River Soar

The River Soar runs through the East Midlands in England. The river travels through Leicester into Nottinghamshire before joining the River Humber and then the North Sea.

Until the eighteenth century the River Soar was not navigable by boat as it is very shallow in depth. In 1784 the river became navigable by boat when the Grand Union Canal connected with it at Aylestone increasing its watershed and making it able to sustain travel by narrow boats.

Because of Leicesters once being a large business area for the textile industry the River Soar used to run with a slight pink colouring to it. Since the decline of the textile industry over the past four decades the water has lost this pink tint and increased in quality. Now the River Soar is a breeding ground for many different species of wildlife.

In the time before the Romans the river was called the River Leir and legend has it that the King Leir of Britain is buried in an underground tomb beneath the River Soar not far from Leicester city centre.

There is also another legend that when King Richard III met his demise at the Battle of Bosworth his body was bought back to Leicester and buried at Black Friars church. The legend goes on to say that some people exhumed his body and threw it into the River Soar in disgust at the fallen King, this is said to have been by St. Nicholas Circle on the bridge over the A47 by King Richard III Road.