Coventry: Pitching up off the train at ten past ten, I sprint to the Warwick Road bus stops just in time to see my intended 15 bus go whizzing off into the distance. No matter, I can fill in the time by tracking down the Aardvark and the Broomfield Tavern for my opening pub pictures of the day before catching the next 15 half an hour later.
15: a service that links Coventry City Centre with Finham and a circular loop of Fenside. The ride takes me past War Memorial Park and down the Kenilworth Road before flirting with the Burnt Post pub on Kenpas Highway. It's then into Finham, proceeding down Bathway Road and Green Lane before encountering the local shops on Brentwood Avenue. A quick blast on Stonebridge Highway leads neatly to the Fenside estate and I alight by Charminster Drive.
- Finham Library -Fenside and Finham: Time for more photography, beginning with the bus as it lingers at the stop on Fenside Avenue. A row of shops has caught my eye and I also find the Festival pub as I make my way back round onto Stonebridge Highway. The Styvechale Harvester is a useful landmark overlooking a prominent A45 roundabout, then I dart round into Finham where I discover a local branch library quietly situated on Finham Green. Emerging onto Green Lane I catch the return 15 up towards Coventry - I believe new service 9 will be covering down here in future.
1: Top Green Park still has a coating of snow to make for some pretty winter shots, then I connect with my next bus on Spencer Road. The 1 is a route I have used before and in full it connects Toll Bar End with Chapelfields, albeit not for much longer. Today the service takes me past Spencer Park and into Earlsdon before skirting Hearsall Common and trundling down to the Chapelfields terminus at the top end of Grayswood Avenue.
Allesley Park: my terminus trail continues as I navigate my way past the New Spires pub and along Brookside Avenue into Allesley Park. The main centre of the estate focuses on the Westmede Centre shops near the junction of Winsford Avenue and Whitaker Road, plus there's a Bethesda Chapel and a new-looking Neighbourhood Centre to keep me occupied. Winsford Avenue curves round to the upper half of the estate, revealing St Christopher's Church and a more vintage Community Centre before I arrive at the turning circle opposite the Chilterns. The terminus is actually located close to the site of Allesley Hall and you can detect the undulations of the old moat in amongst the nearby trees.
- 23 at Allesley Park -23: here we have a route that links the Allesley Park estate with Coventry Pool Meadow at 15 minute intervals or thereabouts, although the 2 is set to be extended Cross City from Cheylesmore as a replacement. The journey into Coventry is relatively quick, hurtling back along Winsford Avenue followed by Allesley Old Road. Four Pounds Avenue smoothly connects with the Holyhead Road by a Morrisons supermarket, the Alvis Retail Park and the Holyhead pub.
36: my stay at Pool Meadow is very brief, being just about long enough for me to stock up on new timetables for the revised services coming into force from 26th February. Stand L is the departure point for the half of the 36 that goes to Little Heath, and I'm soon away again with a double decker vantage point from which to see Harnall Lane East (Hillfields), Heath Crescent (Stoke Heath) and Sewall Highway.
Little Heath: Proffitt Avenue marks the end point of the 36 so I alight just before the junction with Old Church Road. I can't resist attempting a bus photo or two but it's the old church itself that really captures my imagination. St Laurence's is the parish church for the Foleshill area and is a very fine landmark with its prominent clock tower.
- St Laurence's Church, Foleshill -
Bell Green and Wood End: I now have the dubious pleasure of sampling a couple of the less-attractive areas of Coventry. I've been quite critical of Bell Green before but I did at least get to see more of it today, albeit the Riley Square precinct is still one of the most offputting shopping centres I've ever come across. Remarkably, things were actually about to get worse as I then ventured across into Wood End, finding a virtually abandoned street where house after house was boarded up and empty. I understand the properties are earmarked for demolition as part of a regeneration project so the sooner this happens the better. It would be unfair to label the place too much as there are efforts being made to improve the estate, a shining example being the Moat House Leisure Centre off Winston Avenue.
