Rayleigh is a neighbourhood of Kamloops,

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along Highway 5 (the

Yellowhead Highway The Yellowhead Highway (french: Route Yellowhead) is a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada that runs from Winnipeg to Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia via Saskatoon and Edmonton. It stretches across the four western ...

). It is located on the east side of the

North Thompson River The North Thompson River is the northern branch of the Thompson River, the largest tributary of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates at the toe of the Thompson Glacier in the Premier Range of the Cariboo ...

and south of the community of Heffley Creek.

History

In May 1973, the municipality of Rayleigh was added to the city of Kamloops. A former post office here was named Rayleigh Mount. This post office was named by the first postmaster W A Belcham after his home town in England. He, his wife Elizabeth, and son W A K Belcham operated the post office until the 1940s when they moved to Little Fort. Native reserve lands and the Thompson River separate Rayleigh and Heffley Creek from the rest of Kamloops. In the past years the City of Kamloops finished building a new recreational facility called 'Tournament Capital Ranch', just north of Rayleigh consisting of "Softball City". The park is open seven days a week between 5am and 11pm and offers miles of river views, walking and tournament opportunities. It is one of Western Canada's largest stand alone slo-pitch facilities and also has 2 full-size rugby fields, parking for up to 350 vehicles, washroom/plaza building, public washrooms, areas for concession and event rooms. The 1996 census placed Rayleigh's population at 2,222 people.

References

Neighbourhoods in Kamloops {{ThompsonNicola-geo-stub