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.....
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Bridge over Smite Brook north of Brinklow |
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| Stone bridge near Stoneleigh |
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Sign in Bedworth. We didn't see any but that may have been becasue of the weather...
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