Hello History Adventurers! Welcome to the first episode of the London History Trail Podcast! Today we're travelling to Springbank Park, where you can walk the Thames Valley Parkway to see Springbank landmarks such as the commemorative plaque of the Victoria Steamboat Disaster, the Springbank Express miniature train, and Storybook Gardens! Be sure to download the podcast before you walk the London History Trail so you can listen while you're walking, biking, or jogging along the Thames Valley Parkway, or relaxing at Springbank Park!

Check out our Social Media!

Anchor Podcasts: https://anchor.fm/sydney-rossi/episodes/Episode-1-Springbank-Park-eu7u9d

Instagram: @london.on.history.trail

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd9aD1IOp33IXW9zXte5dbQ

Locations: 

Sinking of the Victoria Plaque: Just before the entrance of the Greenway Off-Leash Dog Park, Greenside Ave at Springbank Drive, London, ON. Coordinates: 42.97581,-81.28431

Storybook Gardens and Springbank Express: 1958 Storybook Ln, London, ON N6K 4Y6 

Sources: 

Brown, Vanessa, and Jason Dickson. London: 150 Cultural Moments. Windsor, Ontario: Biblioasis, 2017.

“Changing Landscapes: London Parks.” Museum of Ontario Archaeology, February 8, 2018. https://archaeologymuseum.ca/changing-landscapes-london-parks/.

The City of London. Home, 2021. https://www.storybook.london.ca/.

The City of London. “Thames Valley Parkway (TVP).” City of London, 2020. https://london.ca/thames-valley-parkway-tvp.

Daniszewski, Hank. “Popular Attraction Undergoes Several Changes as Part of a Rebranding.” lfpress.com London Free Press, June 4, 2014. https://lfpress.com/2014/06/04/popular-attraction-undergoes-several-changes-as-part-of-a-rebranding.

Fillmore, Stanley. “The Morgue That Sailed From Springbank.” Maclean's, May 28, 1955. https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1955/5/28/the-morgue-that-sailed-from-springbank.

Gilbert, Jim, and Lisa Gilbert. “Gilberts: Slippery the Seal Was a Superstar in 1958.” chathamdailynews.com Chatham Daily News, February 5, 2021. https://www.chathamdailynews.ca/opinion/columnists/gilberts-slippery-the-seal-was-a-superstar-in-1958.

Kossuth, Robert S. “Spaces and Places to Play.” Ontario History 97, no. 2 (2005): 160–242. https://doi.org/10.7202/1065881ar.

Locorum London. “Springbank Park.” Locorum, January 7, 2021. https://locorum.ca/latest-news/places/springbank-park/.

Morden, Pat. Putting down Roots: a History of London's Parks and River. St. Catharines, Ont.: Stonehouse Publications, 1988.