Loughborough (pronounced LUFF-burra, LUFF-bruh, or as the majority of the student population call it, lufbra) is the largest town in Leicestershire, England (the City of Leicester excluded), the population of the town in 2004 was assessed at 57,600.<ref>http://www.leics.gov.uk/index/your_council/about_leicestershire/statistics/research_info_population.htm</ref> It is the administrative centre for the Charnwood district and home to Loughborough University.

In 1841 Loughborough was the destination for the first ever package tour organised by Thomas Cook, for a local temperance group (see Temperance movement) from Leicester. The town has the world's largest bell foundry — John Taylor Bellfounders — who made the bells for the Carillon war memorial, a landmark in the town.

To the south of the town centre lies the Shelthorpe Estate - a large council estate which was the largest in the country when it was built in the 1920s and 1930s. On the edge of Loughborough to the north, Dishley Grange Farm was the home of agricultural revolutionist Robert Bakewell. The farm was once home to the annual Leicestershire County Show,

Loughborough has its own newspaper & guide, the Loughborough Echo & Loughborough Guide, but in common with many towns and villages in Leicestershire is also served by the Leicester-based Leicester Mercury.

Notable Loughborough natives include Albert Francis Cross, the journalist, author, poet and playwright who was born in Moor lane on May 9th 1863, as well as Bonnie Holt who appeared on the TV show Big Brother 2006.

1 Transport
2 Shopping
3 Recreation
4 University
5 Twinning
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Transport

[edit] Rail

Loughborough is serviced by Midland Main Line, with a station located on the eastern edge of the town. This line offers high-speed transportation to and from London. There were at one time three railway routes to the town: the still operating Midland line; the Great Central Railway which had its own Central station, closed as a result of the Beeching cuts; and a branch line from Nuneaton, part of the erstwhile London and North Western Railway.

The Great Central Railway line is now the terminus of the south section of the Great Central Steam Railway heritage railway; plans are in hand to reopen the line to the north and join the two sections.

[edit] Road

The M1's Junction 23 is about 2 miles (5km) west of the town. The north of the town can also be accessed from Junction 24, travelling through Kegworth and Hathern. Local bus services are operated by Arriva, Centrebus and Kinch Bus^{(Article is for the parent company)}

[edit] Waterways

The River Soar passes through the town in the form of the Loughborough Navigation, a canal which is part of the Grand Union Canal system.

[edit] Shopping

The centre of Loughborough's shopping area is the pedestrianised Market Place. A large outdoor market is held there every Thursday and Saturday, while a smaller flea market is held on Fridays and there is a monthly farmers' market. Major chains with shops in Loughborough include Tesco, J Sainsbury, Boots the Chemists, Thorntons and Argos.

'The Rushes' shopping centre has recently been built on the site of the former bus station and includes JJB Sports, M&S, Woolworths, TK Max and more recently Virgin Megastore. The Rushes is linked to the existing town centre area by the streets Churchgate & Churchgate Mews; the latter includes many individually styled boutiques, a beauty salon and one of Loughborough's more widely known retail outlets, The Left Legged Pineapple (an independent record shop).

[edit] Recreation

The local Rugby Union club, Loughborough RFC, play at the Derby Road playing fields. The club was formed in 1891.

Other sports teams include the non-league Loughborough Dynamo Football Club, and the Loughborough Aces (Collegiate American Football). There is also a netball league which plays at the Charnwood Leisure Centre. The town was also once the home of a professional football club, Loughborough F.C. who played in the Football League during the late 1800s.

The Great Central Railway is a preserved steam railway based at Loughborough Central Station just south of the town centre, and operates services every weekend throughout the year. This includes a Restaurant service served aboard the trains most weeks on Friday Evening*, Saturday Lunchtime and Evening+ and Sunday lunchtime, along with an Afternoon Tea service onboard the 3.15 pm departure. The railway provides a transport link to the villages of Quorndon, Woodhouse, Rothley, Swithland, Belgrave and Birstall. From May 'til September every year the railway connects with a Tour Bus at the Leicester North terminus which provides a link to places such as the National Space Centre, Abbey Pumping Station, Abbey Park, Leicester City Centre and Leicester London Road Railway Station. The railway provides a Griddle Car serving a wide variety of meals and refreshments onboard most services. Services run every Saturday and Sunday all year around using a fleet of Steam and Diesel Locomotives, and Diesel Railcars. The railway is renowned for being the only double track mainline steam railway in the United Kingdom.

In November, the annual street fair takes over the centre of the town and closes the A6 and numerous other roads to traffic. The fair runs from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday night, bringing visitors from Loughborough and surrounding villages, such as Quorndon, Mountsorrel, Barrow-upon-Soar and Sileby. The fair has many different rides for all age groups, amusement arcades, food stands and games. Popular treats to be had include brandy snaps, Grantham biscuits and mushy peas with mint sauce, along with the traditional burgers, hot dogs and chips.

Loughborough Town Hall is a venue for theatre as well as conferences and weddings. The 497-seat theatre recently underwent a £2.8 million refurbishment.

[edit] University

As of 2006, Loughborough University is increasing in prominence, mainly because of its academic success. In 2004 this institution was ranked 9th among all the British Universities by the prestigious Times' Good University Guide. In 2006 Loughborough University was ranked at an even higher overall position by the same guide: 6th.

The institution has also received important awards, such as the Queen's Anniversary Prize 2005. In the same year, Loughborough University also claimed joint first place (with Leicester University) in the first National Student Survey.