82 | Cycling World
Cycling in the
Coventry Area
By Peter Richardson,
Coventry University Student Union Cycling Club
S
ituated right in the middle of the country,
Coventry boasts some interesting and beautiful
cycling territory. The absence of any significant
hills means that getting around the local area is
pretty quick and not too arduous, and the countryside
is surprisingly close by. However, for those who also
enjoy the city sights, Coventry is a unique destination.
espite having suffered widespread destruction during
the Second World War, there is a wealth of history to
be seen, ranging from medieval Spon Street, which has
multiple reconstructed timber framed buildings from
across the city, to the new
rade -listed St Michael s
Cathedral, built adjoining the ruins of the 14 th Century
building destroyed in
. The erbert Museum and Art
Gallery has multiple exhibitions that take you through
the history of Coventry and its many industries and
significant events. n more recent times, Coventry has
become a centre for manufacturing, and used to be
a central hub for bicycle manufacture. The Transport
Museum in the city centre features not only a plethora
of motor industry artefacts and displays, but also a large
collection of old bikes and a comprehensive explanation
of the history behind them.
Heading out of the city centre can be tricky as there
are some one-way systems and also the ring road to
negotiate. There is a cycle route, however, that takes you
out to the west of the city, avoiding the ring road. Even
further west lies the urban sprawl of Birmingham, but
just before this is a village called Meriden, the traditional
centre of ngland. This village was considered for many
years to be the centre point of England, but with modern
surveying technology, this has been proven to be slightly
off the mark! Also in Meriden is a large obelisk memorial
to the cyclists who died in the two world wars.