Atherstone

Atherstone sits in the quiet north-eastern corner of Warwickshire, a market town built along the dead-straight line of Watling Street, the Roman road that the Victorians proved still ran directly beneath its main thoroughfare, Long Street, when excavators struck ancient paving stones in 1868. For 300 years the town made its living from hats, its factories and workshops turning out headwear for the whole country until the last one closed in 1999, and that industrial memory still shapes the townscape today in rows of workers' cottages, chapel buildings and the old factory that now houses the town's heritage centre.

Around the town, the landscape softens into rolling north Warwickshire countryside, cut through by the Coventry Canal, whose flight of eleven locks at Atherstone is one of the more dramatic stretches of inland waterway in the Midlands. A few miles further west the Ashby Canal winds off through open farmland towards Leicestershire, tracing the edge of the ground where the Battle of Bosworth was fought in 1485. It is a town that rewards a slower pace: a proper market square, a parish church with medieval roots, and a genuinely famous piece of folk history that erupts onto Long Street every single Shrove Tuesday.

Top things to do in Atherstone

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.

Getting to Atherstone

Atherstone sits directly on the A5, the modern line of Watling Street, and is close to the M42 and M69, putting it within easy reach of Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester and the wider Midlands motorway network. Atherstone railway station, on the West Coast Main Line branch between Nuneaton and Tamworth, has regular services connecting into the wider rail network, making the town accessible without a car for those coming from Birmingham or the north-west Midlands.

Best time to visit Atherstone

Shrove Tuesday (February or early March, depending on the date of Easter) is the town's single biggest date, when the Ball Game takes over Long Street; it is a spectacle rather than a relaxing day out, so visit for the atmosphere and expect the town centre to be closed to traffic. Spring and summer are the most comfortable seasons for walking the canal towpaths and exploring the surrounding countryside, with long evenings well suited to a stroll along the Coventry Canal locks. Autumn brings good conditions for visiting Bosworth Battlefield and Merevale, when the parkland colours are at their best, while the heritage centre and town's pubs and cafes make for a good indoor option on colder winter weekends.

Where to stay in Atherstone

Atherstone itself has a small stock of pubs with rooms and guesthouses, while the surrounding villages and countryside offer a wider choice of country inns, B&Bs and farm-based accommodation. Nearby towns such as Nuneaton, Tamworth and Hinckley have a broader range of hotels for those wanting more choice, all within a short drive of Atherstone and its canal-side countryside.

Food and drink in Atherstone

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.