COVENTRY

It is very handy to catch a bus from where I stay. So another trip - this time to Coventry.

Ikea Coventry

I had no idea where I should get off the bus in Coventry but when we stopped outside an Ikea store  I just had to get off. 

This was smaller than the store I was at in Sweden. Lots of things the same but an English twist. The beds and bedding were back to a more familiar style.

A couple of the things I liked. A drying rack for the bathroom and a small ironing table.

When I left there I wasnt sure which way to get to the cathedral and township. I asked a man on the lift going down to the ground floor for directions and he kindly walked me through the market into the town centre and pointed out the direction of the cathedral.

It was then easy to find the cathedral. It was bombed in 1940 and there is just the shell remaining. A new modern cathedral has been built next door.

New cathedral behind the old one

Shell of old cathedral

I walked back to Ikea to have some Swedish meatballs and then catch the bus back to Warwick. It was 4.15 when I looked for the bus stop. First I went to the opposite side of the road to where I got off the bus. Nothing there.

Then I found a bus stop that showed you where to catch buses for the different routes. Finally found the correct bus stop and waited. And waited. I was going to wait for an hour figuring the bus must be at least hourly. After ¾ hour I decided that was enough. I had not seen any of the other buses that were meant to stop there either. 

Thought it would be good to go to the bus station where presumably all the buses originated. I could see where it was on a map. Now to try and follow that map.

Headed back to go through the market but found the door was closed. It was now after 5pm. Found a way to walk around it and through the shopping centre. Then tried following the map.

The bus station was somewhere behind the cathedral. So I walked in that direction. I found it hard to figure out the map. It mentioned the university and I could see many buildings that were the university. Just could not figure out the correct road. After a while I saw that a lot of buses went down one road so I followed them. 

Eventually I found the bus station. Hurray!  By now there were no information counters open. Nobody to help me. 

I walked around the station a bit. None of the buses were going in my direction. They were all a different bus company. Now what! It was now about 5.45pm. Starting to get a bit concerned. Then before I reached total desperation I saw a driver come through a door. He had just finished his shift. Fortunately he worked for Stagecoach – the company that ran the Warwick bus. Such a kind man. He took me outside the station, across the road and up another road to where my bus would depart from and checked what time it would arrive. Just 10 minutes to wait. As we left Coventry the bus did not go anywhere near the Ikea bus stop I had been waiting at. Even though the sign said the Warwick bus would go from there!   I arrived back in Warwick at 7.15pm.

Three hours for my one hour trip! So thankful for kind people who helped me.