Potters Green: Deedmore Road leads me up past St Patrick's Catholic Church as I bear down on my final target, Potters Green. I'm on the lookout for Ringwood Highway but before I wander that way something tells me to continue along Shilton Lane a little - I'm glad I did as I was rewarded with some shots of the Boat Inn, a pub now separated from the canal by the small matter of the M6 motorway. Ringwood Highway brings me to the turning circle currently serving as the north-eastern terminus of the 32, the stop being located by the shops at the junction with Yewdale Crescent. A primary school and St Philip's Church are other notable features here but I don't really have time to investigate them.
- 32 at Potters Green -
- St Laurence's Church, Foleshill -Bell Green and Wood End: I now have the dubious pleasure of sampling a couple of the less-attractive areas of Coventry. I've been quite critical of Bell Green before but I did at least get to see more of it today, albeit the Riley Square precinct is still one of the most offputting shopping centres I've ever come across. Remarkably, things were actually about to get worse as I then ventured across into Wood End, finding a virtually abandoned street where house after house was boarded up and empty. I understand the properties are earmarked for demolition as part of a regeneration project so the sooner this happens the better. It would be unfair to label the place too much as there are efforts being made to improve the estate, a shining example being the Moat House Leisure Centre off Winston Avenue.
Potters Green: Deedmore Road leads me up past St Patrick's Catholic Church as I bear down on my final target, Potters Green. I'm on the lookout for Ringwood Highway but before I wander that way something tells me to continue along Shilton Lane a little - I'm glad I did as I was rewarded with some shots of the Boat Inn, a pub now separated from the canal by the small matter of the M6 motorway. Ringwood Highway brings me to the turning circle currently serving as the north-eastern terminus of the 32, the stop being located by the shops at the junction with Yewdale Crescent. A primary school and St Philip's Church are other notable features here but I don't really have time to investigate them.
- 32 at Potters Green -32: the current route links Potters Green with Tanyard Farm via Coventry City Centre and Tile Hill, but the changes will see the 6/6A (Tanyard Farm to Little Heath or Victoria Farm) and the 8/8A (Woodway Park and Potters Green to Coventry Station) taking on the split mantle. As for the existing service, I rather enjoy the run down the Hinckley and Ansty Roads passing a few half-familiar Walsgrave landmarks such as St Mary's Church, the Red Lion and the Coventry Oak.
27: changing at Pool Meadow once more, I have one final important nugget to squeeze in. If ever there is a route that has been the backbone of my Coventry explorations then it has to be the 27, a service that has greeted me outside the railway station on several occasions to provide a link into the City Centre or beyond towards the Walsgrave Hospital. It therefore seems highly fitting that I should say goodbye with a Bendibus bash back to the railway station and a closing treasured photo on the station forecourt. The 8/8A/9/9A will be the new station links but the 27 will always have a reserved space in my memories.
Entering the station, my luck is in as the 16:22 Virgin Pendolino service is on hand to deliver me directly to Wolverhampton, the serenest of rides as I reflected on the routes I'd investigated and the changes to come. As ever, it will be interesting to see how the new network is received and I look forward to making use of the exploration opportunities it could provide. As for today, my instant return to Coventry had been well worth the effort and I have an inkling I might be back again before too long...
27: changing at Pool Meadow once more, I have one final important nugget to squeeze in. If ever there is a route that has been the backbone of my Coventry explorations then it has to be the 27, a service that has greeted me outside the railway station on several occasions to provide a link into the City Centre or beyond towards the Walsgrave Hospital. It therefore seems highly fitting that I should say goodbye with a Bendibus bash back to the railway station and a closing treasured photo on the station forecourt. The 8/8A/9/9A will be the new station links but the 27 will always have a reserved space in my memories.
Entering the station, my luck is in as the 16:22 Virgin Pendolino service is on hand to deliver me directly to Wolverhampton, the serenest of rides as I reflected on the routes I'd investigated and the changes to come. As ever, it will be interesting to see how the new network is received and I look forward to making use of the exploration opportunities it could provide. As for today, my instant return to Coventry had been well worth the effort and I have an inkling I might be back again before too long...
No comments:
Post a Comment