Viking Leicester (A Guided Walk in Leicester)
“Viking Leicester” is a Guided Walk devised and led by Colin Crosby, of Colin Crosby Heritage Tours, the Blue Badge Guide who organises walks and Coach Trips throughout the year.
These strolls are a most enjoyable way of soaking up some Local History.
This walk starts at the Town Hall.
“Viking Leicester” looks at the area settled by the Danish invaders. Leicester and the rest of the East Midlands, including Derby, Nottingham, Lincoln and Stamford, were under Danish control a thousand years ago.
The streets in Leicester which have the suffix “Gate” do not in fact refer to gateways. “Gate” is an old Danish word which simply means street. Other towns in the region, notably Derby, Nottingham, Loughborough, Newark – and even the tiny village of Diseworth, have similarly-named streets.
In Leicester, all the “Gate” streets are just outside the line of the town wall, showing Danish settlement close to, but not actually in, the town.
The walk includes these streets – Gallowtree Gate, Humberstone Gate, Belgrave Gate, Church Gateand Sanvey Gate, as well as St. Margarets Church, which may well be on the site of the Danes’ own church.
Dates, costs and where to meet
A place on 'Viking Leicester' costs £3.50 per person, or £2.50 if paying in advance. The guided walk begins at Clock Tower, and is running on:
I'm sorry, but there are no plans to run this event at present.
If you would like to book a place on one of these dates, please telephone Colin on (0116) 2611576 or email him at colin@crosbyheritage.co.uk.