Meriden Gap

Berkswell railway station ( BURK-swəl), in the West Midlands of England, takes its name from the nearby village of Berkswell although it is located on the northern edge of the village of Balsall Common. The station originally opened in 1844 as Docker's Lane, changed to Berkswell on 1 January 1853, then to Berkswell & Balsall Common on 1 February 1928 before reverting to Berkswell again in 1955.It is situated on the West Coast Main Line between Birmingham and Coventry, specifically between the stations of Hampton-in-Arden and Tile Hill (in west Coventry). The station and all trains serving it are operated by West Midlands Railway, while Avanti West Coast pass through the station without stopping. There are small lakes and a river on the Eastern side of the railway station.

Balsall Common is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is situated 4.5 miles (7.5 km) northwest of Kenilworth, 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west of Coventry, 8 miles (13 km) east of Solihull and 15 miles (24 km) to the southeast of Birmingham. The name “Balsall” comes from the Anglo Saxon word “Baelle” meaning corner (or angle) of land, and “Heale” meaning a sheltered place

Balsall Common Viaduct is a railway viaduct under construction in Balsall Common that will carry the High Speed 2 railway line.The finalised design of the viaduct was issued in February 2023; it will be a mostly concrete structure, comprising 16 piers and a bridge deck approximately 10 metres (33 feet) above ground. Various measures to mitigate acoustic, environmental, and community impact will be incorporated into the construction process and the finished viaduct.

The A452 is a road in England, which runs from Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire to Brownhills in the West Midlands. It is the major link to the M6 motorway for both Leamington and Warwick in addition to serving as Leamington's link to the M40 motorway and to Coventry. Between Brownhills and Kenilworth it follows the line of the ancient drover's road called the Welsh Road, which probably has pre-Roman origins.

Berkswell ( BURK-swəl) is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, county of West Midlands, England. Historically in Warwickshire, Berkswell is situated in the rural east of the borough, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the western city boundary of Coventry, at Eastern Green. It is situated about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) west of Coventry city centre, 8.5 miles (13.7 km) east of central Solihull, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south of Meriden and 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Balsall Common. The United Kingdom Census 2001 recorded a parish population of 2,843, increasing to 3,139 at the 2011 Census.

Berkswell Hall is a 19th-century country house at Berkswell, formerly Warwickshire now West Midlands, now converted into residential apartments. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Heart of England School is a secondary school and sixth form with academy status located in Balsall Common in the West Midlands. The Headteacher, who started at the start of the Academic year 2014, is Miss Hughes-Williams. She previously worked as a member of the school's senior leadership team.

Berkswell Marsh is a 7.5 hectare (18.5 acre) biological site of Special Scientific Interest in the West Midlands, en. The site was notified in 1991 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is located in the Meriden Gap which is between Birmingham and Coventry.

The Heart of England Way is a long-distance walk of around 160 km (100 mi) through the Midlands of England. The walk starts from Milford Common on Cannock Chase and ends at Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds linking south Staffordshire through Warwickshire to east Gloucestershire (or vice versa).It crosses seven others: the Beacon Way, Staffordshire Way, Two Saints Way, Arden Way, Cotswold Way, Oxfordshire Way, and Thames Path. It is maintained by the Heart of England Way Association. On 3 April 2021, Richard Antrobus set a new record, north to south, nonstop of 19 hours 47 minutes. Food and water was provided at prearranged places to comply with Covid restrictions in place at the time. Diversions due to construction of HS2 were followed with the final distance covered being 104 miles. This was confirmed by two separate trackers carried for the entire route. On 20 July 2013, Ultra Runner David Hollyoak set a solo course record of completing the entire length of the Heart Of England Way (south to north) nonstop in 25 hours 11 minutes. The run is corroborated by having a relay of runners to run sections with him all the way.

The Cyclists War Memorial is a war memorial on the village green in Meriden, West Midlands. The village between Coventry and Birmingham was long reputed to be at the geographical centre of England. The national memorial was built in 1920 to commemorate cyclists killed in the First World War (it is now believed that the first British soldier killed in the war was Private John Parr, a reconnaissance cyclist with the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment). A bronze plaque was added in 1963 to commemorate cyclists killed in the Second World War. A committee to organise a national cyclists war memorial was established in November 1919, chaired by the Conservative politician W. G. Howard Gritten, known as the "cyclists' MP", with the Lord Chancellor, the 1st Earl of Birkenhead as president. Funding of around £1,100 was raised by public donations, including the proceeds from auctioning the Rudge-Whitworth bicycle of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, which was sold for £100 to Rev. Basil Graham Bourchier. The memorial comprises a 30 ft (9.1 m) high obelisk of Cornish grey granite with stepped top, weighing about 32 t (31 long tons; 35 short tons), standing a 7.5 ft (2.3 m) square plinth with inscription panel on front, on a square base. An inscription with gold lettering reads "TO THE / LASTING MEMORY / OF THOSE / CYCLISTS / WHO DIED IN THE / GREAT WAR 1914 - 1919". The memorial was deliberately kept simple in design eschewing cycling symbolism, and located at the heart of England to make it easier for people to visit from around the country. It was constructed in 1920 by stonemasons J White and Sons of Yardley, Birmingham and unveiled on 21 May 1921 by the Earl of Birkenhead, and dedicated by Rev. Bourchier, at a ceremony attended by an estimated 20,000 people including many thousands of cyclists. Around the anniversary of the unveiling, a memorial service is held by the Cyclists' Touring Club in May each year. The memorial was rededicated in 1963, when a plaque was added to commemorate cyclists killed in the Second World War, which reads "IN REMEMBRANCE / OF THOSE / CYCLISTS / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN WORLD WAR II / 1939 - 1945". It became a Grade II listed building in 2001. A second plaque was added 2013, commemorating all cyclists who fought and died for their country, dedicated at the remembrance service in May 2014. Nearby is the Grade II listed sandstone monument that by tradition marks the centre of England.

Meriden is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England. Historically, it is part of Warwickshire and lies between the cities of Birmingham and Coventry. It is located close to the Warwickshire border within a green belt of the countryside known as the Meriden Gap and is in the ecclesiastical parish of the Diocese of Coventry. The village is 6.75 miles (11 kilometres) east-northeast of Solihull, 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometres) west-northwest of Coventry and 4.5 miles (7 kilometres) east-southeast of Birmingham Airport. Birmingham city centre is 12.5 miles (20 kilometres) east-northeast of the village. Known as "Alspath" in the Domesday Book, it was historically thought to be the geographical centre of England until the early 2000s, though after an analysis by the Ordnance Survey this was proved to be incorrect. The village gives its name to the Meriden parliamentary constituency, which was created in 1955 and covers the Meriden Gap. In the 2011 Census, the population of the Meriden parish was 2,719. The population is estimated to have risen to 3,096 by 2017.Meriden is served by National Express West Midlands service X1 between Birmingham and Coventry and by Stagecoach's service 82 between Solihull and Coventry. The latter also serves the nearest mainline station at Hampton-in-Arden.

The Coventry Way is a 40-mile (64 km) long distance footpath in central England that starts and finishes in Meriden. It forms a circular route around the city of Coventry covering countryside in both the West Midlands and Warwickshire. The path is managed by A Coventry Way Association.