Bedworth and Nuneaton

I have connections, on my mother's side with Foleshill going back several generations. The Humphries and Twiggers were mainly miners although "we" also had a pub in Bedworth, recorded in the 1800s as Foleshill. I have fond personal memory of the yard at the side of the Griffin. In 1963 at the age of 15 my first girlfriend lived in that row of cottages. All very innocent, we went to the Ritz cinema - which was formerly, I think, the Dovedale, or to the rink to listen to the loud music. Later that year I joined the navy and she had the good sense to go on to pastures new. Nevertheless, happy days.

Hello Walrus, Lots of Twiggers in Bedworth. Was the pub by any chance the 'Queens Head', now called Alties after Alfred Twigger.

Heritage, I've just checked the records, in the mid 1800s the Twigger pub was described as a beerhouse at 57 Leicester St. Bedworth but unfortunately I can find no trace of a name for the establishment. A Sarah Humphries, on my maternal grandmothers side had the Travellers Rest on Bulkington Rd. in the 1800s.

Hello Walrus, Bedworth, as in most towns, had a lot of unnamed drinking establishments, a few became named pubs but many just disappeared. We have a lot of information about Bedworth pubs which included Thomas Twigger, miner and beer house keeper, in 1861 but Sarah Humphries had passed me by. If you have a date it would be appreciated.

It was around 1895, Sarah Humphries was previously Sarah Smith but was widowed young and subsequently married Walter H Humphries who was a miner while she ran the Travellers.

Hi all Often when I set out in a morning I do not know where I am going to go. This morning, being the last forecasted mainly dry day for a bit, I was determined to go somewhere. I am so well blessed with bus services, that I do have to make choices just as soon as I leave our cul-de-sac as to which bus stop to walk to. Today, Wednesday is Nuneaton street market day & I had some vague notion that I might end up there. Seeing a couple of friends already waiting at the bus stop to go that way settled the issue. From Wheelwright Lane, there is a choice of services, 55 via Keresley, 56 via The Cross Keys & 57 via Smorrall Lane. The fastest to Bedworth is the 56, the slowest is the 55. I change to service 48 at Bedworth (anyone going to Nuneaton from Coventry city centre, the 48 is the one to travel on). Being a dry sunny morning, I got off the 48 at Coton Arches so as to walk the length of Riversley Park, part of the Pingles Park & then George Eliot Gardens. This is my real enjoyment of rambling this way, the fact that the parkland walk takes us right into the town centre without touching a main road. I have recorded a few pics which I will finish off this ramble story with. Maybe someone from our city planners office might read this & consider the value of a riverside walk into Coventry. The first pic is the tunnel entrance to Riversley from Pingles Park. Public buildings in Riversley Park, Museum & Registry Office. The Riverside. The ramble continues under the ring-road into Eliot Gardens. The final picture is the resting point that two of our site members recommended to me. Thank you very much Tricia & Mayjan.

Thank you for the photos, Philip, that's what we like to see, lovely greenery.

Glad you enjoyed your walk Philip, we often walk that way into the town centre. Nuneaton and Bedworth are very lucky with parks. My husband and I often walk round the Miners Welfare Park in Bedworth; it's lovely to walk round the golf course and the gardeners make a fantastic job of the flower beds.

Bull and Young pork and stuffing batches are very good! Generally I find that living in Nuneaton is good - they do seem to arrange some good community events. The carnival this year was really great, not some much the floats but the fair and stalls at the running track. We managed to fill 4 hours there with our children and they experienced so many different activities and cultures, a fantastic day all within walking distance of our house. Leanne

Agreed Tricia. As a teenager I always preferred the Pingles to the Memorial Park.

For those who like Bedworth come this coming Saturday, and enjoy a guided town trail. On Saturday of this week civic amenity societies all over the country will be doing something special to draw people's attention to the good things about their neighbourhood. In Bedworth the Bedworth Society is conducting two of its popular 'Town Trail Walks'. The Society launched its very first Town Trail in 1986 and it has been reprinted several times since then. The walk takes just under two hours and takes in local features like the Almshouses, the parish church, civic hall, war memorial, Miners' Welfare Park, weavers houses and top shops, the Old Meeting and other scenes along the way. The free walks will be led by John and Lynda Burton, who conducted the first walks over 25 years ago. The first one starts at 12noon from outside The Bedworth Heritage Centre in All Saints Square and the second one starts at 2pm from the same place. People taking part in the walks will also be able to view the latest exhibition at the Heritage Centre which is called 'Bedworth's Olympians' and has information, photographs and artefacts from Bedworth sportsmen and women who have taken part in earlier Olympic Games, the first being Basil Heatley who won silver in the Tokyo games of 1964. Note from PhilipInCoventry: NOTE Saturday inserted.

Just to confirm, the walk is on Saturday. Note from PhilipInCoventry: NOTE Thank you, Heritage. I will try & be there. Best wishes

Hi everyone. Thank you for your responses to my ramble. I am sure that it is the river that adds the extra dimension, walking into Nuneaton town centre. We, living in Coventry or Bedworth are best placed to take advantage of it, as it forms our normal directional route. People living in any other part of Nuneaton, would have to travel out of their way in order to enjoy it. Coventry did have some strategically planned cycle routes into our city centre, (they might still be in place) using some green areas, like Nauls Mill Park, but some of the the links were a bit (you know), with some best avoided bits, whereas the ramble that I have described into Nuneaton is well designed with many optional deviations for the return walk, the river remaining the dominant feature.

Glad you enjoyed your Nuneaton trip Philip. I was in two minds whether to go myself yesterday. Decided against it and got on the 9a bus to Ball Hill, haven't been there for years. Was nice to have a wander around and look at the shops. A friend of mine works in the 2Tone Village so was nice to see him, great place that if you like 2Tone. Anyway Philip I was so envious of you going to my favourite pork batch shop, I just had to pick one up from Coventry market. Just sat and ate it with a nice cuppa, lovely. Sad to see that a lot of the eating places in West Orchards closed down suddenly yesterday. That only leaves about three places now up there where you can get something to eat.

Hi Mayjan, I too like Coventry market for shopping & eating. I have not been in West Orchards for ages. Before the Ricoh shopping opened, Friday was a regular third level meeting for us during town centre shopping, but I was never that thrilled with the food there. If I go on the Saturday Bedworth ramble, I might try Harry's & Rose's for a coffee & bun to get me going.