We travelled north again for a couple of nights so that we could spend a day in Coventry. We also hoped to be lucky enough to check out the Triumph Factory at Hinckley.

Coventry was only 25km from our hotel so we all had a nice sleep in. After our short drive we parked in the Cathedral precinct of the town.

Coventry Cathedral is not one that would be high on the best dressed list of cathedrals to visit - for a very good reason. This cathedral is topless and quite naked, not a stained glass window in sight! If you know your World War 2 history you would know that Coventry was heavily bombed by the Germans during 1940. The area around Coventry was an industrialised area and a prime target for the Germans hoping to disrupt production. It worked well. The city was devastated and one of the ruins was the magnificent cathedral parts of which had stood since the 1300's. The west tower and spire, built between 1374 and 1450, survived the air raid of 14th November 1940 that destroyed the remainder of the church. As we wandered through the remains of the cathedral we wondered why it had not been rebuilt as the magnificent cathedrals of Europe had been. Instead of repairing the old cathedral, a new (we think rather ugly) one has been constructed beside the ruins. At the moment, work is being carried out on the crypts and it is hoped that this section of the cathedral will be opened in the future for visitors to see.

We walked passed St Mary's Guildhall which is just beside the cathedral. This building also dates from the 1340's and was even the seat of the Royal Court at one stage. Mary Queen of Scots was also imprisoned here. The Council House was also beside the cathedral was built between 1913 and 1917 in early Tudor style to be in keeping with nearby St Mary's Hall. As it was now raining quite steadily we decided to find an indoor venue to explore. Coventry Transport Museum fitted the bill just fine and it was free.

Coventry Transport Museum houses the largest publicly owned collection of British vehicles in the world and tells the story of the rise and fall of Coventry's largest industry. We spent several hours checking out the exhibits of everything from bicycles, early and late model cars, army vehicles and of course motorcycles. The museum is well set out and signs at each exhibit explain its significance. Chris even had a ride in a Land Speed Record Simulator. Quite a lot of the museum is interactive and visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite exhibit with tokens you collect on the way in. I guessed that Greg probably used his tokens when he saw the Victory Car used by Field Marshall Montgomery from June 1944 through to July 1945.

Of course, no trip to Coventry would be complete without a visit to Lady Godiva's statue. The statue has been in Broadgate in Coventry since 1949. A 13th century legend has it that lady Godiva took pity on the people of Coventry who were suffering under her husband's oppressive taxation. She asked him to drop the taxes and he agreed to do so if she would ride naked through the streets of Coventry - she agreed. She issued a proclamation that everyone in town should stay indoors while she rode but just in case, she covered her naked body with her hair. Only one person disobeyed her orders and he was thereafter known as Peeping Tom. Believe it or not!

On the way back to our hotel we decided to drive to the Triumph Factory at Hinckley to see if we could organise a factory tour for the following morning. Greg and I had visited the factory in 2007 and then gone home and purchased our first Triumph. Back then we had booked our tour several months in advance so it would be a surprise if we were able to get a tour. As it turned out - no one was getting factory tours at the moment as they have been suspended until a new visitor centre is built. Maybe next trip!

We returned to our hotel to prepare for the next day - a return trip to Lincoln. While undressing for bed Greg discovered his tokens from the museum still in his pocket - he had done a Brett! (while in Bath, Brett had forgotten to hand back his audio guide from the Roman Baths).