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 yellow-amber traffic lights appeared along a short stretch of road (one mile to be exact). While commonplace now, at the time it was unique in Leicester. It is renowned for its authentic Indian restaurants, sari shops, and jewellers, and has been described as "the closest that Britain comes to an Indian bazaar". 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.

Famous quotes containing the words golden and/or mile:

    “Heaven has a Sea of Glass on which angels go sliding every afternoon. There are many golden streets, but the principal thoroughfares are Amen Street and Hallelujah Avenue, which intersect in front of the Throne. These streets play tunes when walked on, and all shoes have songs in them.”
    —For the State of Florida, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    “A man is murdered a mile away. And do you know what killed him? My name. The very name of Frankenstein burst his heart. And now the happy little villagers are clamoring for my blood.”
    —Willis Cooper, and Rowland V. Lee. Wolf von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone)