Coventry Heritage Open Days

It does and it doesn't. There are certainly some interesting things to see, but it's the context that's the problem, and as you say, most of these places are shut, probably because they don't attract enough footfall to be viable. I never understood why Stratford is so popular. Nice river, pretty couple of streets, but nothing particularly interesting about the place apart from that writer chap - then I realised that as a 'whole' it's a far better place to wander around and spend a day in. The same can be said for Leamington Spa and cities like Chester, Leicester & Birmingham these days since they started removing some of the mistakes - you can move from place to place and there things there, culture, retail, history, landmark buildings in squares, offices [It's worth going into the library just to look at the view, for example]. Coventry is not really worth walking around. Nowhere really goes anywhere, and the 'nice' bits are mainly dead or hidden away and have no real economic or leisure activity and the 'squares' are shabby and poorly defined. Vast areas are single use with nothing in them (How many people are going to be bother walking up to Much Park Street to see a pathetic fragment of gatehouse opposite an empty garden and jammed up against a ring road?).

Coventry's visual wealth is in its paintings and drawings. As flapdoodle writes, the surviving bits of the old city are few and far between and a shadow of their former selves. However it's possible to bring back some of the magic by seeing how they used to look, both in photos and fine art. When each place is open there should be a display of the images that depict it and the views around. I think even most of those who visit this site would be surprised how many there are. I haven't even seen them all and believe me, I've tried. The images don't have to be the originals, in fact it's better if they're not because many of the paintings are tiny and you need to blow them up to see the subtleties of the art works. The images from Britain From Above are also important because they let the viewer place things in context with the rest of the city. Add maps so people can orientate themselves (the old city layout made much more sense) and information about the history and you are part way to creating something worth visiting. I still think an app allowing people to wander around and see the before and after images isn't a bad idea. People love those photos showing how places have changed. I doubt that it's possible to create a great tourist city out of what Coventry has left but it could be a great shopping town and your theatre is excellent.

I think Flapdoodle makes a good point, it is not an ideal city to wander around if you are looking for its history. You need to have a plan and know where you are going. It's ok if you know the city well but tourists would really need a couple of Heritage Trails to follow, depending on their interests. They can be map or app! I think there is plenty to see but sadly much of it is never open except on this one weekend. Coventry does undersell itself, possibly because the conventional wisdom is that every tourist simply heads for the cathedral. There is so much more to our history than that.

I agree there is much more history to Coventry than its cathedral, but presently it is the cathedral which that draws the majority of tourists to Coventry. Where is the tourist office in relationship to the cathedral? On the occasions I visited while living away it seemed the tourist office was never in the same place twice. I also feel we don't make enough of our post-war history. Though there are many on this forum who decry everything that has been built since 1945 there is still much of interest, especially how the original has been altered over the past 70 years to cope with the changes in society. We always hark to the Coventry we lost but never celebrate the Coventry we gained. Personally, I wouldn't wish to live in the pre-war city.

The tourist office is, and as far as I know has been for many years, at the base of the spire in the old cathedral

Correct, TonyS - a rather cramped, and less visible, office now, compared with this one, which was demolished to make way for the 'Herbert' rebuild

Thanks Cliff That was a much better location and facility, what a shame they knocked it down. I was going to say that it's present location had been used since about 2005 - and your well-timed photo confirms just that.

Reminder - 2015 Heritage Open Days - this weekend

I'm coming to Coventry tomorrow, Saturday and will be trying to see a good selection of Coventry's hidden gems. I'm booked on the 11:30 tour of the Herbert. I want to see Fords (probably at 10:00) and Kirby House at some point. I quite fancy the crypt + under croft tours but the timings are hard to fit together without rushing back and forth across the city.

We are coming to Coventry for the Heritage day tomorrow. We've compiled a list of places that we should be able to fit in during the day as only one is timed, the rest are just 'turn up'. Even looking for lunch on the run from one of the streetfood stalls in Market Way. I just hope Philip is sorting out some decent weather.

Hi all The forecast for Saturday is: After a cloudy and damp start, the last of the rain will clear by midday, leaving a cooler feeling day of sunny spells and the odd shower. Maximum temperature 19

Didn't need "Heritage Open Days" when I was a kid, already lived completely surrounded by it.

Thanks, Philip. I knew we could rely on you! Dutchman, the problem now is that in Coventry we seem to have mostly "Heritage Closed Days".

Hi all Rain Radar. This digression of weather info into this topic has only been made possible by collaboration with the wheel-tappers & cucumber appreciation society. Fully incorporated.