a hole which looked rather like a dog chew
shape!! He had already cancelled the phone
but we needed to sort out something new.
The contract with Vodafone is coming to an end and as suddenly there is
no Vodafone signal at home he is going to change to O2. Richard only wants a bog standard phone
(nothing smart for him) but the shop in Leamington didn’t have one in stock so
we have decided to order one on line which we will get delivered the day after
we get home.
We
did the two Warwick locks then headed to Leamington Spa, formally known as
Leamington Priors. Neither of us had
been before and we were pleasantly surprised.
 |
| Royal Pump Rooms and Baths |
In
1814, the Royal Pump Rooms and Baths were opened close to the River Leam. This
grand structure attracted many visitors, expecting cures by bathing in pools of
salty spa water. It also included the world's first gravity fed piped hot water
system in modern times, which was designed and installed by the engineer
William Murdoch. Leamington became a
popular spa resort attracting the wealthy and famous, and construction began of
numerous Georgian townhouses to accommodate visitors, and a town hall was built
in 1830. With the spread of the town's
popularity, and the granting with a 'Royal' prefix in 1838 by Queen Victoria,
'Leamington Priors' was renamed 'Royal Leamington Spa'. Queen Victoria had
visited the town as a Princess in 1830 and as Queen in 1858. A statue of Queen Victoria was almost
destroyed by a German bomb during World War II, and was moved one inch on its
plinth by the blast.
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| Fountain in Jephson Gardens |
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| A friendly squirrel |
We
walked through Jephson Gardens. These
were first laid out in 1831 as informal riverside walks along the River Leam. The original Newbold Gardens were developed
into formal pleasure grounds after 1846 in honour of Dr Henry Jephson, who had
promoted the town as a spa. It is listed as Grade II on the English Heritage
register of historic parks and gardens. Like
many parks, Jephson Gardens fell into slow decline after World War II. It was
restored by Warwick District Council in the early 2000s thanks to a Heritage
Lottery Fund grant of over £3 million. There
used to be a large copper beech tree near the clock tower which was diagnosed
with a root rotting fungal disease and had to be felled. The tree was one of
the first trees planted in Jephson Gardens approximately 160 years ago. Graham
Jones, a local sculptor, was commissioned to carve the remaining 3 metre tree
base with a timeline highlighting dates and events which occurred during the
trees lifetime. Each date and image are carved into the tree growth ring which
corresponds to the year.
 |
| The carved copper beach |
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| New carvings from an oak tree |
Across
the river from Jephson Gardens is the Elephant Wash this was specifically
constructed in the 19th Century so that circus elephants in winter
quarters in Leamington could be watered.
 |
| The elephant wash |
After
our wander round Leamington we returned to Mary H and set off back out into the
country and moored up by Radford Semele.
We were just under the church clock which struck the hour and I was
rather worried that it would keep us awake but it didn’t.
Cape
of Good Hope to Radford Semele
5.50
miles
2
locks
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