Top 9 Natural Monuments around Finham

The area surrounding Castle Green offers picturesque views of the castle ruins and a greenery for visitors interested in England's rich history and architecture

Robert Langham (C16) - "The Castle has the name of Killingwoorth, but if truth grounded upon faithful story, Kenelwoorth [Kenilworth]. It stands in Warwickshire, a 74 mile North-West from London, and as it were in the navel of England, four mile somewhat South from Coventry a proper city, and a like distance from Warwick, a fair Shire town on the North. In air sweet and wholesome, raised on an easy-mounted hill, is set evenly coasted with the front straight into the East, has the tenants and town about it, that pleasantly shifts from dale to hill, sundry wherewith sweet springs burst forth; and is so plentiful and well sorted on every side into arable, meadow, pasture, wood, water, and good air, as it appears to have need of nothing that may pertain to living or pleasure."

This outcrop tells a story of when Kenilworth lay just north of the Equator in a semi-desert climate with market wet and dry seasons. Many buildings in Old Kenilworth, notably the Castle, the Abbey and St. Nicholas Church, are built of the local Kenilworth Sandstone that you can observe here.

Although much of it is still in ruins, it is definitely worth the visit, very accessible from the centre and with a good car park (paid) next to it. The castle, which was built between the beginning of Norman rule in England and the Tudor period, played a significant role in history.

Owned by English Heritage it has an interesting history

As part of the creation of a new UK Mail facility at the Prologis Park Ryton, our client Prologis had created a temporary borrow pit as part of the works and inadvertently, created the perfect new home for a colony of Sand Martins Riparia riparia which moved in and successfully bred (2015). The birds were left to nest in peace after a wide exclusion zone was implemented but realising that the site was on the birds’ migration route together with the fact that the borrow pit couldn’t stay on site long-term, we worked with Prologis, Whiting Landscapes and the park rangers at nearby Ryton Pools Country Park to create a brand new permanent and purpose-built nesting site in this 100 acre site managed jointly between Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. The Sand Martin nesting wall was completed in March 2016 and this year has already had a couple of pairs taking an interest. As well as providing a large and safe nesting habitat, the 15m long structure also has a number of pre-formed swallow nest sites and a rear door inspection hatch so that the rangers can keep an eye on the nesting progress and carry out any necessary maintenance. To prevent predation by other wildlife such as stoats, an anti-predator baffle has been installed below the tunnels which have been constructed of plastic pipes. We also helped create the new information board which has been installed opposite the nesting wall to inform the local visitors to the country park about the new nesting site. It’s hoped that grizzled skipper butterflies will also benefit from the new structure as one of the food plants of the larvae stage – strawberries – are to be planted on the aggregate roof in the near future! Sand Martins are gregarious and therefore tend to nest in large colonies. They are Europe’s smallest hirundine (martins and swallows) and the insectivorous birds are summer visitors to the UK, over-wintering in Africa.

Fantastic Castle, and a quick walk around the outside of the battlements at the start of this walk allows you to see what an imposing fortification this really is. Putting yourself in the place of someone laying siege to this Castle, its easy to see how much of a disadvantage you would be at even today. We didn't go inside the Castle, but it looks to be well run and lots of families were enjoying the Castle activities.

On 11th November 2014 a memorial was unveiled  in the Jephson Gardens, between the Aviary and Willes Road entrance.  The memorial will remember all those who played any part in World War One, including the widows and orphans and those who served at home. The Leamington History Group applied for the grant for the memorial and worked with Warwick District Council and Leamington Town Council to commission the sculpture. The memorial was designed by Tim Tolkien and the central feature consists of two poppies in flower and one stem with a seed-head at the top. All the poppies are entwined with barbed wire and this extends to wrap around some adjoining fencing. The tablet in front states simply “The Poppies; Lest We Forget”. The plaque naming the sculptor calls it “Barbed Poppies”. It is a subtle design which is not quite as immediate in effect as the sea of poppies surrounding the Tower of London in November 2014 but many people we have spoken to agreed that it evoked a strong emotional response.