Getting here: Castle & Abbey Trail Kenilworth Castle by Jamie Gray Photography By Car By Train elcome to Kenilworth, a place most definitely worth Kenilworth is located on the Trains run regularly from your time…. Step into our monumental story amongst A46 just 6 miles from both Kenilworth Station to Coventry W the noble ruins of Kenilworth Castle. Lose yourself Coventry and Warwick. and Royal Leamington Spa. in the rolling greenery of Abbey Fields, or venture just a little further into beautiful countryside alive with nature. Spend a day There is plenty of parking in www.nationalrail.co.uk uncovering the rich threads of our history, browse intriguing the town centre at Abbey End. shops or simply kick back over some fabulous food & drink. By Foot or By Bike By Bus But wait, there’s more here than you’d think So, slow down, The Kenilworth Greenway savour each moment and... Regular services connect connects to Berkswell and Kenilworth with Warwick, the Centenary and Millennium Royal Leamington Spa and Ways pass through the town. Discover the story for yourself... Coventry. www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ www.traveline.info pathsandtrails Further Information: Visit visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk for more information Visit www.shakespeares-england.co.uk for information on the wider area Lapidarium Wall in Abbey Ruins by James Turner Want a deeper experience? Kenilworth Town Council Discover Kenilworth’s This leaflet is just the tip of the iceberg! We have also developed a companion greatest story! mobile website which expands on each of These trails were produced by Kenilworth Town Council, and were our trails, with bags more information and funded by a grant from HS2’s Business & Local Economy Fund (BLEF), adding benefit to communities demonstrably disrupted by the 3.5 Miles Approx. 2 hours interactive features. construction of Phase One of HS2 from London to West Midlands. Easy route on roads & footpaths (can be muddy) Visit the website or scan the QR code: Design by: www.blackspiraldesign.co.uk Cover image by Matthew Sugars Photography. Inset images © English Heritage & Jonathan Corbett Photography visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk/discover/trails visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk Kenilworth’s Greatest Story... 3 The Mere ncover the monumental tale behind Kenilworth’s greatest treasures! A tale of love, death, triumph and tragedy all The walls were not the castle’s only defence however, Finham U played out across the ruined stones of the Castle and the Brook was dammed at the tiltyard to create a huge artificial Abbey. Uncover the truth, shatter myths and enjoy a journey lake. The “Mere” was 1.2km long and in places 152m wide through some of the greatest moments of Kenilworth’s history. defending the Castle on two sides and creating a moat on the Sandstone in Castle Walls Kenilworth Castle in 1575. © Historic England Archive others. These formidable defences kept Henry’s siege engines The walk is around 3.5 miles and takes approximately 2 hours (illustration by Peter Urmston) at a distance and forced an unsuccessful night-time assault (not including a visit to the Castle). The route is mostly on roads using barges hauled overland. In later times the Mere became and paths, but can be muddy in winter, particularly on the site of more of a royal pleasure lake for boating, hosting regattas, and the mere, however the views and stories make it worthwhile! 