19th June 2014 Rugby Romp 41

Good ride today over to Rugby, the home of Rugby Football as is says on all the road signs entering the town.  Checked out the forecast before starting, and as the wind was in the NW chose to ride in that direction for the first half.  Not that it was that strong, about 10mph, but every little helps. Went via Cubbington, Offchurch, Birdingbury, and Bilton and returned via Princethorpe and Hunningham, a nice circuit.

Birdingbury Bus Stop

What a splendid bus stop, right in the middle of Birdingbury, next to the Village Hall. The Parish Council have put some effort into this with hanging baskets and loads of local information displayed inside.  A nice touch is the water butt collecting the rain from the roof and, I should think, used to water the hanging baskets.  Well done to the P.C.

Webb Ellis statue Rugby

William Webb-Ellis is the founder of Rugby Football according to legend.  He was schooled at Rugby School and during a game of football there, in 1823, disregarded the rules of the day and caught the ball and ran with it to the opponents touch line. From this act, which has little evidence to support it, the modern game was founded. The World Cup is named the Webb-Ellis trophy in his name. This statue is outside the Rugby School.

Rugby School

This school is one of the oldest independant schools in England and is the founder of the private school education system. It began in 1567 and during the 19th century, Mathew Arnold, the headmaster,  had a huge influence on the education system of the time.  It started off as a free school for children who lived less than 10 miles from Rugby but developed into a grammar school. It still offers scholarships to local children.

Rugby Clock Tower

This was built in 1887 to commemorate the golden jubilee of Queen Victoria. Not a good place to go to see the New Year in, they all start fighting at 10 seconds past midnight.

A good ride again, 41 miles. A bonus today was calling to see my granddaughter and her husband at Hunningham on the way back.