> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# In Pursuit of Spring - Day Seven
- URL: https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/in-pursuit-of-spring-day-seven/
- Published: 2026-02-22T20:29:49.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-20T22:28:38.000Z
- Description: A journey (now complete) on my camper-van-camino from the Scottish Highlands to Cornwall. Each day, on this journey, I wrote a short post and produced a watercolour drawn from the day’s experiences.
- Author: Andy  Marshall
- Tags: In Pursuit of Spring, in pursuit of spring post, leicester, leicestershire, king richard iii, leicester cathedral

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/St.-Melengall-Aerial-2-1-1-1.jpg) 

## In Pursuit of Spring

****DAY SEVEN - 22 FEB 2026**

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5113-1.jpg)

**Visiting Leicester and the place where Richard III was found beneath a car park felt like a kind of pilgrimage to me - though not in the devotional sense. It was not about reverence, but about standing in one of those rare modern locations where conjecture gives way to evidence - where something long held in the mythical and the magical has, quite literally, conjured itself out of the earth beneath our feet.**

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5176-1.jpg)

The place where Richard III was found

Against all odds and against all expectations, the remains of Richard III were found in 2012 beneath a municipal car park on the site of the former Greyfriars friary. For centuries his place of burial had existed in the realm of conjecture - shaped by chroniclers, sharpened by Shakespeare, suspended somewhere between fact and fiction.

Then upon the instinctive inclination of a single woman, Philippa Langley - the Leicester City Council Social Services car park was excavated and almost at the first scrape of the tarmac - the bones of a single occupant - with a battered skull and curved spine - were discovered.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5163-1.jpg)

What is electrifying about visiting the burial location now is the building that has been constructed around it. Its geometry encapsulates the mysterious bounds of myth through a deliberate use of filtered light and sharpened line. Planes tilt and converge. The eye is drawn downwards - from abstraction to evidence - until it rests on the material facts beneath the floor: the muddy imperfection of a cut grave, edged by fragments of medieval tile. Nothing is embellished. All lines and filtered light lead to the material truth and the joyous relief of discovery.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5164-1.jpg)

The building, in this way, has become vocal. The observer becomes a participant in the story. Architecture here performs a powerful act by translating rumour into substance.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5171-1.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5175-1.jpg)

That certainty continues across the square inside Leicester Cathedral, where the Swaledale limestone tomb marking Richard’s re-interment carries its own gravity. The slab’s mass and restraint leave no doubt as to the transformation of fable into fact. Stone has a way of settling an argument.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5246-1.JPG)

Go and see them both. They are miraculous in that they teach us how the power of structure and form can reveal a concept or an idea. The trench and the tomb are two places that hold between them the movement from story to substance. At a time when so much feels provisional and endlessly revised, there is something delightfully restorative about standing before earth and limestone and knowing that they do not spin.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5282-1.jpg)

See the other posts from this journey:

[In Pursuit of Spring - Andy Marshall’s Genius Loci Digest![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/icon/Andy-264.png)Andy Marshall's Genius Loci DigestAndy Marshall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/thumbnail/DALL-E-2024-09-09-15.18.21---A-rectangular-watercolour-style-image-capturing-the-essence-of-the-Genius-Loci-Digest--but-with-more-saturated-colours.-In-the-background--a-classic-V-1-14.webp)](https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/tag/in-pursuit-of-spring/)

---

## Subscribe for free to Andy Marshall's Genius Loci Digest

Andy Marshall is documenting his travels in his time-travelling camper van 🚐📸🏛

Subscribe 

Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. 

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

****FIELD NOTES**

Weather: I think this is, perhaps the start of the start of spring - or a false spring? 14.5 degrees celsius. Yesterday - I came to a halting screech in a little village called Hough-on-Hill in Lincolnshire at the sight of some daffodils next to a lychgate with a green man on the fascia. They led me to a remarkable Saxon survival - more in a later digest. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5037-1.JPG)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_5284-1.jpg)

Observations: Saw the unmistakeable silhouette of a hare as I set off from Greetham at 0730 this morning. In Leicester, next to the Museum, I saw parakeets.

