Rambling, farther afield from Coventry

Hi all, I visited a friend at KHVIII yesterday, & after lunchtime (I did not stay for lunch), I had just set out to walk to the railway station when I saw the No 87 bus coming up Warwick Rd. I boarded it & travelled all of the way to Berkswell station. Following a light bite at the railway pub, I then travelled by rail to Galton Bridge. There, I changed onto a high level train & travelled to Solihull. The No 82 bus then brought me back to Kingsbury Rd in Coundon, where I boarded the circle bus to bring me home for 5.30pm. The point I am making here is to demonstrate just how easy it is to get around using public transport in Coventry. When I left the Grammar School at 1pm, I had no idea where I was going to go. I just drifted, which is so easy with the bus pass. (Even without the bus-pass, a £6 go anywhere ticket will do the same in the West Midlands). I admit that I travel out of an enjoyment of travelling, which for me always brings back memories. There are so many journey options, even coming home yesterday afternoon, whilst I was aboard the No 82 from Solihull, I thought about getting off at Hampton in Arden, then using the train to Tile Hill, where I could board the circle bus, just the same. Simple things for simple minds. Hey!

Hi all, This topic is intended to demonstrate the ease of access from Coventry at getting anywhere, particularly using public transport, not so much the furthest point visited. Many of our members are housebound or live too far to ever visit, so these ramble topics are intended to give them enjoyment, where I, or a group of us, become their eyes & ears & so conjure a memorabilia delight in their minds. Hope that helps.

Hi all A spin-off from our ramble stories is that I have been asked by a friend if I can sort out a safe as possible route from Coventry to B'ham university, Edgbaston campus. A safe route for a female, who may have evening lectures to attend. I tell you one thing. The more I look at the public transport in B'ham, the more I realise how much better off we are in Coventry for ease of access.

Hi all Infirmity with an elder member of our family is still restricting my freedom to roam, but I have managed to sort out transport routes to Edgbaston from Coventry as mentioned in my previous post. Personal safety is so important, particularly for a young female attending a B'ham university, commuting from Coventry. One nice thing that I have discovered is on the B'ham routes 22 & 23. They have new electric double deck buses, which give the route description on a display screen, as the bus travels along so you always know where you are. That was really good. At least we in Coventry have a good & convenient range of bus services calling at our railway station, which B'ham does not have. At present, they have no direct bus services linking their three central railway stations, considerable walking distances involved to any. That might improve when New St redevelopment is complete, but who knows. So, whilst we might be tempted to poor scorn on Coventry on some issues, our bus links are as good as any anywhere.

Hi Philip read this topic with interest. Just wondered if anyone has taken the time to walk "The Coventry Way" ?

Hello Mick The Coventry Way is far too long for me to accomplish now, but over the years I have walked most of it, well before it was given its name. I was in charge of a youth group back in the seventies & it was a delight for us to follow a series of walks or rambles that were included in the then "Coventry Evening Telegraph". The Telegraph published the walks in a free booklet, which we well & truly wore out.

Hi Phillip, agreed it is a long way. When I did it we started from the Queens Head in Meriden at 4.30am and just made it back in time for last orders at 10.30pm, but, we did stop for a beer in Wolston and then again at a pub on the canal in Bedworth. I have 3 of the books produced by the Telegraph, 2 by Brian Keats and 1 by Ron Weston and am pleased to say I have done most of the walks in them. My current further afield walk is the South West Coastal Path from Minehead to Poole (630 miles), I have got as far as Mevagissey so far, so well over half way.

Hi all, I have enjoyed another drift day today, where I hadn't a clue as to where I was going (nothing changes, hey!) Anyway, I had arrived at Coventry station aboard the "Ninky-Nonk" from the Ricoh, then decided to board the through Virgin train to Shrewsbury. A points & signalling issue at New Street meant that there was already a significant delay to this train, so since I was travelling on my pass, (needed to buy a ticket for Shrewsbury, which you can do on most trains nowadays & still get the card discounts) I decided to get off at B'ham. I had a wander around the B'ham market, as well as the Bull Ring Centre. What was really good was where I enjoyed a light-bite. In St Martins cafe tea rooms. A good quality coffee along with a sarnie pack for £3.80. That is good value for anywhere in B'ham. It came with a bonus too for me. A chamber orchestra were playing the sweetest of music inside the parish church, the sounds were drifting through into the tea rooms. Now I know some of you may be uncomfortable with a church type environment, I am sometimes, make no mistake, but this was ace. The tea rooms are not the "Betty noop bloops" that some of us enjoy for an afternoon tea, like in Harrogate, but I am sure that if Miss Marple was solving a murder with Inspector Wexford, they would be very comfortable in those tea rooms & would soon have the case solved. St Martins is located halfway between New St & Moor street, so is most convenient. St Martins Tea Room location. Tea Room picture.

I was out playing with my newish camera today. Pottering through Monks Kirby I was pleased to see the church was open. It was a bit dark and gloomy so we soon headed back into the sun but I took a couple of pics of the lectern. A nice fact about the church is that one of the bells is at least 500 years old and still in use.

Had a trip to Baddesley Clinton yesterday. We were heading to Wightwick Manor at Wolverhampton, but the M6 was closed at junction 10 so we hopped off quick before we got stuck in a big jam. The third picture is an apple tree, with a huge mistletoe on the side.

Hi all, Another errand has seen me make the most of a trip to Birmingham today. Using the "Ninky-Nonk" train from the Ricoh, then a Glasgow intercity to New Street. A stop for coffee at the Muffin Break on the first floor of the Grand Central Mall, which is very close to very well maintained toilets, to then descend the escalator to emerge at the tram stop. The tram took me to the new Snow Hill tram stop, where a short walk (includes a flight of steps) to the Snow Hill mainline station where I boarded a train to Solihull. The service 82, then brought me back to Coventry where I picked up an eBay parcel from Argos which I delivered to a close neighbour. All in a days work, hey. The link involving steps between the tram stop & Snow Hill mainline station is temporary, until more funding is available. Who knows what will happen in a few weeks time as to whether funding will ever be available? My tram continues on its way to St Pauls & onto Wolverhampton. You can see the steps right in the distance, which illustrates that it is quite a walk, but a lot shorter than the distance from New St to Moor St stations. Anyway, on a dry day like today it was a delight.

Hi all Going East (Fosse Park) Today, I accompanied a friend who needed to familiarise himself with the driving lanes into Fosse Park, which is now a pickup point for National Coach holidays. Being Saturday with no start restrictions to our bus pass times, we left Holbrooks at 8.15am & as you can see, am back home for mid-day. We boarded the 8.50am X6, from Pool Meadow, & were at Fosse Park for 9.40, where we enjoyed a McDonalds wrap breaky. Really good, as my friend cannot remember the last time he was in McDonalds, but was well impressed. We had an hour to sort the exact location of the departure point, before returning to Coventry aboard the X6 at 10.45am. The X6 service on a Saturday is every 90 minutes compared to 60 minutes on weekdays. I am mentioning this to show how quick & easy the access is to the Fosse Park shopping centre. There are several cafes there including Costa, as well as a big M&S.

Hi all Following our delightful forum breakfast, I ventured to B'ham via Coventry station. I wanted to make sure that I had a better wet-day access to Snow Hill mainline station for one thing, which is achieved by getting off the tram at Bull St, not the Snow Hill tram stop. That sorted, I decided to give Dorridge a visit which was a delight, including the really nice privately run station tea room. The tea room serves all kinds of delights including freshly prepared cheese on toast. I could not eat anything, as I was full-up from breakfast, but enjoyed a delightful coffee. The station itself is a delight, which is maintained almost as though it was a heritage railway, but with modern main-line trains, Midland as well as Chiltern Railways providing a regular service. A couple of station pics. It is just as though time has stood still, except for the digital train info & time boards.

Hi all In an effort to cheer myself up this morning, I decided to re-visit the coffee house at Dorridge railway station so as to try their cheese on toast. It worked whilst I was there. The station itself is a delight, maintained in the classic fifties station setting, another couple of pics before I left to travel on the train seen to The Hawthorns. The train seen was destined for Kidderminster, The Hawthorns being the last station that I can change onto the tram system so as to return to New St. A couple of pics, having arrived at The Hawthorns, the above is facing west from where my tram is coming from, it having left Wolverhampton, & the last pic is facing B'ham. I was home by 1.45, having left home at 9am this morning.

Hi all At a time when most of us that have an interest in our rail network, are accustomed to track work being removed, how refreshing to see new track being laid. This is a loop, being installed northbound from Dorridge, in effect restoring the four track main-line that existed in the fifties. It extends for a couple of miles so far & may eventually be reinstalled all of the way past Solihull. My reward for bringing this groundbreaking info, is well expressed in my next photo. This delight matches anything that I have enjoyed at any of our great traditional seaside fish & chip locations. Dorridge fish & chip shop is very convenient for the railway station, which in a bit of sunshine at 12.30pm, was as near perfect as it can get for me. I have yet to reach Dorridge from Coventry travelling the same way, in spite of visiting the town several times lately. It's the style of the station buildings which is attracting me at present, as though the clock has been turned back to the 1950s. The only bit that is not 1950s is the fact that I am back home in less than 90 minutes. A fabulous train, bus & tram service, right on our doorsteps. £4.50s worth of almost heaven. How we all need a bit of that from time to time.