Rambling, Coventry area

Tell me Philip, have you ever been lost on one of your journeys?

Dreamtime men never get lost, they always have found a new route in my experience.

Hello Dreamtime, No, honestly no. Certainly since I have been writing stories on here. There are times when connections have been missed & I have had to resort to plan B as it were, but never actually lost. I once fell asleep on a late night train & had to pay for a taxi home from B'ham Int, but that was two decades ago. When I am out & about nowadays, I do not carry timetables or maps, as I make sure that I get the general gist of where I am going beforehand, if it is somewhere that I am unfamiliar with. When using public transport, before getting off a bus or train, I do make sure that I can get back. I use public transport so much, that I am able to drift as I call it with reasonable confidence, just as easily as if I was driving my car. I like drifting, that is only having a vague notion of where I am going & able to change direction on a whim if an opportunity comes along. So far, there has been only one location where public transport is a no-no, & that was when visiting a forum members home, that you know very well from on here.

Hi all When I visit somewhere that is good & within easy reach for most of us, I like to tell you about it. Having to visit B'ham several times over the last year or so has brought me to the Railway Inn at Berkswell, the pub right next to the railway station. We are not a commercial site for advertising, but that should not stop any of us from sharing what we have enjoyed. If you like an old fashioned pub, run by a family team, where tea is served in a teapot, milk in a milk jug & sugar in a sugar bowl, then you might just like it here. They do have a cooked food night, but for most part, their daytime menu is freshly made batches. The thing is that it is so relaxing. Whether you are enjoying a pint or whatever. It is only the stopping trains that call at Berkswell, one or two trains an hour, but just a nice time to alight from a train, enjoy a snack & re-board the next train for your continued journey into Coventry. There is at present a once an hour bus service to the nearby traffic island ( No87).

I have visited this pub myself, many moons ago now. A walk down the station car park on the other side of the road, leads to the old Berkswell / Kenilworth railway line. I dont know what the state is now, but it did make a nice walk, ending at Crackley Woods on the Kenilworth rd. It may have become overgrown by now, but traveling along it, you soon go under the bridges of Cromwell lane ect before rising over a small viaduct / Bridge where the view across the fields are great. I have noticed on G**gle earth that it is now called The Kenilworth Greenway Project. Maybe the line is now clear for walkers, or is that the new name for the HS2 route ?

Hi Baz, You are so right. There are lots of described country footpaths in the area, a lovely walk is from Berkswell parish church to Hampton in Arden, walking over the packhorse bridge, next to the railway viaduct, both crossing the river Blyth. Thank you for your comment. ps. Regards the Kenilworth to Berkswell railway, that has all gone except for a siding at Berkswell which is used to house royal trains visiting the area. There is renewed interest by London Midland to re-open the line, but there are houses built on it at the Kenilworth end. You can Google the route from Crackley, which is called Kenilworth Green route (52)

Hi all A reported suicide near to Rugby this morning has brought our rail services to a standstill this morning. I was planning to travel by train to Sutton Coldfield this morning, a journey that takes about an hour normally. An alternative is for me to use the bus, No 900 to Sheldon, then bus No 71 to Sutton Coldfield. The journey time by bus of two hours is double that by train. Commuting by car does not give much improvement either as motorists regularly queue for up to an hour through Minworth as well as other jam hot spots. At least I am fortunate to be familiar with the various routes & services that are available. By the time I am coming home, the railway may be back to some normality, but Friday is generally a busy day without this kind of incident. Have a good day all