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The Elephant Wash

The Elephant Wash is a historic slipway on the River Leam in Royal Leamington Spa, located near Jephson Gardens. The ramp leads directly down into the river and is still visible today, its retaining wall tucked behind a nearby electricity sub-station.

The site takes its name from a local tradition holding that circus and travelling elephants were regularly marched through the town centre in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and brought to this dedicated slipway to bathe in the Leam.

Whether the story is strictly factual remains debated, but the slipway itself is real, and the tale is celebrated with street art on the sub-station wall depicting a string of elephants.

A commemorative plaque on site references showman Sam Lockhart and the elephants associated with the location.


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