100 British Bus Routes
Route 11: Leamington Spa to Coventry
21 May 2022
ABOVE: National Express Coventry’s 6960 (YX68 USL) crosses the River Leam in Leamington Spa.
All photos in this article taken on Saturday 26th February 2022.
All photos in this article taken on Saturday 26th February 2022.
Operator: National Express Coventry
Runs: Daily, including evenings
Weekday frequency:
Every 20 minutes, with some part-route peak extras on weekdays to serve the University of Warwick
Estimated Peak Vehicle Requirement: 8 buses (not including peak extras)
Off-peak journey time: 65-80 minutes
Estimated route length: 12 miles
It’s hard to tell where Warwick ends and Leamington Spa begins. Two neighbouring towns in the West Midlands; one (Warwick) full of medieval history and the other (Leamington) full of Regency architecture, with Royal Pump Rooms and baths which were once said to have healing qualities. And a town given Royal status to boot (there are only three of those).
So coming in by train is the best way to make sure I’m in the right place!
I’m exaggerating of course, but the centres of the two towns are only three miles apart, and there are a number of buses that serve both, and then link Leamington to Coventry. National Express Coventry route 11 is slightly out on a limb here; away from its core operating area and surrounded by vehicles from Stagecoach and (at the time of my visit), Johnson’s ExcelBus.
It’s competitive territory between Leamington and Coventry, although route 11 seems to have carved itself a niche.
It’s a sunny Saturday morning in February. I’m in The Parade, Leamington’s main street. The bus stop has two flags – a general one, possibly provided by the local authority although it has a Stagecoach logo on it, and a separate one for route 11. It has to be said that the information on the general flag is rather underwhelming, whilst that for the 11 is comprehensive and exactly what is needed everywhere. It does look a little ridiculous to have two flags on one bus stop, though!
The Enviro400 MMC that pulls up rather cheekily claims that buses run “up to every 7 minutes”, which is rather intriguing as the 11 is only running every 20 minutes at most times. There is evidence (in bus stops, with out-of-date timetables) that the 11 has run every 15 minutes in the past; presumably a pre-Covid frequency.
ABOVE: Out-of-date timetable, showing a 15-minute frequency (it was 20 at the time of my visit) in a bus stop in Kenilworth
But that’s still a lot less than every seven minutes. One has to inspect the small print to get the whole story. The seven minute frequency is actually a joint frequency with route 12X. Both services run between Coventry and the University of Warwick, and the 12X does indeed run every 15 minutes.
ABOVE: The “up to every 7 minutes” claim at close quarters. It’s a combined frequency for routes 11 and 12X (and only between Coventry and the University of Warwick).
So the two services could offer a combined seven to eight minute frequency, except that they follow different routes and have different journey times. So it could only be a seven-minute frequency from a few points on the route! As there is no route 12, I wonder why the 12X isn’t actually an 11X, to complement the main service 11?
Once the bus leaves Leamington Spa, we’re heading straight up the Kenilworth Road. My mid-morning Saturday service is pretty busy. There’s some intermediate churn even though this section is quite countrified in places.
It only takes a quarter hour or so to get to Kenilworth. This town is mentioned in the Domesday Book and its castle seems to have been central to a number of wars and battles through the ages (it was occupied during the English Civil War and then slighted afterwards). Signs of a more recent series of battles can be found down the road at Kenilworth railway station. Closed in 1965, it took a monumental effort over the space of several years to get it reopened in 2018.
The town looks quintessentially English in the winter midday sunshine. The most striking landmark passed by the number 11 is probably the Clock Tower, erected on the site of an earlier market cross, apparently.
ABOVE: National Express Coventry’s 6965 (YX68 USS), an Enviro400MMC, passes Kenilworth’s famous clock. It’s heading for Coventry, although the reproduction of the blind display via my Samsung phone means that one would never be able to tell.
We come to a T-junction with Abbey Hill (our direction) to the right and Forrest Road to the left. At the junction, with the War Memorial right in front, we have a commanding view of what looks at first glance like the local park.
But it’s a great deal more than that. Wander through and you will find the castle, the remains of St Mary’s Abbey, a lake, an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, and a children’s playground.
At the other end of the park is Kenilworth’s High Street. We don’t traverse the High Street itself but we do pass the end of it as we take a tight right turn from Bridge Street (across the Finham Brook) into New Street.
The University of Warwick is not in a Town Centre so doesn’t dominate or influence in the way that, say, Oxford and Cambridge Universities influence their respective cities. It looks to be a purpose-built, modern facility, sprawling across quite a large area, away from any major population centres other than the one it has created itself.
How lovely to see a proper, presumably purpose-built, bus interchange. It’s a decent-sized facility with five bus stops, shelters, and plenty of room for parking up between journeys for the various routes that serve it.
Quite a few students are milling about, even on a Saturday, and the bus sees a fair degree of passenger churn, whilst remaining busy. We spend a couple of minutes here as we’re slightly ahead of time.
The bus takes us up Gibbet Hill Road, which provides an extensive top deck tour of the University buildings. At what I assume to be Kirby Corner (the road we turn onto is called Kirby Corner Road, Holmes!), we pass a public house which I bet is a major local draw for the students. Quiet at this time of day, though.
Still lots of green space, and a suburban feel, as we reach the A45 dual carriageway at Canley (not to be confused with the fictional London Borough from ITV’s The Bill). A short run along the A45 brings us to Tile Hill, where a major retailing park sits next to (and on both sides of) the main road.
We’re very close to Coventry itself now. We still have time to pass Hersall Common (a Nature Reserve) and divert into the suburb of Earlsdon (nice-looking houses and another clock tower – although not as striking – no pun intended – as the one in Kenilworth).
Past King Henry VIII Independent School and we reach Coventry station. My most recent visit there was just prior to the opening of the new-look station facilities, and buses were still double-running into a rather functional temporary space outside the station entrance.
I understand that the new-look station is really impressive, but the impression given by Roger French, the Bus and Train User, is that bus users are lower down the pecking order than car drivers. Apparently the first car park (one of three) is right next to the station entrance, so very handy. The bus interchange, whilst spacious, is “a fair walk to and from the railway station entrance”, to quote Mr French. I shall have to go and have a look myself sometime.
Of course, whilst the bus station might be a fair walk from the railway, neither are exactly close to the City Centre either. It’s about a mile to go, across the Ring Road and into the City, where the big and complicated M-shaped Pool Meadow Bus Station is the terminus of the 11.
We have brought a good crowd into town, and it’s clear that the 11 is very popular; especially, but not exclusively, with students.
ABOVE: Kenilworth Clock Tower from the other side, as 6962 (YX68 USN) heads south towards Leamington. Lovely blue skies and mild temperatures despite the fact that the calendar says that it’s February. Even if I say so myself, I think this would be a magnificent photo if (a) the bus display was compatible with my phone camera, and (b) there wasn’t a roadworks sign in front of the clock!
As I head back to the station there’s the ominous sound of a football crowd. It’s Coventry v Preston today and I am about to head into Birmingham on a train bound for Preston. This is going to be fun!
As I find out when the train pulls in, the order of the names of the teams is important here. The fans aren’t Coventry supporters heading to Preston; they’re Preston supporters coming into Coventry. So they’re not on my train after all!
Let’s hope they don’t need to use the number 11, as it would be a shame to disturb a lovely, peaceful run through the Warwickshire countryside!