Sent to Coventry

[Hoppinggreen]

Ok, so not actually sent but I am going next week.
I will be there Monday to Thursday and staying in an area called "Fargo" that is allegedly "trendy" but I am not convinced.
I will have nothing to do between about 9 and 3 each day apart from a bit of work that isnt time sensitive and then I will also be free but with another person each evening.
Does anyone who knows the area have any suggestions about things I can do/places to visit/restaurants etc? I have a car so can travel a bit but I dont want to go too far
Also, any local MNetters fancy a coffee? I promise I am not a nutter (mostly)

Ah what a pity I've come across this too late. Coventry born and bred here and could have helped you out with suggestions! Hope your visit went well and you enjoyed your time here. If you are ever in the area again let me know!

Thank you
Our visit achieved its aim and I did manage to entertain myself but I am afraid Coventry isnt somewhere I would go again (sorry)
To be fair I think the issue was the area we stayed, which was pretty awful. With hindsight I should have chosen somewhere a bit further away and travelled a bit more each morning to drop DD off for her course

Like any city, Coventry has its good bits and it's bad bits. Fargo Village was established about 10 years ago in a more rundown bit of the city, and is very popular with students and hipster types but the surrounding area itself isn't great. But then most of Coventry in the central area seems to be student accommodation now for both Coventry and Warwick accommodation.

Fargo was bloody awful. I live near a gritty Northern town and am not scared by places that are a bit rough but it really was crap. We only managed to sleep with ear plugs in and even so were woken up by loud shouting outside most nights/early mornings - on one occasion we were wondering whether to call the Police at 3am when someone was threatening to kill someone else. There were random people with MH conditions wandering around and I have never seen so much security in a Sainsburys. As for the Hipster Fargo village bit it was a couple of packing crates on their side with 1 open shop in there.
I wasnt expecting it to be Camden Locks but it was pretty shite I am afraid

I've not been in 7 or 8 years but Fargo Village was quite busy and bustling when it first opened but yeah it's between Stoke and Hillfields which are extremely deprived areas of Coventry and always have been. The South/West of Coventry is a lot better but yeah, I wouldn't walk the streets around that but of Coventry at night.

Agreed that the area around Fargo isn't great. Don't write the whole city off though on just one area! Coventry does have quite a lot going for it and does have it's nicer areas. I can fully appreciate that experiencing what you did left a bad impression but you'll find that all cities have dodgy areas, crime and strange people loitering about.

*however

I know, my own town does
For me to dislike an area and be worried about our safety not just at night but during the day it has to be bad. I wasnt exactly brought up in a leafy part of Surrey. There was drug dealing openly going on in the park across the street from where we stayed for example. I have seen it before but not on that scale.
To be fair when I walked into The City there were some Ok bits and they had a huge Primark and Wagamamas so DD was happy.
Anyway, the trip served its purpose and I wasnt too bored so its all good

I used to quite like Fargo Village when I lived in Coventry, it was one of my favourite places to go for a wander at weekends. This was over 10 years ago now though. There used to be a nice second hand bookshop/coffee shop there. There was an amazing middle-eastern restaurant near there called Habibis - it's changed address to further up the road and changed hands and I've not been back so cannot vouch for how it is now but it used to be one of my favourite places.

Slough.

Have you been there?

Too late for your trip but when I went recently I was pleasantly surprised by how much of central Coventry DID survive the Blitz - there are some wonderful historic buildings and interesting things to see - plus the brutalist 60s architecture doesn't look as awful and unfashionable as it used to. I was pleasantly surprised by the city centre and all the students certainly add a spark, but I can't speak for the suburbs.