Total Miles Travelled: 1200 miles. 

****LINKS**

[Home - King Richard III Visitor CentreDiscover the incredible story of the king under the car park at the award-winning King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/icon/apple-touch-icon-16.png)King Richard III Visitor Centre![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/thumbnail/MG_0155.jpg)](https://kriii.com/?ref=digest.andymarshall.co)

---

Leicester Cathedral - [here](https://leicestercathedral.org/?ref=digest.andymarshall.co). 

---

****IN PURSUIT OF SPRING LOCATIONS MAP**

[Google MapsFind local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/icon/maps15_bnuw3a_32dp.ico)Google Maps![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/thumbnail/staticmap)](https://maps.app.goo.gl/ERnUNSbbxYfu7NYL8?ref=digest.andymarshall.co)

****WHATSAPP CHANNEL**

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/79C783E0-B456-44CE-9E1F-0270D5609955_1_105_c.jpeg)

[In Pursuit of SpringChannel • 0 followers • I’lm travelling upon my camper-van-camino the full length of Britain, from the Highlands of Scotland to the far reaches of Cornwall in February. Starts 16 Feb 2026\. Stay in touch with my journey here. Followers remain private.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/icon/ujTY9i_Jhs1-4.png)WhatsApp.com![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/thumbnail/An_p_d9fUSHPjffNdr_VXNPHsjxFaJ0sVgScMReUX8szSBN2TfSVs4kDs8MRJUaop3IONIy_PwVGp67rK5Pw7FZwZKghpS1L_VrZ4BfiLmuqT1QT2GzLdOilkx3GJc54cWKCTtRrDZDdMGfOXjBv-1)](https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBoig2DDmFRFeR0dY3B?ref=digest.andymarshall.co)

---

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/dji_fly_20230516_130726_955_1684238668097_aeb-1.jpeg) 

## Make a Donation Towards This Journey

Thank you ☺️

[Make a Donation](https://donate.stripe.com/3csg2Z3824YR0Lu9AF?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/IMG_4680--1--1.jpeg) 

## Become a Member

Ways of Seeing. Exclusive content. Deeper Insights. Discover more.

[Join Today](https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/in-pursuit-of-spring-day-one/#/portal/) 

****KIND WORDS**

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/02/74774818-8C3E-43A2-82D6-5F4646F3C9ED_1_105_c.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/01/St.-Margaret-5--1--1-1-1.jpg) 

## "That aura, those echoes-the muted light is transporting. What a space to feel rooted in history. I'd love to make that journey myself; you've stirred the opera lover and architectural dreamer in me."

@sonatasips via X

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/2026/01/IMG_1333-1.JPG) 

## "In reading & seeing Andy's work I always struggle to know which is more impactful - his writing or photos. In truth, the two combined are greater than their parts, he allows you to explore the importance of place and time from the comfort of home."

Peter from Bluesky

---

***This work is sustained by a small group of tier members who value time, care, and continuity. If that resonates, there’s a more immersive path you can step onto. Become a Tier Member:***

[Andy Marshall’s Genius Loci DigestAndy Marshall is documenting his travels in his time-travelling camper van 🚐📸🏛![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/icon/Andy-215.png)Andy Marshall's Genius Loci DigestAndy Marshall![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2e/b6/2eb6d776-18dd-41f1-a2d1-b76fa2d605be/content/images/thumbnail/Camper-2-4.jpg)](https://www.digest.andymarshall.co/loci-15/#/portal/)

---

Connect with me on: 

[Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/fotofacade.bsky.social?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) / [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/fotofacade/?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) /[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Fotofacade/) /[X](https://x.com/fotofacade?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) / [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fotofacade?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) / [Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/fotofacade/?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) / [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/fotofacade?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) / [Pixelfed](https://pixelfed.social/fotofacade?ref=digest.andymarshall.co) / [Pinterest](https://uk.pinterest.com/fotofacade/?ref=digest.andymarshall.co)