My Wednesday Afternoon Wandering this week took me to the town of Rugby, which is in the English Midlands, in the county of Warwickshire, about 85 miles north of London.
There are quite a few pubs in the town and they come in all shapes and sizes, as can be seen here.
However, by far my favourite pub was was this one here, The Squirrel. A great name for a pub and a most amusing piece of artwork on the end of the building.
Rugby is, you might know, famous for being the birthplace of the game of the same name. It is played with an odd shaped ball and outside the museum and art gallery I almost literally bumped into this enormous replica of a rugby ball, which was as tall as me.
And here is a shot of the school where the game was first played, complete with a statue of Webb-Ellis who is said to have picked up the ball during a game of football and run with it.
There is even a Webb Ellis museum if you fancy finding out more about him and the game.
If you are from the UK and old enough to do so, you might remember the Woolworths stores, which disappeared many years ago. Well, a ghost-like shadow of one of these still lingers in Rugby!
After a while it was time to stop at a cafe for coffee and a cake. Very tasty.
There are a few well-known people from history who have strong connections with Rugby. One of those is the inventor of the jet engine, Frank Whittle, who did much of his development work at a site in the town, which is recognised by an interesting large metal sculpture in one of the parks.
Another famous figure is the World War I soldier-poet, Rupert Brooke, who is remembered with a statue on a small green in the centre of town.
This building put a particular smile on my face, not because it is grand or of great significance but because of the green roof, the result of the moss being allowed to grow there without being cleared away. I think it looks great.
And finally, it turns out I was too late to get a ticket for the annual pantomime, Aladdin, at the town theatre. Oh well, there’s always next year.
A small town, but one with plenty of interest for someone like me with an afternoon to spare.
If you’d like to find out more about the town then you might like to start here.
