Since Roman times transport routes have crossed the area of the site; a Roman road running from Leicester to Chester has been traced at Moira and Normanton le Heath and from this we can deduce that it probably crossed the Golf Course and eastern part of the site near Willesley Woodside (see 1970 aerial photograph for possible evidence of the line it took). For more detail see the Appleby Magna History site.
Through the Middle Ages road links existed to Burton and Leicester; packhorse
transport was used to carry coal and wood to Leicester Abbey, which owned
land at Oakthorpe and Donisthorpe. During the Industrial Revolution coal mining
on a larger scale required more efficient bulk transport. The Ashby canal
was constructed with a large U-bend between Oakthorpe and Donisthorpe in order
to visit Oakthorpe Colliery where a basin and passing places were incorporated;
here it passes the western boundary of the site.A proposal to extend the canal
eastwards from Willesley Basin via Ashby to the lime quarries at Ticknall
and Cloud Hill did not succeed and was superseded by a horse-drawn railway
(or tramway); this crossed the site from Willesley crossroads (along the line
of the present footpath) to the Willesley Basin on the west side;
the canal opened in 1798 and the tramway was completed in 1802. In addition
to coal and lime for iron and steel production the canal and tramway were
also used to transport water from Moira to Ashby for the spa baths in the
early nineteenth century, before the railway reduced transit time. Traces
of the tramway can still be seen along the roadside between Willesley and
Ashby. Canal transport suffered during the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries as first rail and then road transport provided quicker door-to-door
transport. By the Second World War the canal was in disrepair and eventually
closed and was filled in between Snarestone and Moira. With the advent of
tourism due to the new National Forest in the area since 1990 a section of
the canal has been re-opened at Moira and plans are in place for the remaining
8 miles to be re-built. This could herald a new dawn for the Willesley site
and Oakthorpe Colliery Picnic Site as a major visitor attraction in the future.
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© Ian Retson 2002.
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February 10, 2003
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