Riding Europe's longest Urban Bus route.

Launched in 2013, Coventry's number 360  circular bus route claims to be Europe's longest urban bus route at 31 miles.  Some may wonder if the route was deliberately devised just to topple Birmingham's number 11 from that position.

The single decker version of the 360.  The route operates with both single and double decker buses.

The route of the 360 bus

Not only is it longer than Birmingham's route but it's quite different in character.  Whereas the Birmingham route takes in a variety of urban housing styles and different neighborhoods in terms of ethnicity and wealth, the Coventry route is striking in that its sameness.  Coventry like Birmingham has wonderfully ethnically diverse neighborhoods but the Coventry route all but mainly misses them out.  Instead the bus travels though numerous pre- and post-war housing developments.  Anyone with an interest in the history of city planning would have a field day on this bus.

I chose to start and end my journey in Greyswood Avenue.  At £3.80 for a day out it's not bad value for money.

As for the present, and an insight into the future, the route visits four key sites, Warwick University campus, the Jaguar-Land Rover Research Centre at Whitley, the University Hospital at Walsgrave and the Ricoh Arena. 

As for sites of historical significance then you have to have your wits about you to find them.  I am indebted to friend and local historian Dave Fry for drawing my attention to many of these.

My journey started in the Coundon area of the city by walking up the Holyhead Road, built by Thomas Telford to replace the Allesley Old Road that took traffic out of Coventry towards Birmingham.

The route goes through the suburbs of Eastern Green and Tile Hill where there is a station on the London to Birmingham West Coast Mainline for any bus devotees who want to arrive by train too ride this bus route.

I spotted the relief sculpture on St Christopher's school of St Christopher himself.  I was past it before I could photograph it so here's one I took earlier. 

The bell tower of St Oswald's Anglican church, one of a number of churches in the city designed by Basil Spence who also designed the new Coventry Cathedral.

It was striking that the only significant building development I saw on the trip was at Warwick University which seems to continue to grow year after year.  It only started life in the mid-1960s but now has over 25,000 students, a third of which come from overseas.  I wonder how many of them still expect Warwick University to be in Warwick rather than Coventry.

The 'Let's Not Be Stupid' sculpture by Richard Deacon at Warwick University

The Arts Centre at Warwick University - an asset to the whole city, not just the university.  Film, music and theatre buffs value this venue.

After the university the bus visits the Canley shopping centre picking up a significant number of passengers before heading along Kenpas Highway, part of Coventry's outer ring road with its innovative design idea's like broad cycle paths separated from the road, sadly not copied in other parts of the city (see, I told you that you had to be an urban planning devotee to fully appreciate this ride!)

Its then into the suburbs of Cheylesmore and into Jaguar at Whitley.  I alight here for the second time and head off to see a few sites of historic significance.

The JLR Whitley site site has a long engineering history starting life as an airfield before becoming a centre for military aircraft, missiles and then car manufacturing.

Another great asset for the city but one that seems to have become a victim of its own success.  Car parking here is obviously a huge issue and you see crammed car parks and streams of people walking down from Whitley.

The Whitley Abbey Bridge over the River Sherbourne is now closed to traffic and used to form part of the London to Coventry road, again before Thomas Telford kindly built a new one.

A commemorative stone and plaque in memory of the seven men of the Royal Engineers 9th Bomb Disposal Company who lost their lives when an unexploded German bomb removed from the city centre exploded whilst being unloaded near this spot.

From here you are treated to another dose of suburbia as you pass through Willenhall and Ernesford Grange with few signs of history unless you keep your eyes peeled for another Basil Spence church in Willenhall.

A couple of old weavers cottages in St Jame's Lane, Willenhall, would have been a nicer photograph if it hadn't been bin day.

The next point I alight is the University Hospital, mainly because I have to.  The 360 bus stops here and the clockwise changes into the anticlockwise and visa-versa.  Why?  I've no idea.  I wondered whether it was to stop the drivers getting giddy.  A friend suggested it was to even out tyre wear on the buses.

Another place that seems to suffer from huge traffic problems.  You can't help but think that the design stage of this development didn't go quite right.

Time for a spot of lunch and I escape the bedlam of the hospital and the road construction going on there and head over to the tranquil setting of Caludon Castle. There's not much of it left and in fact the truth is that it wasn't a castle at all, not of a moated country mansion for the landowners.

Caludon Castle

I could have rejoined the 360 close to Caludon Park but thought I should make the effort to ride every last bit of it so walked back up to the hospital and caught it there.  This next section took me through Wyken, Courthouse Green and Little Heath or in my case Memory Lane.  I past a house I used to rent in Sewall Highway and then later the old Courtaulds factory site in Little Heath that used to manufacture cellulose acetate for cigarette tips where I worked for a while.

