Warwick

With inclement weather forecasted for the weekend a decision was made to see if we could obtain a mooring in the Saltisford Arm until Monday.  The Arm is owned and operated by the Saltisford Trust who allow casual moorings on a first come, first service basis (ie, they don’t take bookings).  You can read more about the Trust by following the hyperlink.  Mooring is free for the first 24 hours and then a very reasonable £5.50 per day thereafter.  Each mooring has shore power and water (the former at a cost).  The Arm is within easy walking distance of Warwick and the nearby Sainsbury’s supermarket.

The Arm used to be longer and was the Warwick end of the Warwick-Birmingham Canal.  Apparently the Grand Union Canal was extended north from Napton Junction to Warwick.  The Arm used to be slightly longer extending under the railway and terminating in what is now the Sainsbury’s supermarket.

Most people will probably walk around Warwick and take photos of the town centre or the castle.  We’ve been here before and done that so I opted to walk away from the tourist area and look for something different. 

St Nicholas Church Street had two interesting buildings.  The first was St Nicholas Church <surprise>

 

St Nicholas isn’t the largest C of E church in Warwick.  That title goes to the Collegiate Church of St Mary in the centre of Warwick.  Finding information abut the history of St Nicholas has proved to be more difficult than usual.  The church has a website <here> but there is no information on its history.  Well that proved to be wrong because there was a tag on the website.  The current church as built in the late 18th century in the style of Christopher Wren.  It replaced a crumbling medieval church built on the ruins of a Saxon nunnery.  St Nicholas is sometimes referred to as the ‘Castle Church’, being close to Warwick Castle.  The Earl of Warwick is a patron.

Almost opposite is The old Corn Barn. Searching for information on this building proved to be fruitless.  The British History Online website mentions there were numerous barns around Warwick.  Whilst this building looks old and has a sign above the main door “the Old Corn Barn” it’s now subdivided into flats.

At the end of the street is the road entrance into Warwick Castle. 

This isn’t the public entrance which is around the corner on Castle Lane.