Kenilworth Greenway

The former railway line linking Kenilworth Junction to Berkswell has now taken on a new lease of life following a £50 million Lottery grant awarded to the Sustrans Connect 2 Project. Work started quickly in January 2008 and following cutting back and clearing of undergrowth a new technique was used to lay a hard surface. The surface is suitable for walkers and cyclists, who are actively encouraged to use the route, but not motorcyclists. Horse riders are also welcomed but must follow their own bridle path to the side of the hard surface. There are mounting blocks for riders at each of the new access points that have been installed and riders must obtain a permit before using the route.

I can recommend a visit to the area for a very pleasant stroll and if you look carefully you can find some industrial archaeological links to the routes former roll as a railway line. (It was finally closed and track lifted in 1972/1973). Wildlife abounds and there is virtually no road noise. I saw numerous birds, rabbits, pheasants and squirrels on my stroll on a beautiful April morning recently. There are various access points along the route which currently ends near to Red Lane, Burton Green but will continue to Berkswell in due course. If you want to be a bit greener, leave the car at home and take the Stagecoach X17 bus service, which runs approximately every 15 mins, between Leamington, Warwick, Kenilworth & Coventry and alight at the stop on Coventry Road near Woodland Road where The Greenway currently starts/finishes. In due course there are plans to create a spur at this point, leading across the countryside to the University of Warwick, and a new bridge to span Coventry Road at the site of the long since demolished iron railway bridge.

£50 million won and we couldn’t have done it without you!

This is fantastic news, and thanks to everyone who voted for Sustrans’ Connect2 in the People’s £50 Million Lottery Giveaway, and for your help in winning £50 million of funding from the Big Lottery Fund for Sustrans to invest in walking and cycling UK-wide. This really is an amazing achievement for our charity and the many local authority and other partners with whom we will work on Connect2. We simply couldn’t have done it without you and your votes.

We start work on delivering Connect2 in January 2008. Our local authority partners are poised ready to go, and will be adding matched funding from their own transport and other budgets to the £50 million from the Big Lottery Fund. This is a five year project, and in total we have already identified nearly £100 million of local authority funding to support Connect2, and we are working hard to bring even more funding to the project so that we can ensure as many people as possible benefit from Connect2.

We will continue to update you on progress during 2008. In the meantime can I take this opportunity to thank you again for supporting Sustrans’ Connect2.

John Grimshaw MBE
Founder and Chief Executive Sustrans