My fourth stop of the day was at the Ricoh Arena home of Coventry City football club and Wasps Rugby club.  The arena is now owned by Wasps but the football club have to rent it off them.  I walk back toward the bus stop passing the brand new train station that's about to open any day but even this is somewhat controversial as trains won't currently be running near to match times for safety reasons.  The was a hope that extra rolling stock could be secured but that's presently proving difficult.

Sky Blue's colours still very much in evidence inside the ground but I doubt it will be long before the gold and black of Wasps RFC appear here.  

A rather fine statue of Coventry City player and chairman Jimmy Hill stands outside the ground.  He is probably better known to many as the BBC Match of the Day anchorman for many years. 

And so I board the 360 for my final leg of this 31 mile circular tour of the city and travel through Holbrooks and Whitmore Park and call in at Cardinal Newman school as it disgorges it's pupils.  Our batch of kids are deposited at various stops throughout Coundon and by the time I get off, at my original starting point in Greyswood Avenue, the bus is all but empty.

So has the 360 attained the cult status of Birmingham's number 11 outer circle?  I don't think it has as yet but maybe one day it will. Until then it will be a functional bus for those shoppers, hospital patients, workers and pupils who live on its 31.5 mile route.

Coventry Way

Having recently completed the Heart of England Way I thought about what other paths near home I could tackle.  The obvious one was the Coventry Way, a 40 mile waymarked track circling the city but never actually encroaching on the suburbs.  The path joins up many of the villages surrounding the city, a surprising number of which start with the letter B such as Bubbenhall, Brinklow, Bedworth, Barnacle, Berkswell, Burton Green..... 

The Oxford Canal at Ansty

I've walked the Coventry Way a couple of times previously, both in an anticlockwise direction.  Around ten years ago I followed the series of circular walks in the very fine Coventry Way guidebook that enables the individual to complete the Way over 20 individual trips out.  Then in 2008 I walked the Coventry Way in one go as part of the annual organised event in what was pretty poor walking conditions.  It's the longest walk I've ever done. Other events around the city were cancelled due to flooding but the event went ahead.  I'm not convinced I'll be tackling something that challenging again anytime soon.

Bedworth Water Tower

This time I chose to tackle the path clockwise over two longish stretches (Corley Moor to Brinklow and Brinklow to Kenilworth and a few shorter walks). The Coventry Way shares its route with the Heart of England Way for a shortish section in the Meriden area so I missed that bit out.

A frosty morning near Wolston

The path is well maintained and there's an active team of people who go out monthly to carry out repairs and replace stiles with kissing gates.  The only conurbation to speak of that the walker encounters is Bedworth where a bit of careful navigation though some modern estates is required with the water tower acting as a navigation aid.  Apart from that the only other sections of road walking to speak of are in the Stoneleigh area broken up by some fine meadows.

We've got our eyes on ewe - near Bubbenhall.

An old railway line, now converted into the Kenilworth Greenway, gives the walker a break from the need to navigate.  The Greenway has been extended at the eastern end in recent years and the Coventry Way diverted to take this in and avid a section of read walking.  The HS2 development however hangs over the area.  There's also a section of canal towpath walking in the north east near Brinklow which also has the main train line running alongside.  The hedged-in bridleway between Brinklow and Bretford is a favourite of mine.

Some admirable grafitti in Bedworth

The rest of the Coventry Way is mainly through open fields, mainly arable, some with sheep or horses.  I don't think I encountered any cattle but then again its winter so maybe they are all indoors by now.  It's a pretty flat path, only sometimes climbing and giving you a view distant view.    

Square Lane Fishing Pool near Corley Ash

The path is well served by public transport with regular services connecting Coventry to Bedworth, Brinklow, Kenilworth and Meriden and no doubt a few more places en-route.  I only used a bus once myself back from Brinklow which worked out just fine.  The cafe lover however is going to be disappointed.  I think a coffer in the sweet shop in Ryton is all I managed all the way round.  There are however plenty of pubs to choose from.

One of the steepest slopes you'll see!

For the history lover the path takes you through the remains of Brinklow Castle and quite a few old church years such as Meriden and Bubbenhall.  Throw in some old stone bridges and ponds and you've a fine series of walks indeed.  Thanks to all those who work hard to maintain this route.

Bridge over Smite Brook north of Brinklow

Stone bridge near Stoneleigh

Link to:  Coventry Way website

Sign in Bedworth.  We didn't see any but that may have been becasue of the weather...