A trip out to Seeswood Pool and Astley castle, both on the outskirts of Nuneaton

THIS VIDEO
This ongoing Video Diary by myself John Neal, sometimes known as John Longcroft-Neal, as the whim takes me.

TODAY’S SUBJECT is trip out to Seeswood Pool and Astley castle, both on the outskirts of Nuneaton, a place worth living in.

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I am retired from two careers of primary school teaching when I was deputy head of a Middle School and Primary School, and as a self employed Chalkboard Artist from 2002 until I reached the grand old age of 65 in 2016. Since I retired it’s like a second childhood but with more expensive toys.

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I play guitar and write songs and have written about 14 songs for the local BBC radio station. I run a weekly (weakly) evening Acoustic session at a local pub and have been doing so for 14 years now. I also started an afternoon acoustic session in a quite large cafe in Nuneaton. Both premises were former songwriting clients of mine.

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I also enjoy gardening but lay no claims to have any expertise, and you might catch me out in the countryside of Warwickshire and nearby Leicestershire on a walk with my wife or on a bike ride.

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Good morning it’s John lro Neil here it’s uh Thursday uh the 11th of January 2024 and I’m going to uh seawood pool which is here and asley Castle aha it says keep out fishing members only and a damn great big lock on it well people have gone down but obviously people have officially can go and fish what’s a bit of a blow because I’ve walked around there many a time and it’s never been restricted like

That so I’ll have to come along this path which is right next to the the water and the fast Road and uh make the best of it from here but this is all part of the arria state which is over this side and this is se’s wood itself on the left I

Understand but uh the arbory estate it’s quite interesting well everybody enjoys a good map so here we are and this is the entrance to Ary Hall and Ary Park this is from the inside round Tower as it’s called and the house is absolutely terrific look at this you can get there at bank

Holidays for a small fee which is fantastic I’ve been a number of times this is Caesar wood pool where I am at the moment and if we carry on down Ashley Lane this is Ashley where Ashley Castle is there you’ve got your bearings now the only creatures doing any fishing

Today are the likes of this Swan and a couple of Coots here we are you see their white bills on the front of the face so first things first let’s get the Drone up in the air and have a look around well I’ve had to take off from the path

At the side of the road which is fine flew out and then this is looking back towards the road where I am at the moment and just for a bit of excitement I thought I’d try sort of a dambusters approach between these trees well we’ll have to leave there and

Head off towards Ashley Castle which was sort of part of the estate here at some point it’s got a long history so any history Buffs it’ll be of interest to you right moving on to asley Castle and uh I can’t drive with a hat on because it makes you go slow

Um yeah the traffic here is quite tricky in fact there was tragically uh a terrible accident along here quite a few years back now and there’s a memorial very fast Road very dodgy and there’s nowhere to park there’s no facility is here there’s just some spaces up there

Where the fishermen can uh often Park and around the edge but nothing else which is in many ways it’s fine because it’s unspoiled now making my way along Ashley Lane past the first sign for Ashley Village and as we turn the corner and go down here the castle is on the right and

A big pond in front of bit and on the left you can see what is another entrance to the arria state which is marked by this sort of Gate House on the Left look this Junction in Ashley Village is quite dangerous and there’s extra markings put down here and restrictions

Look I don’t suppose that’s a problem they had in the 13th century when this little village was at its height tur in right here I think I’m okay to leave my car there but uh see this big circular disc thing any ideas it’s for a wheel right when they

Make carts wheels and Forge them to uh put them onto um carts you know the big metal outsides so that’s um it serves some function for that not quite sure what it is but they’re pretty permanent things you can see them all over the place look at this little cottage over

Here isn’t it lovely that’s nice I say nice I’ve said this before they are only small Cottages um but they’re uh they’re very quaint anyway to say this is rather attractive as well well it certainly is Ivy Cottage look at it more of an indication of uh the work that took place here

Blacksmith’s Cottage well before we get to the castle I have to say there’s a couple of notice boards here at the back of the um ashle reading room I could have parked here look quite easily it’s like a community center thing anyway says here that it goes back a long way this

Actuallyy Castle it wasn’t really a castle but it says here that um this is funny the castle was crenelated uh in 1266 by permission from the king so the crenelations are the the bits on the top here look those those bits which make it look like a castle

Seems it seems you have to get permission from the King to do it 1266 so it’s a long way back as a house rather than a castle sort of a fortified house but it’s been renovated a few times I came here in the 1970s when it was a sort of a

Restaurant Cafe then they had a big fire it was Destroy not destroyed but damaged stood empty for a long time and then was renovated and uh is now some holiday accommodation and I’ve been here before since then it was back in 2017 and some friends and I played some music here

Upstairs it was really really nice can’t quite remember what the occasion was though but look at this as well wow wonder what this was in its day the deret building now there’s Ashley church over there and here is Ashley Castle such as it is well I know there’s a little uh roadway

Up here which is all covered by trees which is lovely I’m going to have a look for that but uh this building here look wonderful I think the stone is um Sandstone but uh yeah it’s a Pity that this is just disintegrating really alth it’s been held together at the moment

Let’s see what’s down here we’re right next to the church look oh say I am very fond of some weathered stone or brick and here’s two beautiful examples look at the textures and the colors fantastic now I do know there used to be a school here and that was once used as

A studio for John lets the sculptor who did those statues in uh n of George Elliott it’s now as you can hear a nursery it just says the old school daily Nursery I just love all these old brick buildings look at them the floor is made of blue brick which is

Sunk you can see these old bricks there must have been ages ago the slightly odd roof line as well that’s another interesting Vista well I don’t know about you but I’m quite fond of a a long wobbly fence love it particularly if you got a telephoto

Lens uh which you can get now on the iPhone 15 a 5x as they call it silly let me just say this at this point the sacrifices I go through to make these videos for you unbelievable I mean look at this I cleaned those shoes this morning these good folk

Are staying in the uh Ashley Castle which is now some accommodation as I’ve said uh they’ve been about three or four days apparently and they’re just going back to Oxford and uh wish them well I don’t know why this gr so undulating um but there’s these pwns and dips and then this is

Remarkable I love this I don’t know anywhere else where I’ve photographed this tree on this mound a few times uh CU I just really rather like it well you know that I like a nice tree I’m stood here and there’s two three remarkable ones this one which is very

Grand and then next to it this one on the mound which again is fantastic and then this one is really showing off look at those branches and this one’s about 2T off the ground wonderful wonderful yes I love a good these trees have been here for decades maybe hundreds of years we’re now

Approaching the uh Castle Itself Well how you go as the castle and the Church of St Mary the Virgin as well thank you very much for watching I really enjoyed that I can’t wait to get back and uh see some of the footage from the Drone as well it’s a lovely Place

See there are great places around niton as well as thean itself it’s wonderful okay you see me in the next one Bye-bye