Blogging by request, eh?
A (different) Bill asked about Birmingham, which I’ll get to, but he also (freely) admitted he had friends in Leamington Spa, which would be a problem if our police weren’t otherwise engaged making sure you don’t spend 62 minutes outside your house.
I have been to The Leam, as kids call it, recently, but all I took was this lousy photo of the station.
My advice is to catch the first train out to Coventry.
Start with breakfast amongst the Smooth drinkers in the Flying Standard;
Admire the German-themed 60s architecture,
the remains of the original cathedral destroyed in a freak accident involving Micky Quinn and a delivery of Brew XI,
enjoy the city’s marvellous transport museum and art gallery, and the creaky beams of Spon Street, relocated en masse from Nuneaton in 1967, the year Jimmy Hill steered the Sky Blues to the Premier League.
Then beat the crowds to an early lunch of katsu curry for a fiver from Tokyo Express, with its inspiring views of Poundland.
After lunch, move from the old to the new and cough up the £6 to visit the Cathedral, recently voted the best retiredmartin cathedral in my own survey.
If you’re still hungry, and who isn’t after a 0.8 mile walk, give in to the charms of the Golden Cross.
You’ll be famished by now, so take a stroll down Far Gosford Street to the city’s south Asian and Jamaican diners.
Sadly, ancient Whitefriars has closed, nothing to do with Mrs RM’s visit 3 years ago.
Never mind, you’ll still be able to enjoy some of the best Bass anywhere in the Town Wall Tavern.
At this stage you’ll be feeling like Swedish meatballs in IKEA, but sadly that’s closing, permanently.
By now you’ll be ready to face the perils of Leamington, feeling like this “relaxed” guy in Cov shirt spotted in Northampton.
Good luck Bill, and remember. DON’T ASK FOR A TOP UP.
Leamington…lambing time…ovine obstetrics can be problematic. By selectively breeding ewes that produce multiple offspring, with higher birth weights, and for generations, sheep producers have inadvertently caused some domestic animals to have difficulty lambing. However, it is a myth that they cannot lamb without human assistance – many ewes give birth directly in pasture without aid.
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Phew. Reg is OK.
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Mention of Leamington Spa railway station reminds me that many years ago my departure from there was announced at however many minutes late so I realised that I had time for a pint of Adnams Extra in the Red House but I very nearly missed the train as it had caught up and was about five minutes short of however many minutes late.
Of all those nice photographs it’s Town Wall Tavern that I remember best from my time in Coventry forty years ago.
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Is Coventry one you would ever consider for one of your days out? I’m looking for a second opinion in case RM oversold it:) It looks much nicer than I would have expected.
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Shall we say it’s well down the list? Martin’s photos give a (deliberately) misleading impression. I could happily live in Wolverhampton, but not in Coventry.
Look at how Dresden has been redeveloped, compare with Coventry, and weep.
Go fifteen minutes down the line to Rugby for an excellent pub crawl.
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Mudgie is right.
If you found yourself at the station with a couple of hours I’d be strongly tempted to visit the cathedral, medieval Spon Street (slightly fake but still) and sink a Bass at the Town Wall.
Had a classy curry at Turmeric Gold with Charles just before starting the blog, and saw my only ice hockey game here too.
But the cathedral blew me away, though it’s a stark beauty.
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Yes, t’other Mudgie has never been more right than with that recent.comment.
“Well down the list” is probably his diplomatic way of saying “just above Maidenhead”.
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You guys are making a lot of we who haven’t been there want to see Maidenhead…
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I can do a Maidenhead piece now that Mrs RM has published her hatchet job.
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Ah, of course, Spon Street.
More about Spon here:
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To my eternal shame, the last, and indeed only time I visited Coventry was as a child, with my parents. They wanted to look at both cathedrals, and as the time of our visit would have been less than 20 years since the end of WWII, memories would have been fresh in both their minds.
We were en route to visit my mother’s sister and her family, who at the time were living in Abbots Bromley.
I used to know someone who lived in Coventry, and was a regular Bass drinker at the Town Wall Tavern. He told us about the pub’s famous “Donkey Box,” so whilst the city might not feature highly on the list for a Proper Day Out, I would still like to renew my acquaintance with the place, after what must be a 57 year gap!
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T’other Paul,
Likewise I visited Coventry cathedral soon after it opened as a child with my parents and brother.
Its “stark beauty” was lost on me.
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“making sure you don’t spend 62 minutes outside your house”. There’s no time limit in official guidance you know. One hour is an urban myth.
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