Weston Wood

New fences and gates have been erected alongside the B4453 Rugby Road. This is in advance of the road being diverted to cross HS2 by an overbridge yet to be built. The stretch of footpath W130b behind the camera will be closed and will instead follow the road north to its diversion along the south side of North Cubbington Wood. Link

This is the line of the haul road parallel to the railway, which will be in a cutting across the land to the right: lots of earth to be moved! The view is northwest from footpath W130b; locations are estimated.

This is farmland left uncultivated prior to the construction of HS2. The line will run somewhere to the left of the camera from the gap cut through South Cubbington Wood, just right of centre SP3568 : HS2 enabling works near Cubbington, September 2021 (4). The contractor's compound can be seen; the telephone poles mark the line of the B4453 Rugby Road, which will cross HS2 by an overbridge. On the right is the start of North Cubbington Wood.

Footpath W130b is confined by fences across the area of forthcoming HS2 construction; at some point it will be closed and diverted. On the left is North Cubbington Wood, which will be untouched by the railway. Locations are estimated.

Looking southwest along footpath W130b, fenced across the area of railway construction. The haul road in SP3469 : HS2 enabling works near Cubbington, September 2021 (6) can be seen. When work starts the footpath will be permanently diverted. Locations are estimated.

This land has been fenced and left uncultivated. Somewhere in the middle distance HS2 will be in a cutting heading somewhat to the right. On the left here a solitary machine is moving earth near the Coventry Road out of Cubbington, which will be diverted to cross the railway by an overbridge. Locations are estimated. Tanner's Barn near here, shown on the 1:25 k map, appears to have been demolished in the past. Link

The view is south along Coventry Road towards Cubbington: a racetrack. HS2 will come out of the skyline left of centre and cross roughly where the solitary digger is working. Coventry Road will be diverted on to an overbridge, landing somewhere here judging by the fencing, left. Note the tree stump. Locations are estimated

The fencing and land left uncultivated are the clues. HS2 will come through here on its way to Stoneleigh Business Park. The view is from Coventry Road north of the village. Locations are estimated.

A sign by the Coventry Road approaching the village warns of HS2 site N11 Gate 16. Materials will be brought to site and material will be taken away. A lone digger works atop a pile of earth or stone. The road will be diverted to an overbridge to cross the railway.

HS2 site N11 Gate 16 is by the Coventry Road north of the village.

A lone digger works atop a pile of earth and stone at site N11. The Coventry Road will be diverted on to an overbridge to cross the railway. Note the tree stump. Locations are estimated.

The footpath diversion ends at the end of the hedge; W130 returns to the village on its original line, right. HS2 will emerge from behind the trees on the right and proceed northwest roughly parallel to the edge of South Cubbington Wood.

HS2 will sever the southwest corner of the wood: the right-hand end in this view from near Cubbington primary school. The 90 metre contour winds round the summit that South and North Cubbington Woods are on.

At approximately where the HS2 is due to cross.

This pear tree in this hedgerow has been classified by the Ancient Tree Register of the Woodland Trust as a “Veteran Tree” [1]. The trunk has a girth of 3.78m and its age has been estimated at 250 years [2]. It stands less than a kilometre from Cubbington, a quiet village close to Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. It also stands directly in the way of the proposed HS2 railway linking London to Birmingham [3]. After it is felled a 17m deep by 100m wide cutting will be dug and 36 trains an hour travelling at 250 mph will zoom past. Naturally the residents of Cubbington strongly oppose HS2. Whilst I strongly sympathise with their plight, I wouldn’t want it in my backyard, I must say I have nothing against such developments per se. Without large investments in infrastructure in the past we wouldn’t have the rail and road network we now take for granted and couldn’t live without. But £50 billion [5]. That’s a lot of money especially in these times of austerity. For what? So businessmen can get London twenty minutes or so faster. There will be no benefits whatsoever to the residents of Cubbington and a lot of costs. To catch the train they will have to travel north to Birmingham. £50 billion will pay for a lot of nurses. I am very sceptical of the cost/benefit analysis. Who will actually benefit? There is nothing for the North East in it. How much is a 250 year old pear tree worth? As I take my morning run out and back along two footpaths that cross the route it dawned on me there are no new footbridges marked on the HS2 route map where these paths are supposed to cross [4]. Surely crossings of Public Rights of Way have been thought about. Or perhaps the loss of local amenities is of no consequence. [1] Link [2] Link [3] Link [4] Link [5] Link From my blog: Link

Most of the village is off to the left at the junction ahead.