Atherstone

Atherstone makes a good base for exploring a corner of Warwickshire that mixes industrial heritage with genuinely rural countryside. Rather than one big-name hotel chain, the area offers a mix of traditional pubs with rooms, small guesthouses and farm B&Bs scattered through the villages around the town, with a wider choice of branded hotels a short drive away in Nuneaton, Tamworth and Hinckley for anyone wanting more amenities or a business-standard room. Staying centrally means being within easy walking distance of Long Street, the Coventry Canal locks and St Mary's Church, while a base slightly out of town puts you closer to Merevale, Bosworth Battlefield and the Ashby Canal towpath. Given the town's position on the A5 and close to the M42, it also works well as a stopover for travellers heading through the Midlands, or as a quieter alternative to staying in Birmingham or Coventry while still being within easy commuting distance of both. Booking ahead is worth doing around Shrove Tuesday, when the Ball Game draws visitors from across the region and the handful of local rooms fill up quickly.

Atherstone is a compact town, easy to explore on foot, with a handful of attractions that punch well above its size.

• Atherstone Ball Game — Played every Shrove Tuesday on Long Street since at least 1199, this is one of only three surviving medieval "mob football" games left in England, alongside Ashbourne and Alnwick. A giant leather ball, specially made each year, is thrown from an upstairs window at 3pm and the ensuing two-hour scrum for possession draws hundreds of spectators and closes the town centre.
• Atherstone Visitor and Heritage Centre — Housed in the old hat factory on Long Street, this volunteer-run museum tells the story of the town from Roman Watling Street through three centuries of hat manufacturing to the present day, with rotating exhibitions on the trade, local mining and quarrying, and the crowded yards where factory workers once lived.
• St Mary's Church — Originally built as the gatehouse chapel to nearby Merevale Abbey, this medieval church stands at the heart of the town and is one of the oldest structures in Atherstone.
• Merevale Abbey and Merevale Hall — A short drive away, the ruins of the Cistercian abbey founded in 1148 and dissolved under Henry VIII sit within the grounds of the Merevale estate, alongside the parkland church of St Mary the Virgin.
• Coventry Canal towpath and Atherstone Locks — The canal's flight of eleven locks through the town is a popular spot for watching narrowboats work through, and the towpath makes for an easy, level walk in either direction.
• Ashby Canal — A lock-free stretch of waterway heading out through open countryside towards Shackerstone and Market Bosworth, ideal for longer walks, cycling or a canal boat trip.
• Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre — A short drive over the county line into Leicestershire, the site of the 1485 battle where Richard III lost his crown to Henry Tudor now has a visitor centre, battlefield trails and regular re-enactment events.
• Twycross Zoo — One of the UK's best-known zoos, particularly noted for its primate collection, lies within easy reach for a family day out.

Long Street and the town centre have a solid spread of everyday pubs and cafes serving the local community, including long-standing town-centre pubs that double as good spots to watch the Ball Game come past the door on Shrove Tuesday. The weekly market adds a changing selection of stalls, and the canal-side setting means a walk along the towpath can easily be combined with a stop at one of the pubs backing onto the water. For a wider choice of restaurants and independent cafes, nearby Nuneaton and Tamworth are both a short drive away.

Wild camping is not legally permitted in England without the landowner's permission, so anyone wanting to camp around Atherstone should stick to registered sites, certified locations and landowner-approved pitches rather than pitching up on the canal towpath or in open farmland. That said, the countryside around the town is well suited to a camping trip: gently rolling north Warwickshire farmland threaded by the Coventry and Ashby canals, with plenty of quiet lanes for walking and cycling between pitches and attractions like Merevale, Bosworth Battlefield and Twycross Zoo.

Small campsites and certified sites tend to be spread across the farms and villages surrounding Atherstone rather than in the town itself, often on working farms that welcome tents, campervans and caravans alike. Facilities vary from very basic fields with a tap and an honesty box to better-equipped sites with electric hook-up and shower blocks, so it is worth checking what is included before booking. For those who want the outdoor feel without carrying a tent, glamping options in the wider area range from shepherd's huts and safari tents to converted farm buildings, giving a comfortable base for exploring the canals and countryside.

Spring through early autumn is the best window for camping here, when the canal towpaths are at their most pleasant for walking and cycling and the evenings are long enough to enjoy a fire pit or a walk down to the locks. Ground can get heavy after wet weather given the clay-rich Warwickshire soil, so a site with reasonable drainage is worth seeking out if visiting outside the driest summer months. Shrove Tuesday itself is a poor time to plan a quiet countryside stay, since the town centre is entirely given over to the Ball Game and accommodation of all kinds gets booked up well in advance.