Golden Mile (Leicester)

The Golden Mile is a name given to a stretch of the Belgrave Road in Leicester, United Kingdom. The origin of the name is often, mistakenly, attributed to the many shops selling gold jewellery. In fact the name was first used in the late 1960s and early 1970s when a proliferation of traffic lights appeared along a short stretch of road.Fact|date=December 2007 Whilst commonplace now, at the time it was unique in Leicester. It is renowned for its authentic Indian restaurants, sari shops, and jewellers, [ [http://www.leicester.gov.uk/index.asp?pgid=4518 Leicester City Council - Shopping in Leicester ] ] and has been described as "the closest that Britain comes to an Indian bazaar". [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2000/10/16/etleics1.xml Leicester's regeneration - Telegraph ] ] This area of the city is also famous for its seasonal lights which combine to celebrate winter festivals including Diwali and Christmas. The Diwali celebrations in Leicester are focused on this area and are the largest outside India. [ [http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/england/leicester/history Leicester Travel Guide: History - Lonely Planet WorldGuide ] ]

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