Rambling, farther afield from Coventry

FOR THOSE WITH A CENTRO (WEST MIDLANDS ISSUED) BUS PASS. Our bus pass is valid on ALL trains inside the West Midlands area. Travelling to Telford, we only had to buy return tickets between Wolverhampton & Telford. A sad day as we were attending a funeral, but the day was made more the pleasurable by the fact that we had a perfect journey. Maybe our city planners should look at Telford town centre. It was very neat, tidy with a very good selection of big name shops.

For those with a CENTRO issued bus pass, your pass is valid on all West Midlands area trains. Just a tip. If you are new to using the northbound trains from Coventry, most of the fast intercity trains go from platform 3, but most are very crowded. Two stopping trains per hour leave from platform 4 which are nearly as fast & you can choose your seats. Please read the departure boards at the station, as platform changes do happen. Happy Christmas Shopping! Pam & I may go to Telford again this Wednesday to have a good look around. It is only £7 return extra for Telford. I will now get told off, not just for advertising, but for driving half of Coventry Chistmas shoppers to Shropshire. Those who have a taste for adventure, when my return train journey via Wolverhampton was so disrupted last Friday, I got off the train & walked from Wolverhampton station to St. Georges Square and had a ride on the tram to B'ham.

I honestly believe that whatever the failings are about Coventry, one of its great strengths is its strategic location. If I was a stranger looking to locate a business in the UK, Coventry would be on my very short list. However we travel, we in Coventry can reach B'ham airport quicker than most people who live in B'ham. Our public transport has a good radial out in all directions. Some locations only have a very linear link system. I hope that my ventures out & about will prove this point, as that is my intention. I do hope that our city planners will make the most of this advantage that is Coventry's privilege. 'I am a Coventry kid, a Coventry kid am I' is a song composed by a long time friend who is now no longer alive, Mr. Archie Layton, a very lovely pianist & musician.

Hi all Making more use of this dryer few days, yesterday (Friday), I enjoyed a day out with my forum friend. The two of us travelled the 86 route into Rugby, which includes Wolston & the Lawfords. After yummy bacon butties at Peggotty's tea rooms, along with coffee made with hot milk, we enjoyed a ramble around the shops, but our next surprise was the new library. If you have not been to Rugby for a while, this is a must! All of the latest high tech book recording in and out. To join, you must have your driving licence or solid evidence of who you are, but joining is as easy as that. With books now under-arm, we returned to Coventry, the 585 route, which travels through Newbold, Pailton & Brinklow & we alighted at Clifford Bridge Rd. A carvery at the pub that I still call the 'Craven Arms' went down very well after which we parted company to travel home. Whilst in the pub, at least half a dozen police cars came screaming by, does anyone know that was about? Just police vehicles. ps. I am never too old to learn. I was shown the grave stone for Richard Moon, a railway engineer from over a hundred years ago, in the nearby churchyard. I neither recognised the name or knew it was there.

Evening All, I found some information concerning Sir Richard Moon (1815-1899) and I think he lived at one time at 'Copsewood Grange' (there is a whole topic on here somewhere, relating to the Grange). He seemed an important figure and I have enclosed some links. Sir Richard Moon References to Sir Richard Moon

If you find some of my ramblings elsewhere on the forum about James Hart, you should find that Copsewood Grange was sold to Moon after Hart went bankrupt.

Hi & thank you There I was, standing at his headstone & having to be told who & what he had been.

Evening Phillip and all, well I'm glad we found out about him, a noteworthy career and well respected in Coventry circles by the sounds as I have been reading quite a lot about him from old newspaper articles. The railway porters nicknamed him 'Old Moon' behind his back and had to be on their toes as he used to travel on the trains, visiting the stations at strange hours to check that they were in good order!

When we were kids in the early 60s my dad used to take us to Burton Dassett, we used to roly poly down the hills and they would take a picnic, besides that we were either taken to Corley Rocks for a picnic to explore the caves or to Coombe Abbey which is on footage at the Herbert given by my brother or the bluebell woods at Crackley to pick bluebells and explore the old train track, or to Charlecote to see the deer. I hadn't realised till now what history Burton Dassett had but being only little when we were taken I wouldn't have known.

How similar our upbringing was, done a lot of my courting on Edge Hill and my two children also know the area well. Crackley Woods we used to walk there to see the bluebells as well. I used to like telling our two lads about the ghosts at Edge Hill, taking them there at night time, they would not get out of the car. Picnics on top of the hills, all free then, country park now I think. And, yes, the ghosts come from the history.

Hi all A forum colleague & I enjoyed a Day Ranger (rail) ticket yesterday, where we enjoyed fish & chips at Crewe & then on for a photo shoot at Shrewsbury. I am telling you this today, because whilst waiting for a train at Nuneaton, a very friendly, elderly chap from Bristol, was chatting to us both about how fortunate we are to be living here. He said that we were right in the centre of everywhere. New with old at Shrewsbury.

Jephson Gardens, Leamington Spa, easily reached by bus from Coventry for £8.00 group ticket which covers 5 adults, it was packed with people, not a bench spare, there is also a cafe with toilets next to the cafe which is near bottom of these photos. Entrance is free to the gardens, also the hot house

Hi all, My Pam is so intrigued regards some of the places that Midland Red & I have been getting to of late that she has decided to investigate. It might be a round trip to Dorridge via Galton Bridge, who knows! She has heard too many tales about the fish & chip shop at Dorridge. She will have to rough it though on the station platform. Like a summer day today with our weather.

Mentioning stations Philip. After our rambles this year with our rover tickets, one thing I have pondered while sitting on platforms waiting for a train is that with very little expenditure a lot of platforms could be much better presented. How much would it cost to pull up a few weeds, clean the cobwebs from the canopies and perhaps a lick of paint. When you consider how the station master on victorian stations would have flower beds and take pride in his station surely they could do the same now. If they can consider spending millions on HS2 (why !) surely they could spend a little on a cleaner and a handyman.

Hi all Two local railway stations that always did well in station garden competitions were Abbey St in Nuneaton & Foleshill. Following on from the "anniversary thread" I posted this picture of a Holyhead train that starts at B'ham International. Anyone travelling from Coventry to Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury or further into Wales, this is an hourly service leaving B'ham Int' at 8mins past each hour. I mention this because whilst New Street is being rebuilt for the umpteenth time, this service saves the inconvenience of having to walk around New Street to change trains. New Street is a nightmare at present & best avoided. The Centro bus pass is valid as far as Wolverhampton.