Great Leighs once had a lion's head over the outlet. In 2008, Great Leighs became home to the first new racecourse in 80 years, when the nearby Essex County Showground was converted into a state-of-the-art horse-racing venue. Great Leighs Racecourse held its first race meeting on 20 April 2008 and staged its first meeting fully open to the public from 28 to 29 May 2008. However, the course had its temporary licence revoked on 16 January 2009 and did not seen racing again unto 11 January 2015. Great Leighs Great Leighs is a village in the City of Chelmsford district of Essex,
2007 Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race 2007 Woodvale Atlantic Rowing Race The 2007 race left San Sebastián de la Gomera on Sunday 2 December 2007 with the finish in English Harbour, Antigua, on the same course as the 2005 race. 2 singles, 15 pairs and 5 fours started the race, with a six-crew boat starting slightly later. One pair "Titanic Challenge" and one Four "Move Ahead II" retired early on. The first to finish, "Pura Vida", was a four crewed by John Cecil-Wright, Robbie Grant, Tom Harvey & Carl Theakston (all GB) finished at 14.52 UTC on 19 January 2008, taking 48 Days, 2 hours, 52