After a stacks of research, thinking things through, literally months of planning, and test events, it now time to throw out the original idea and start again! While some may question the sanity of setting up in tourism in the middle of a global pandemic, having my sanity questioned is not a new thing for me, but it is now clear that the original plan was totally bonkers.
The walk was just too long, so it’s been split into two; the Cathedral Quarter and the City Tour
What I had wanted to do was do a single, as near as could be comprehensive walk to most the sites of historical significance in Coventry. Yes, it would be longer than other guided walks, but that was the point: do the whole thing in one go, no need to keep having to come back.
I had always realised that would be big, but after months doing research, I realised just how big this monster was getting. The initial script – and I wasn’t happy with how much it missed – was 42 pages with 24,213 words. Even after cutting a third of that out of that for test events, it still ran at about three and a half hours. Maybe there is an argument to run a monster walk occasionally, but about an hour and three quarters, even if you have to do two of them to get a fuller picture of the city is going to be a lot more appealing.
There will some more tweaks to come before The City Tour is ready, so for now all future events are listed as “The Cathedral Quarter – Godiva, Cathedrals and Castles” and this if you’re interested, which I sincerely hope you are, is the blurb:
Coventry is a unique city, home to a rich history, ancient legends, pioneers of innovation and the arts and an eclectic mix of architecture.
On this walk, you will learn about
- The legend of Godiva, her historical significance and why there may have been an agenda to whitewash her from history.
- The loss of St Marys Cathedral in the dissolution of the Monasteries, how that changed Coventry forever and the other ways Henry VIII messed the city about.
- Moonlight Sonata, the Blitz of the 14th of November 1940 and what authorities really knew before the attack.
- The crucial part that Coventry was meant to play in the Gunpowder Plot.
- The legacies of international peace and reconciliation which followed the destruction and rebuilding of St Michaels Cathedrals.
- Six different theories as to where the name ‘Coventry’ came from.
- Why Coventry has actually been a city forever, since “Time Immemorial”.
- The short-lived history of Coventry Castle.
- The two time capsules of Coventry; St Marys Guildhall and Drapers Hall.
- And much more.
This walk is very light and the tour will take approximately 1hour and 45 minutes.
To book, click here.