Coventry's Historic Centre, Rail Trails

Vibrant Coventry... England’s 9th largest city is known for its industrial past (think cars, bicycles and ribbons), Lady Godiva, and of course the devastating bombing in WWII which practically destroyed St Michael's Cathedral., Wilmcote Coventry, today is a city of unsung art and culture.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 4.68 km
  • ◔
    Calculated time: 1h 25 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 36 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 38 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 108 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 82 m

Description

Start: Coventry Railway Station (CV1 2GT) Grid ref. SP 331 781

(S/E) Exit the station and walk ahead towards the city centre along a wide pedestrian boulevard. Pass a red brick tower block on your right and keep straight on over the ring road. On reaching Friars House, a tower block with blue glass windows, go left over a zebra crossing and keep straight along paths, passing just left of a statue
of a horse, to reach the Starley memorial (erected in 1884)

Go half left from the memorial towards the red brick Queens Road Baptist church. Keep right of the subway leading to the church to reach a turning circle at the end of the road.

(1) Turn right down this road, which is Queen Victoria road. Keep straight on at a junction then on reaching Iceland on the right turn left in front of the blue old Ikea building for a short distance then turn right in front of the Skydome. Keep straight on past the Odeon on your left to reach Spon Street.

(2) Turn right along Spon Street taking time to admire the collection of historic buildings. If you are thirsty you may wish to do more than just admire the architecture of the famous Old Windmill pub! A little further on at Court 7, look for the entrance to Coventry Watch Museum just down to the right, which is worth a visit. Continue straight on to pass the impressive ancient St John’s church.

(3) Immediately beyond the church turn left along Hill Street. Pass the interesting buildings of Bonds hospital on the left then take the second right turn along Ryley Street. Keep straight on past the Premier Inn, cross the road and keep straight on along Lamb Street.

(4) After about 100 metres, opposite the 2nd streetlight on the right, go left on a path and up steps. Bear right and continue between two extremes of Coventry’s history - the old City wall on your right and the ring road on your left. Keep straight on to cross Bishop Street and go under the Canal Basin bridge. Keep ahead alongside the ring road until you reach a roundabout on the left.

Go right a short distance down Tower Street then left up Henry Street. Bear right at the end and continue with the ring road on your left to reach Cook Street gatehouse. Go left a few paces then right to follow iron railings and a garden to your right.

After about 50 metres go left a few paces then right up steps and across a long blue glass bridge. Look left halfway along and you will see another gatehouse and some more of the old city wall. Eventually drop down to the pedestrian area under the Whittle Arches in front of the Transport Museum (A).

(5) Go to the Frank Whittle statue at the far end of the Whittle arches and walk in the direction he is looking - passing just left of Sainsbury’s and up into Priory Place. On reaching a water feature turn left, passing the Priory Undercroft on your right.

Keep straight on over a steep cobbled street and continue with the huge chancel wall of the new cathedral looming above you to the right. Turn right immediately beyond to reach the St Michael and Devil statue at the cathedral entrance.

(6) Keep straight on past the chancel of the old cathedral and immediately beyond it turn right along Bayley Lane. (The Herbert Museum and Art gallery is just to the left) Follow Bayley Lane - one of the most impressive stretches of cobbled street left in the country.

Pass St Mary’s GuildHall on the left then at the crossroads turn right along Cuckoo Lane in front of the old County Hall. (Now a pub.) Pass the chancel end of Holy Trinity church on your left.

(7) Turn left immediately beyond along Priory Row. As you continue along Priory Row look right down into the Priory Gardens where you will see the remains of Coventry’s original Cathedral (A). Beyond them, notice the beautiful old cottages.

Turn left past the entrance to Holy Trinity church (B) then go half right past Primark on your right to find the Lady Godiva statue in the centre of Broadgate. Go to the far left corner of Broadgate, turn left then immediately after the National Westminster bank, (a lucky survivor of the blitz).

(8) Turn right along GreyFriars Lane. Pass Ford’s Hospital on your left and keep straight on across the road to pass immediately left of the Christchurch spire. Turn left along New Union Street for a short distance, cross the road at the Zebra crossing and go straight on up through the Manor Yard and keep ahead through the arch in Cheylesmore Manor.

Go slightly right to follow the road past the car park and new build blocks to reach the back of Friars House on the right. Pass to the left of Friars House to the wide Boulevard, turn left to retrace steps to the station.(S/E)

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 96 m - Coventry Railway Station
  2. 1 : km 0.5 - alt. 89 m - Queen Victoria road
  3. 2 : km 1.08 - alt. 85 m - Spon Street
  4. 3 : km 1.34 - alt. 86 m - St John’s church - Hill Street
  5. 4 : km 1.78 - alt. 88 m - Lamb Street - Path
  6. 5 : km 2.54 - alt. 83 m - Whittle arches
  7. 6 : km 2.81 - alt. 87 m - Old cathedral
  8. 7 : km 3.22 - alt. 93 m - Holy Trinity church - Priory Row
  9. 8 : km 3.47 - alt. 96 m - GreyFriars Lane
  10. S/E : km 4.68 - alt. 97 m - Coventry Railway Station

Practical information

Start: Coventry Railway Station (CV1 2GT) Grid ref. SP 331 781

Transport: Coventry is on the West Coast mainline between London Euston and all points North. It also sits at the convergence of branch lines to Nuneaton and Leamington. Trains run hourly to Leamington via Kenilworth, Nuneaton via Bedworth and more frequently to Birmingham International and the stops in-between. Refreshments, toilets and ATM’s are available.

Refreshments: FarGo Village: A repurposed industrial space for a community of creative folk & businesses A one stop hub for independent shopping, food & drink (including Twisted Barrel brewery & taphouse), handcrafted arts and crafts and a full-on events programme.

Discover the Heart of England by rail at Heart Community Rail Trail here.

In the nearby area

This trail covers all of the major sites packed into the centre of the city focussing on the heritage and history Coventry still puts on display. Make time for a short diversion, about half way round the trail, at the Canal Basin where you can explore canal heritage, find quirky crafts in the renovated warehouses, try your hand at paddle boarding, or simply take a break by the water.

Coventry rewards the inquisitive, there’s plenty more to discover from quirky shops, to artisan cafes, with arts and sculpture on almost every corner!

All modern bicycles are descended from John Starley’s Rover safety cycle, invented in Coventry in 1885. Keep your eyes peeled for the memorial on the trail!

In the 1960’s it was realised more historic buildings in the city had been destroyed by town planners since the war than were destroyed by bombs during the war. As a result a number of buildings were moved and re-erected on Spon Street, giving it its unique character!

Herbert Art Gallery & Museum: The cultural hub of the city. Visit for free. Immerse in arts, history and culture. A selection of permanent galleries and temporary exhibition spaces, ongoing workshops and events. Worth an extra hour or three!

Old Windmill: Grade II Listed, 15th-century building with a history going back to around 1451 when it was constructed around the trunk of a tree. One of the oldest pubs in Coventry. Serves food as well!

(A) Coventry Transport Museum: The largest publicly owned collection of British vehicles in the world. Tells the story of a city which changed the world through transport. Houses 14 galleries crammed full of everything on wheels!

(B) Coventry Cathedral: THE place to visit, both the evocative ruins destroyed in the Blitz and the Sir Basil Spence–designed modernist masterpiece of Coventry Cathedral. Climb the 180 steps of the spire for top notch views!

(C) Holy Trinity Church: Coventry’s answer to the Sistine Chapel! The most impressive wall painting remaining in an English church was painted by Coventry’s medieval artists around 50 years before Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper!

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