Close Menu
    Eastern Europe

    Exploring Coventry, England: The Underrated City You NEED to Visit



    Join us as we spend two unforgettable days in Coventry, England. Often overlooked, the 2021 UK City of Culture is a hidden gem you NEED to visit. Explore with us as we uncover amazing things to see and do like the Coventry Music Museum, Coventry Transport Museum, and the Phil Silvers Archival Museum. We check out local pubs and try local delights like Coventry Godcakes, wander through the bustling Coventry Market, explore the medieval Spon Street, and marvel at the history of places like Coventry Cathedral. This is Coventry – an underrated city bursting with culture, history, and amazing food. Don’t miss it!

    Check out our video trying street food in Coventry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn-47RgRfvM

    We are sharing unique and geeky places all around the world every week, so make sure you check out the rest of our videos and subscribe. Please leave us a comment to let us know where you’d like to see a video from next!

    Website: https://www.themagicgeekdom.com
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/magicgeekdom
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themagicgeekdom/
    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@themagicgeekdom
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themagicgeekdom/

    Support our channel by:
    Buying a t-shirt: https://MagicGeekdom.redbubble.com
    Becoming a Patron (& get a postcard every month!): https://www.patreon.com/themagicgeekdom
    Donate on PayPal: https://paypal.me/MagicGeekdom
    Using the Affiliate links below

    Our Gear:
    Mirrorless Camera: https://amzn.to/33zptb1
    Lens: https://amzn.to/33AGHoy
    Point&Shoot: https://amzn.to/36wXTx0
    Drone: https://amzn.to/39FmwcX
    Tripod: https://amzn.to/2Vvk1la
    Mini Tripod: https://amzn.to/36ulLS1
    Gimbal: https://amzn.to/2VtP7d1

    45 Comments

    4. Cader on

      When you spoke about the manufacturing of bicycle’s you mentioned a particular bike, which you mistakenly called it a Penny Fathers. The bicycle in question is called a Penny Farthing. The reason the Bike was called this, was at the time the bike was made in the 1880’s, The bike had a very large wheel at the front and a small wheel at the back . This design gave it the likeness of two coins being in circulation at the time. The large penny, called the penny coin (front wheel) and a smaller coin a quarter of a penny , which was called a Farthing (rear wheel).

    8. Sam W on

      Being from and living in the UK we forget we have all of this on our step but with holidays abroad being cheaper than holidays in our own country.

    10. Fionnuala Minto on

      I was born and bred in Coventry, but now live in Ireland. It was so lovely seeing people enjoy my hometown. You brought back so many memories for me. I was delighted to see that the roundabout/carousel still exists outside the market. I remember riding that as a child back in the 60s. The city has changed but the fundamentals are still the same. Glad you enjoyed the Windmill which was a haunt of mine back in the 80s.

    11. Nick B on

      Apparently Coventry city centre pre war was one of the most beautiful in England but was poorly rebuilt and planned after. Dresden similarly was dealt a similar fate in Germany but was rebuilt much nicer tbh!.

    14. Eddy Crowe on

      You need to come to Market Harborough in leicestershire loads of history and we have a very nice Pub Called the beerhouse which do Sour beer also you must check out Foxton locks in the harborough area most places are Dog friendly too

    16. Helen Wilson on

      Coventry was one of the most important medieval cities in all of England, it was like a trading hub of its time that branched out all over Europe. William Shakespeare's father brought his wool fleeces to Coventry and it was there he got into trouble for tax evasion on the fleeces leading to the family being brought low.

    17. Lee Cooper on

      I live within 2 or 3 miles of most of the places you filmed for this piece. Lovely to hear visitors getting such a positive impression from my home City. A minor point on The Old Windmill (or Ma Brown's as some will still call it), it doesn't claim to be the oldest Pub in the Country but the oldest in Coventry. I don't intend to sound pedantic or be nit-picking, it's just an old haunt of mine, with many happy memories. It is definitely older that The Golden Cross (which you showed the outside of when near The Cathedral) but The Old Windmill was JUST outside the City Wall which is why The Golden Cross has always (light heartedly) challenged that claim. As for the oldest Pub in England, I believe The old Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham still has a good claim to that title and is well worth a visit if you can get there.
      On the point of the City Wall, As you entered Spon St, you may have noticed that the original line of the wall is marked on the roadway as very, very little still remains of the Wall apart from 2 of the original 12 Gatehouses. One you would have seen next to The Transport Museum (Swanswell gate) and the other is very nearby in Cook St.
      On the subject of Gatehouses, somewhere well worth a visit would have been Coventry Registry office where civil marriages are still carried out and records of Births and Deaths are kept. This was originally the Gatehouse and part of the Manorhouse for Cheylesmore Manor which dates back to the 14th Century. Apparently the oldest building in the Country to hold that role. You wouldn't find it unless you were looking for it as it's pretty much hidden behind a row of post WWII concrete.
      I'll stop now, otherwise I'll be here all night but thank you, so very much. I really enjoyed seeing the pair of you enjoying my home City.

