Mountsorrel station took some finding. I imagined it down in the valley somewhere near the River Soar, but it was a long way from the village and up a hill.
On the way I passed Mountsorrel Quarry, the largest granite quarry in Europe. There turned out to be a public footpath heading off into it, with the result that I was able to take these photographs.
The vehicles reminded me of Tonka Toys or an episode of Thunderbirds.
The pink Mountsorrel granite is rather lovely and very distinctive. Kerbs made from it are gradually being phased out in Leicester, but you also see them in other cities (for instance Birmingham).
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that we only seem to use Chinese granite now. I've been told that the Chinese stuff is much softer and hence easier to cut than the Mountsorrel granite, which is so hard that it can only be riven. Consequently, the majority of our local granite is chipped and ends up underneath roads, which seems a shame to me.