Quote:
Originally Posted by Will
This is always an interesting topic to see develop, what do you think is the best and worst that Warwickshire Has to offer?
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Best:
Warwick's a nice old town. [Castle is expensive and overrated.]
Kenilworth Castle [A fine ruin]
Draycote Water
Leamington Spa's Parade.
Warwick University (For academic pursuits) and the Arts Centre (For live music and the arts.)
Worst:
Stratford - overhyped, touristy and UNINTERESTING.
NOTHING of significance happened there. Shakespeare's Mum's Egg was penetrated by his Dad's Sperm. That's it. Compared to Coventry, which has seen battles, cathedrals demolished, castles, royalty, blitzes and world famous industries, Stratford is a DULL market town filled with charmless chainstores and a few nice old buildings of the type you get everywhere. Kenilworth and Warwick are also much more interesting. It shows the emptiness and shallowness of the tourist industry. People flock to places that have no story to tell.
Rugby, Nuneaton, Bedworth - unremarkable towns with little character.
As for Coventry:
Best: Earlsdon, southern suburbs, City Centre [If you take the time to find out and explore, it's far more interesting than anywhere else in the country, with some real stories to tell.] Allesley Village, Whitefriar's Alehouse, Windmill, Alma Deli, redevelopment, Coventry Jazz Festival, Coventry Godiva Festival, some decent restaurants [At last!] and a good diversity of population, parks & the canal.
Worst: Sprawling and ugly retail parks, north east corridor -> Bedworth -> Nuneaton - horrible stretch of conurbation. Rubbish shops. Chavs. Ugly Architecture. Ringroads, dual carriageways, subways, lack of live music.
I'll prob. get slated for this, but i've found most Coventry folk to be friendly, if sometimes a little mad! [I'm not local.]
Cov City council do a lot - they arrange and fund the Jazz festival, one the best in Europe, and the Godiva festival as well. They've also managed to get a lot of investment into the city - huge developments like Park Court, Belgrade Plaza, Friars Road, Ikea, the station recevelopment, Swanswell, etc. The city's not going to be recognisable in a few years time.
Madhatter, what is there in Atherstone to see? A colleague of mine who lives in Nuneaton is less than complimentary about the place.