A Coventry Compendium

Saturday 26th September: The explorations continue to come thick and fast as another autumn special sees our intrepid adventurers (WME, SBI, Bruce and Bonus) make a welcome return to Coventry. Amongst our destinations were Hawkesbury Junction, Chapelfields and Allesley Village - here's the tale of the trip...

• An earlyish start for us both sees me on the local Wolverhampton to New Street train which Rog joins (minus coat) at Galton Bridge. The Euston service provides our Coventry connection, giving us chance to debate the latest F1 scandal (naughty Renault) whilst confirming the plan for the day.


• Coventry: The 27 is waiting for us outside the station, and provides a quick photo followed by a ride to Pool Meadow. Then its a case of introducing Bruce to Lady Godiva's Statue, with Roger thankfully resisting the urge to go naked (although the buses on Trinity Street avoided us just in case). Coventry Cathedral provides another photo call, the bombed ruins are a poignantly atmospheric reminder of the horrors of war.


• The 4: Back at Pool Meadow, we catch the 4 up to Arena Tesco. The route in full links the Tesco with University Hospital via Binley, and today's section provided a look at Eagle Street, Lockhurst Lane, Holbrooks and Hen Lane. We also got a good view of the impressive Ricoh Arena, home to Coventry City FC, before arriving at the Tesco Bus Interchange.


• Arena Tesco: The interchange is a great place for bus photos, particularly with a clutch of de Courcey routes (701, 703, 704, 778) calling by. Rog and I busy ourselves with various shots and then venture into the supermarket complex, finding a little branch library and trying to avoid any carrier bags that might remind us of the dreaded West Bromwich Albion.


• Coventry Canal: I was keen to continue my recent theme of towpath trails, so we joined the canal for a walk to Hawkesbury Junction. It proved to be a pleasant stroll, offering the odd bridge photo whilst Rog seemed intent on playing the Rock's greatest hits. Only marginally less bizarre was the sight of a curious stone sofa sculpture, whilst the Longford Engine pub was a useful discovery by Bridge 10.
  


• Hawkesbury Junction: A cracking location that marks the meeting point of the Coventry and Oxford Canals. There's an impressive turnover footbridge and various buildings associated with Sutton Stop, one of which appeared to have some kind of police connection. To add to the charm, the junction is overlooked by the Greyhound, a classic canalside pub complete with brasses, cosy corners and a decent pint of Tribute ale.


• Alderman's Green: Back to the walk then as we investigate the early reaches of the Oxford Canal down to Alderman's Green. We leave the towpath at Bridge 4 and can't resist taking a closer look at the Elephant and Castle pub. One swift Bombardier later, its time for some local photos courtesy of the nearby post office and the Miner's Arms, whilst the Nippy Chippy satisfies our food cravings with a couple of tasty scollops.


• 30A: Having just about made sense of the Coventry bus map, we reckoned the 30A was the best option to get us back into City. The route combines with the 30C to provide a circular service around Lenton's Lane, although we avoided the terminal loop by catching the bus on Jackers Road. From here we pass through Victoria Farm and Longford Park before slogging it down the Foleshill Road with traffic building in readiness for the afternoon's football match.


• Earlsdon: After a brief flirtation with Coventry City Centre, we hope to change onto the 1 for our connection to Chapelfields. A bladder break puts paid to that idea, so we hop on the Park and Ride service down to War Memorial Park. From here we can walk into Earlsdon, and I can get some bonus local photos of the local library and the Royal Oak pub.


• Chapelfields: Continuing past Hearsall Common, we arrive in Chapelfields in search of the Craven Run, a famed sequence of pubs reminiscent of the Delph area near Brierley Hill. Craven Street itself offered four or five intriguing locals, with others such as the Nursery Tavern also close at hand. Rog and I didn't attempt the full pubcrawl, and instead settled on a fine couple of backstreet examples. First came the Chestnut Tree, where the barmaid kindly put the F1 qualifying on the big screen as we savoured some Q scratchings washed down with Everard's Tiger. Unfortunately, the curse of the Brawn hat struck again and Jenson could only qualify in 12th place. Rog wasn't happy, so we had no choice but to pop into the Hearsall Inn. This pub had a vaguely Irish theme, an appropriate setting then to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Guinness with a consolatary pint.


• Allesley: The Craven Run certainly lived up to my expectations and I have a feeling we will be back at some point to test out the pubs we missed. Today though its a case of pressing onwards to Allesley, with Rog game for a bit more walking. This particular stroll takes us along Allesley Old Road, passing the Maudslay, then up Grayswood Avenue to find the route 1 terminus outside a little block of shops. Birmingham Road leads up into Allesley Village itself, where there are lots of nice cottages that do much to maintain the old-fashioned feel of the place. We soon find the Rainbow Inn, a historic village pub that seems very popular with the locals. We each partake of a pint of Piddlebrook whilst consulting the menu; I decide on some fish and chips whilst Rog goes for the scampi. It was a decent meal, good beer and a lovely traditional setting, definitely well worth the visit.


• Meriden: Our trip was now drawing to a close, and it was time to bid Coventry goodbye. Catching the 900 just up from the Rainbow, we head over to Meriden and decide we just about have time for one extra stop. The village is supposedly the geographical centre of England, but as darkness is setting in, we limit our explorations to the Bull's Head pub. Here we quaff a pint of Timothy Taylor in rather posh, exclusive surroundings, and Rog is dismayed that his pheromone wipes don't seem to be working!

• We finish off with a final ride on the 900, alighting at Birmingham International for our train home. Yet again it had been another fun (and beer) filled day offering an array of buses, canals and pubs to enjoy. I think we did Coventry justice, and maybe we won't leave it quite as long before our next visit.