Hail to the Hive!

The first time we passed through Royal Leamington Spa we only got off the boat to do a grocery shop but this time I had an afternoon to spare so thought I'd grab my camera and go for a wander.

Coffee First Though!

The bridge just beyond where we had moored the boat leads into the town centre so it shouldn't be to difficult to find my way.

Within minutes I find myself among an array of barber shops and Tattoo parlours. My kind of area.

and I do like that bike! Very nice.

All Saints Church was right next to this area built in a gothic style in the 1800's

adds a bit of class to the neighbourhood.

Just around the corner from all saints there were a few parks to relax in.

It's always nice to have these spaces in an urban setting and I think it does a lot to relax people who live and work in an urban area.

I liked the gates to this park so decided as I only had an afternoon I'd take a wander around this one.

Such a beautiful park with lots of things of interest to see. Whats that inside there?

Ahh it's a memorial statue to the man the park is named after.

He apparently believed in the health giving prperties of the local mineral water it says below..

I've never rally understood why in the UK there are so many sun dials seeing as how the sun is very rarely showing itself in this country.

Talk about a useless, yet beautiful, time piece.

Show yourself sun! I need to know the time, I could be late for an important meeting!

I chose another exit to the park to make my way back to the canal and at each turn in leamington Spa there is beautiful architecture and engineering.

Apparently these locks symbolise peoples relationships. It's a practice I have seen on other bridges around the world.

Writing your names on the locks, locking it to the bridge.....

and then throwing the key into the water below.

Time to head back to the boat but I couldn't resist taking a shot of the lovely graffiti boards in juxtaposition to the beautiful architecture of a time gone by. The old and the new fused by the waterside.

I think I will return to Royal Leamington Spa and explore further when we pass this way in the near future. It has caught my attention and is a lovely place that I have barely scratched the surface of