We pass locations associated with Leicester's real-life legend Joseph Merrick, better known by his stage name - The Elephant Man.

Open Streets – On the Trail of Joseph Merrick in Victorian Leicester

Sunday 27 September at 12:45pm

Starting near the Bike Park in Town Hall Square, city centre.

Up to 90 minutes, steady pace. Around 1.5 miles.

Join us on the trail of Joseph Merrick in Victorian Leicester. We pass locations in the city where Joseph lived and worked, prior to adopting his stage name 'The Elephant Man'. We reveal a little about the life of this remarkable man. This is a repeat of the walk we first led in 2022. This walk is part of the Open Streets event. Information about the pace of our walks, what to wear/bring, the weather and much more can be found on our City Council Group Walks page.

Walk booking information

Please book via Eventbrite. Alternatively, phone 0116 454 2860 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm). We regret our phone line is not staffed at weekends or bank holidays. Booking is required for adults, but not required for children (under 16). Children are welcome, but must be accompanied by an adult.

If you are no longer able to attend, please cancel via Eventbrite or contact us by phone so we can allow others the opportunity to attend.

Travel to the walk

Buses serve Leicester city centre. To help plan your journey try the Choose How You Move Journey Planner tool. Please consider travelling sustainably (bus, cycle or walk) where possible. Bus travel information - including routes, timetables, fares and tickets - is available on the Choose How You Move Public Transport pages. You can now pay bus fare via "tap on" and "tap off" with a preferred contactless payment method. The system will cap all fares at the best value adult ticket.

New Walkers

If you have not walked with Leicester City Council before we will ask you to complete our Walker Registration form. You will receive an email in the days leading up to the event with information about registration. You only need to complete our New Walker form once and can attend any of our walks thereafter (subject to booking a place on Eventbrite). Paper copies will be made available at the walk. The form is for adults only, children are not required to complete it.

Dress for the weather

Remember to dress appropriately for the weather. Our group walks will go ahead in most weather. We recommend the following:

Comfortable sturdy footwear

Bring a raincoat or umbrella in case of rain

On cooler days wear appropriate layers and a coat/jacket

On warmer days a sunhat and sunscreen are recommended.

Please bring a bottle of water with you.

Group size

We kindly ask walkers to book their place, so we can keep our group size manageable.

Self-guided routes

If you have been unable to book onto one of our group walks, or you prefer to explore with your family or friends, self-guided routes are available to download from the routes page of our Choose How You Move website or via the Go Jauntly smartphone app. For other ideas, do check out our Walk Inspiration page which features walk videos and quiz trails. Enjoy exploring Leicester this autumn.

Description supplied by the event organiser.