I've never even been to this part of Warwickshire, does anyone know what it's like?

Thought this forum could use a post in it.

bed'erth? bandit country... lol

Bedworth is pretty nondescript, really more like a suburb, as is Nuneaton to some extent. Neither towns have much character or any features or architecture of note.

I went to Nuneaton once and wandered around briefly, but there wasn't much to see - it's a sort of typical small town, really with all the usual chain stores and a lot of rubbish chain bars and pubs. Mainly commuter town these days.

If you're looking to buy a house, Nuneaton/Bedworth is perhaps the last affordable place in the area.

Nuneaton, named after the Nuns of Etone. Something I discovered simply by asking Mr Google who, incidentally is very knowledgeable. In fact a little searching, courtesy of Mr Google turns up all sorts of interesting facts and history about an area. One that comes to mind without too much effort is that of writer George Eliot.

There's the ruins of an abbey in Nuneaton, that may be linked.

George Eliot was born in Arbury, but moved to Coventry and lived in the Quadrant - the nice old houses alongside Greyfriar's green. Middlemarch is based on Coventry. I believe a lot of the stuff in the George Eliot museum is owned by Coventry City council...

Interesting to note the use of the male name which I believe was because writing was considered a male profession.

I have to say though that for a Kiwi living in England it has been most enlightening being able to make connections with various people/places whilst having some meaning when I was at school have become more real. An avid fan from childhood of old classics and poetry I was enthralled when I first went to places such as Stratford-upon-Avon and Coventry. My father was a musician and often if playing the piano in the evening there was a song he would play that was a signal to my sister and I that it was time to go to bed. We thought the words were o/'There ain't anymore about that.....o/' however, about a year ago when I was in Leeds I noticed reference to a station called Ilkley. When I returned home I checked that with Mr Google... there I found and listened to "On Ilkley Moor bah'tat" and when I sang along with it the penny dropped with a resounding clang... it was the song my father used to play to signal bedtime.

Yeah, women used male names in order to get published. I think the Bronte sisters did the same (Up in Haworth, near Bradford!). Ilkley's a little town on the edge of the moors, I used to drive through it every now and then when I lived in Lancashire and used to go over to Leeds.

Of course, Cov's poet link is with Philip Larkin, who started writing for his school magazine, the Coventrian, then went on to become one of the greats of the 20th century. His poem "Remember, Remember" is about a train trip. The train stops off in Coventry and he remembers that he was born there! It's a great poem.

There's an excellent author called Graham Joyce who is from Coventry.

Nuneaton is a nice little town. It has a pedestrianised town centre, with new and old shops, some very interesting old buildings, although at gound level they are modern.