Visit Coventry Places

Welcome to Visit Coventry Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Coventry

  

Coventry Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Coventry

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Coventry history

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Coventry Castle was a motte and bailey castle in the city. It was built in the early 12th century by Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester. By the 14th century, Coventry was an important centre of the cloth trade, especially blue cloth dyed with woad. William Shakespeare witnessed in Coventry during his boyhood or ‘teens’

Industrial age

Coventry became one of the three main British centres of watch and clock manufacture in the 18th and 19th centuries . The skilled pool of workers proved crucial to the setting up of bicycle manufacture and eventually the motorbike, car, machine tool and aircraft industries .

German bombing of Coventry

A massive Luftwaffe air raid that the Germans called Operation Moonlight Sonata was part of the “Coventry Blitz”, on 14 November 1940 and carrying on to the morning of 15 November 1940 . More than 4,000 houses were damaged or destroyed, along with three quarters of the city’s industrial plants . Between 380 and 554 people were killed, with thousands injured and homeless .

Post-Second World War

In the post-war years Coventry was largely rebuilt under the general direction of the Gibson Plan . In 1962 Sir Basil Spence’s much-celebrated new St Michael’s Cathedral (incorporating one of the world’s largest tapestries) was consecrated . The city’s motor industry boomed during the 1950s and 1960s and Coventry enjoyed a ‘golden age’ During this period disposable income of Coventrians was amongst the highest in the country . The 1970s, however, saw a decline in the British motor industry . By 2008, only one motor manufacturing plant was operational, that of LTI Ltd, producing the popular TX4 taxi cabs .

Coventry economy & business

Redevelopment

The Phoenix Initiative, designed by MJP Architects, reached the final shortlist for the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize . IKEA’s first city centre store in the UK was opened in December 2007 . In April 2012, the pedestrianisation of Broadgate was completed . The River Sherbourne runs under Coventry’s city centre and will be re-opened .

Media

BBC CWR: 94.8 FM Capital Mid-Counties (formerly Touch FM): 96.2 FM Free (formally known as Mercia Sound and Mercia FM): 97.0 FM Greatest Hits West Midlands: 1359 AM Fresh (Coventry & Warwickshire): DAB The main local newspapers are: Coventry Telegraph: a paid for newspaper printed Monday to Saturday, owned by Trinity Mirror .

Electricity

Electricity was first supplied to Coventry in 1895 from a power station adjacent to the canal (now Electric Wharf) A larger 130 MW power station was built at Longford in 1928, this operated until 1976, and was subsequently demolished .

Waste management

Coventry has an energy from waste incinerator which burns rubbish from both Coventry and Solihull . Many areas of Coventry have kerb-side plastic, metal (tins and cans), and paper recycling . Garden-green rubbish is collected and composted .

Coventry geography / climate

Climate

As with the rest of the British Isles and the Midlands, Coventry experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters . The nearest Met Office weather station is Coundon/Coventry Bablake . Temperature extremes recorded in Coventry range from −18.2 °C in February 1947 to 35.2°C in July 2020 .

City boundaries

Coventry forms the largest part of the Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area . The city proper covers an area of almost 100 km square . The protected West Midlands Green Belt has prevented the expansion of the city into both the administrative county of Warwickshire and Solihull .

You can visit Coventry places with Walkfo Coventry to hear history at Coventry’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Coventry has 114 places to visit in our interactive Coventry map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Coventry, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Coventry places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Coventry & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 114 audio facts unique to Coventry places in an interactive Coventry map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Coventry Places Map
114 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Coventry historic spots	Coventry tourist destinations	Coventry plaques	Coventry geographic features
Walkfo Coventry tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Coventry

  

Best Coventry places to visit

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Coventry has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Coventry’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Coventry’s information audio spots:

Godiva Procession The Godiva Procession is an annual procession in Coventry, England, re-enacts the story of Lady Godiva . Processions have been held in the city of Coventry since the 17th century .

Visit Coventry plaques