<<h2>About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breath taking view. It's a distraction for the weary traveller, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found at the SideTracked Website
About MINI SideTracked - Stapleford Park Station
The 6th Earl objected to a proposal in 1844 to run the Syston and Peterborough Railway through Stapleford Park along the course of the River Eye. Its construction would threaten the struggling Oakham Canal, of which he was a shareholder. The dispute led to a series of brawls and confrontations between the Earl's men and canal employees on one side and the railway's surveyors on the other with up to 300 involved in each skirmish. The dispute has been called the "Battle of Saxby".[5]
Eventually the railway ran around Stapleford Park in what is known as "Lord Harborough's Curve". The tight bend was a nuisance for the express trains, and later when the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway built a branch to Saxby, the opportunity was taken to reduce the curve, with Saxby station being moved in the process. Lord Harborough had died in the meantime and the estate had been bought by Lord Gretton, who was more sympathetic to the railway.
In 1958, the Stapleford Miniature Railway was constructed by the 2nd Lord Gretton in the parkland, as part of a public attraction which also included a lion reserve. The park and house became a major tourist attraction through the 1960s and 70s. The park though closed in 1982 and the house was sold to become an exclusive country hotel. The railway and parkland, however, are still owned by the Gretton family, and open for charity a few times a year.