Hinckley is ok but not a place to hold one's interest so, having a car for a while, we set off for Nuneaton. We've often passed through on the Coventry Canal but, to be honest, it's not a place that cries out for a stop, but, being at a loose end, off we went.
Having battled the traffic on the ring road we found a car park opposite the quaintly named Justice Centre, looked like the local court house to me.
The first thing we came across was a statue of George Eliot, the well known author. She looked to be a rather forbidding lady but I suppose any woman called George is likely to be somewhat intimidating. I've read two of her works, Middlemarch and Mill on the Floss, worthy tomes both of them but, to be honest, I rather prefer Bernard Cornwell or Patrick O'Brien.
The actual centre is a bit run down, usual fare of charity shops and fast food outlets although Jill discovered a rather nice jewellers. She has always wanted an eternity ring and found one described as a "Half eternity ring", she worried it meant she would have to stick with me for the same length of time again, a chilling thought. The nice lady in the shop assured her that would be optional so she graciously allowed me to treat her. She's worth every penny, bless her.
We were intrigued by this clock tower, perched atop a rather ordinary building (Now a 3 mobile 'phone shop). No idea why such an edifice is perched on such an insignificant base.
Just below the clock tower, in the old market place, there is a rather nice fountain,
much appreciated by the local avian population for their ablutions.
There was also the old jail, with a classic Roller parked alongside.
A rather imposing town hall
and a couple of 19th C. buildings.
All in all not the most stimulating of places. I don't think we'll bother again. I usually try not to be negative about the places we visit but I just could not get excited about Nuneaton.
Watch this space...........
3 comments:
I like the description of Nuneaton in the Pearson's canal guide: "Oddly nebulous town which holds itself at arm's length from the canal. Nice fountain in the middle of a roundabout on the ring road".
The last time we passed through there the canal was awash with rubbish.
Plactic bottles, glass bottles old wardrobes etc etc, but the worst thing of all was the amount of little blue bags hanging from the trees and hedgerows with their stinking contents being preseved much longer than they would have been naturally.
Not a place we would ever want to go back to!
We missed the "Dandelion Fountain" which seems to be regarded as the only interesting thing in town.
It's the amount of rubbish around and in the canal that has put us off in the past but at least we've now crossed it off the list of places we've never been to.
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