'''Loughborough''' is a market town in Leicestershire.

Understand

Loughborough' fortunes were built on engineering and textiles. Now however the largest employer is Loughborough University, this has a dramatic impact on the town. The 14000 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.

Get in

By air

East Midlands Airport is 7 miles north-west of Loughborough.

By train

Loughborough is served by East Midland Trains travelling from London to Sheffield and London to Nottingham and by Cross Country Trains to Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, and Birmingham. Loughborough's railway station is approx 1 mile north-east of the town centre.

By road

Loughborough sits on the main A6 road between Leicester and Derby and adjacent to the M1 motorway (at junction 23).

By bicycle

Loughborough is on National Cycle Route 6.

By water

The soon to be refurbished Loughborough Wharf at the northern edge of the town centre links to the Grand Union Canal.

Get around

By bus

The main bus services within the town are provided by Kinchbus. Services to surrounding areas are provided by Arriva, Trent Barton, South Notts, Centrebus & Paul Winson.

See

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.

Market Place hosts the towns much criticised, but now much loved 'Sockman' statue. The statue's official title is 'The Sock'. It's the work of Glaswegian artist Shona Kinloch and commemorates the once thriving hosiery industry within the town.

The Carillon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 itself is an musical instrument of static bells played operated by a keyboard. Recitals are given on Thursdays lunchtimes and Sundays afternoons through the summer.

Do

The Great Central Railway is a preserved steam mainline railway running on the old Great Central from Loughborough to Leicester North.

John Taylor Bellfoundry Museum - collection of the world's largest working bell foundry. It may be possible to tour the foundry. Pre-booking advised.

The second week of November brings the annual fair to the very centre of the town filling the Market place and surrounding streets for four days.

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.

Buy

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

Drink

Sleep

Get out

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; formerly royal a deer park and home to Lady Jane Grey.