2 The Castle Defences as a backdrop to firework displays. Turn right along the track and continue through two fields to reach the Pleasance. www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenilworth-castle/ Abbey End Around 1210 King John built the Castle’s outer walls and Start: towers, with stone from the quarry on the hill behind you. Postcode (for Sat Nav): CV8 1QJ The defences were further reinforced by earthworks on this Coordinates (for GPS): 52.344, -1.579 side of the brook (known as the Brays), likely topped with a Plentiful parking is available in Abbey End or Square West wooden palisade. In 1266 after the death of the rebel Simon de Montfort, Sir Henry de Hastings refused to surrender www.warwickdc.gov.uk/info/20548/kenilworth_car_parks the Castle, holding it in the name of Simon’s wife and son. In response, King Henry III laid siege to the Castle for almost six The Pleasance in 1420 © Historic England Archive entire months. Trebuchets hurled 300lb stones against the Fireworks over Kenilworth Castle by Wael (illustration by Peter Urmston) walls, although they would prove ineffective against the sturdy defences. Continue west on the footpath through three gates. tart your walk at the pedestrian area in Abbey End. You’ll find options for refreshments nearby as well as public 4 S toilets. Cross the road to the Holiday Inn and head right The Pleasance along Abbey End to the War Memorial. In the early 15th century, Henry V built the “Pleasance in the Short Cut... Marsh”, a secluded banqueting lodge hidden away here on For a shorter walk... Continue ahead towards the Castle then the edge of the Mere. Reachable by boat, the four-acre site 1 right around the walls anti-clockwise to the car park, cross the The Beginning comprised a rectangular moated earthwork topped by timber road and bear right to rejoin the main route at point 7. buildings, with stone towers at each corner, and enclosing a courtyard garden. Sadly, it was demolished on the orders of In 1119 King Henry I granted land on the Royal Manor of Henry VIII in 1524. Stoneleigh to his Chamberlain Geoffrey de Clinton. On the king’s orders, Geoffrey built a Castle to the west, raising a stone The land around the Mere had been used as a royal hunting keep on a sandstone outcrop protected by marshy ground. This park since the 14th century but around 1565 Robert Dudley made the castle a formidable stronghold and a key defence expanded this by 800 acres to create a walled hunting forest or of Henry’s realm east of the Forest of Arden. Geoffrey further “chase”. Take the gate to your right and continue on footpath gifted land (the current Abbey Fields) for the establishment of to Purlieu Lane. Continue until Castle comes into view. an Augustinian Priory. Take Forrest Road to the Junction. Turn right, cross Borrowell Lane and then turn left on the small road and bear right behind houses to reach woodland. On leaving woods turn right and follow the track to the gate next to the Castle ticket office. Continue overleaf... Re-enactment of a Norman siege at Kenilworth Castle Working Trebuchet at Warwick Castle by-nc-sa/2.0 - © © English Heritage Hari Menon R e d L a n e C r a c k le y L a n e oad d ange R a d Gr o ryfiel C R h t r Cr o yf w iel l d i Gr n an e ge A4 R K 5 o 9 S 2 a to B d 2 n ir 4 e m l i A e ng ig ha h m R R o o a ad d R e d L a n e ne La Hill gs Kin A45 2 Bi rmin gham Road S to n e le d ig a h o R R o y a tr d n ve C o r C a 9 c 2 k 4 l e Crackley Wood A y L a n e Kenilworth Greenway A 452 Birmi ngha m R o R a e d d L a n e C H r a c o k le l y l L i a s n e L oad d a range R a eld G o n fi Cry R e h t r Cr o yf w iel l d i Gr n an e ge A4 R K 5 o 9 S 2 a to B d 2 n ir 4 e m l i A e ng ig ha h m R R o o a ad d ne La se ou leh e a v D ri D s e c n ri P R e d K L a e n e W n e o i Lan o l ill s H d w ing l K a n o d R r o t a h S d t o A4 G n 52 B C e irm d om le in r i gham a g Ro o e h ad m R R e o y o a n d tr n L w n a e n v e a e o n C y a L 9 2 y 4 e e l A an A k L 45 land 2 B c nny e a Fe e r S hi d to ve C a n e H o le ill d R ig a d h o n R R o y la a stripped of its wealth, much of its stone re-cycled (mainly by tr h d en ig v H C o Robert Dudley) and it was left to ruin. The 1370 Gatehouse, was r C a 9 c 2 e k 4 l e A Crackley Wood s the main entrance to the abbey, manned by a porter who lodged y o L l C a o n se C in the adjacent two-storey rooms. A wall or further structures e m Kenilworth Greenway lo n U C o t t m p n e would have created a courtyard extending to the museum p e tl o e v it n r n L S o L and the cloister.