21 Circular Walks
What are they
A series of circular walks linked to the A Coventry Way long-distance countryside route, ranging from 2.5 to 12 miles in length. The walks are contained within an area of a 6.5 mile radius from the centre of Coventry, and can be accessed using public transport.
- route descriptions and accompanying information notes for the walks in pdf format
- downloadable .gpx files for each walk to store in your GPS device
- viewable overlay maps for each walk.
For a summary of the 21 walks and a location map see the Table of Walks and Distances
How were these walks discovered
After publication in 1995 of the guide booklet for A Coventry Way, it became clear that to encourage walkers to use these local paths, a series of circular walks linked to the Way would be beneficial. This would not only acquaint them with location of A Coventry Way but would help in keeping the paths open and up to a reasonable standard.
Starting off at a modest seven circular walks, the project grew like the proverbial Topsy. It came to a closure when 21 was reached and by then we had virtually covered the Way.
21 Circular Walks plus book (now out of print)
Our book described the 21 walks, each with a map and a route description. Most walks included a described shorter version shown as “Route A”. Every walk had its own wildlife notes, written by local ecologist Ian Tanner, and brief interest/history notes, and details of suitable car parking places were given.
The first version of our book 21 Circular Walks was published in 2002. A revised version was published in July 2007. This updated all significant path changes, all stiles which had been replaced and many other details which had changed over the years. The basic layout, and the same 21 walks were unchanged, but it was printed on higher quality paper and with much crisper printing. A re-print version was prepared in 2008, with only a minor printing error corrected.
In March 2015 a new book “21 Circular Walks plus“ was published containing all updated information. Revised editions were published in 2016 and 2017.
The most recent edition was published in 2019 and is now out of print.
During 2023/24 Anne Wade surveyed the routes and revised the route descriptions for all 21 walks to take into account footpath diversions due to HS2 and various local housing developments, and produced copious accompanying notes replete with historical detail and wildlife information. These may be published in a new version of the 21 Walks book in 2024/25.
The route descriptions and maps in the existing books for all of the Walks are no longer accurate. The route descriptions in the download pages are as up-to-date as we can make them.
Caution Route modifications include re-directions along potentially busy roads, some with no pavements. Routes via other paths would entail long diversions. Assess the risks before embarking on these walks.