    21. Harry Marshall on

      I always remember the phrase being sent to Coventry meaning,, to be ignored and now wonder if it means as if you didn't survive the blitz 😲😲😲

    22. Cholo Sctim on

      The design of the modern bicycle and it’s mechanisms also trace back to Coventry. James Starley’s grave is located at the London Road cemetery, a short walk from the city centre. He is known as the father of the bicycle industry.

    25. Captain Torch on

      Brilliant tour and review thank you. One of the best I've ever watched. I've always had a lot of respect for Coventry, being from a nearby city. Even more so now, such a lot to see and do!
      Never seen Bilko?? Hilarious! In a time of limited tv it was a must watch in our house in the late 50's/early 60's. I have dvds now.
      Thanks again.

    26. Tim Clark on

      "Penny Farthings"! not "Penny Fathers". 😉

      In pre-decimal currency a Farthing^ was 1/4 the value of one Penny and was much smaller in size so it seemed an appropriate name for those bicycles with their small rear wheel and large driving wheel. 🙂

      *: The Farthing ceased to be legal tender on 1 January 1961 and the "old" Penny was gradually withdrawn after the decimalisation of the currency on 15 February 1971.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farthing_(British_coin)

    28. Neil Hayz on

      It’s funny that on the Continent they mostly decided to rebuild many of the city’s. Sadly in England they decided to build cheap concrete buildings that were not fit for purpose.

      In my home city Sheffield sone idiots have slapped preservation orders on the concrete brutalist architecture, although to be fair Sheffield was always “a dirty picture in a golden frame”.

      Coventry, often referred to as the most beautiful city in England pre WW2, sadly fell victim to this thinking also.

      Visited there many times for football and always found the people friendly and down to earth. The countryside is simply stunning.

    29. paul hanson on

      That bar you went to at the end is the latest incarnation of the pub…Micropubs along with micro breweries have become very popular in recent years.
      The menus are usually extensive but many sell beer flight boards, that is beer served in third of a pint glasses, you pay for a pint of beer but get 3 different beers. Ideal if you want to try lots of beers and ciders without getting completely hammered.
      If you like good beer and cider or want to try strangely flavoured beer and cider then micropubs are the place to go.

    30. Matt Field on

      Not far away is Coventry's cathedrals twin, Lichfield cathedral complete and the best example of true original gothic architecture. Well worth a visit. In the mid 18th/19thc Lichfield was an important coaching city half way from London to the north. There for Lichfield had more inns per square mile then anywhere else.

    31. The Bad Lieutenant on

      When it comes to music of Coventry, the most sucessful acts from there are probably

      1. Lieutenant Pigeon: Who had a No. 1 hit with Mouldy Old Dough in 1972.
      2. Hazel O'Connor: Who had hits with Eighth Day and Will You in the early 80s and starred in the film 'Breaking Glass'
      3. The Specials: 2 Tone group who had hits in the 70s and 80s with Message To You Rudi, Too Much Too Young and Ghost Town

    32. Simon Saunders on

      Coventry is my local city and there are – like every city – some questionable parts to it. The Cathedral is something very special. The massive bombing campaign may have been a bit of an error by German pilots who were trying to bomb Birmingham and got the wrong place completely. Having said that Birminghamm's skyline was "hidden" by very clever camouflage. What with all the lights being "hidden" and the place being in a very effective lock-down, this is of no great surprise. I don't mind the music that the area is especially well-known for but I am not a fan of the 'Not Very Specials' at all.

    35. Ann Other on

      If you watc the video on how Delia made the Dr Who theme song without any synthesizers or converntional instruments it's really remarkable

    37. Tom O'Daighre on

      I really like Coventry. The medieval stuff is great. If you ever do get the chance to get into the guildhall my favourite area inside is the old treasury room. It's empty now but it's fun to stand in there and imagine it hundreds of years ago filled up with stacks and stacks of gold. My favourite part of the city though is the central post-war area, I think the streets are at just the right width and the buildings at just the right height for it to feel like a really welcoming human-scale environment. Plus, the city planner who designed the area was an amateur egyptologist and based the layout on the ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaten. There are even little hieroglyphic easter eggs carved into the building stones to mark where the great monuments were found in the ancient Egyptian city.

    39. James the hammer on

      Hi you guy's! We Enjoy your videos, please if you get a chance to visit Lincoln lot's of history the magna carta is there at the Lincoln castle and the Lincoln cathedral what a great place. And you must walk steep hill, lot's of places to eat and drink you would love it. All the best. James.

    42. Richard Morris on

      Head southwest out of Coventry along the Kenilworth Road to Kenilworth. There’s a ruined castle and a beautiful old High Street with some lovely old pubs and cafes. Or hop on a number 11 bus at the bus station and take it all the way to Leamington Spa.

    43. john taphouse on

      a penny-father (plural penny-fathers). (obsolete) A miser or penurious person who husbands each penny.

      The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds and comfort. Named after two coins of the day, one large one small… just fyi get it wrong and we may just have to send you back to coventry..lol english joke your fine

      lol i love that pooch of yours.. when he shakes himself he almost goes arse over tit.. very funny

      Coventry was a Parliamentary stronghold. The king's soldiers were so hated that Royalist prisoners were sent to Coventry, where it was felt they would be ignored. the soldiers in defiance stained the river royal blue

      ok that last little bit i made up.. but i like it

    Leave A Reply