Who knew that Draycote water (our largest local bit of inland water) was so near to Coventry- I certainly didn't. On my last sunny free day I wanted to have an expore so after failing to make sense of my new bike GPS , I dug out an old OS map which i'd been given in exchange for a bike repair. Much to my surprise, little more than a handspan from my house was a big blue blob on the map- Draycote Water. I'm not sure how, but over the last few years I must have cycled past it a million times- which must be quite hard to do as I think its 2 miles long and 1 mile wide- I also later realised that our friends smallholding is just down the road.
Anyway, I'm glad I've finally found it because the ride there and Draycote Water itself is beautiful. The journey there was mostly easy, a short ride through Brandon into Wolston and from there the major part of the ride was on a single track road (coalpit lane) on which I didn't meet a single car or lorry and which had open fields on either side. As the lane had a meandering rise when I looked back I could see Wolston and then Coventry in the far distance- fab.
The only slightly scary bit was when coalpit lane joined with the A45 for a short stretch, its only for about 2 or 3 minutes until the turning for Thurleston, but its was enough. Once at Thurleston, you can see the water from much of the village.
Then its just a short walk past the old windmill and church
Through a farmers field and you're there!
Fantastic and definitely worth the journey.
Hi, Just perused a few of your posts and noticed your comments about braving the A45. You may already have discovered it, but there is a bridleway that leaves Lawford Heath Lane (opposite the end of Ling Lane) that follows a couple of field edges down to cross a small stream (via a bridge) and then rises up to cross a huge new footbridge over the Rugby Western Relief Road. From here you could drop down the cutting onto the old Rugby-Leamington Railway (Lias Line). Heading south will take you under the A45 eventually bringing you to Birdingbury and more country lanes .... Or .... you could leave the track just outside Draycote Village and then use a link path up to Draycote Water (5-mile round the reservoir). This way you could avoid the A45 completely. Hope this is of interest - Try googling "Lias Line" "sustrans" for more info, (or I've a few walking blogs that cover this). Cheers, Gary (tothehills).
ReplyDeleteHi Gary
ReplyDeleteThats fab thankyou, i'm making a trip out in that direction again this weekend (weather permitting). I hadn't noticed the bridleway but will certainly look for it now, although I only used the a45 for a few minutes it was pretty hair-raising at times...nothing like a quarry truck shooting past at 50mph to wake you up! Do you often head out towards wolvey/ monks kirby?