Brandon, Warwickshire

Infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Brandon
latitude= 52.384651
longitude= -1.404882
civil_parish = Brandon and Bretford
population = Approx 500
shire_district= Rugby
shire_county= Warwickshire
region= West Midlands
constituency_westminster= Rugby and Kenilworth
post_town= COVENTRY
postcode_district = CV8
postcode_area= CV
dial_code= 024
os_grid_reference= SP4076

Brandon is a small village in Warwickshire, England. Along with nearby Bretford, it forms part of a joint civil parish of Brandon and Bretford. Administratively it is part of the borough of Rugby. The River Avon passes just to the east of the village.

Brandon is located upon the A428 road between Coventry, 6 miles (9.5 km) to the west, and Rugby, 7 miles (11 km) to the east.

Brandon is separated from the much larger village of Wolston by a railway viaduct, but the two villages practically form a single entity. The railway viaduct dates from 1837 and was part of the original London and Birmingham Railway. 1.5 miles (2.5 km) west of Brandon is the suburban village of Binley Woods and 2 miles (3 km) to the east is the small village of Bretford.

The village contains a number of old cottages and has a pub near the railway line. Just east of the village is Brandon stadium, used for speedway racing, greyhound racing, and stock-car racing. The stadium is home to the National Championship-winning speedway team the Coventry Bees. Stock-car fans have been coming to Brandon for almost 50 years, and like greyhound and speedway fans enjoy the spectacle of all-out racing on the shale-grit "dirt track", a convert|330|yd|m|sing=on oval, under floodlights at night.

West of the village is Brandon Marsh, opened in 1998 by Sir David Attenborough, a convert|228|acre|km2|sing=on nature reserve with a wide variety of wildlife, especially pondlife. The remains of Brandon Castle are found to the south of the village. The castle was built in the 12th century by Geoffrey de Clinton and fortified by stone a century later.

External links

* [http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/140/brandoncastle.htm Brandon Castle]
* [http://www.warwickshire-wildlife-trust.org.uk/Brandon/brandon.htm Brandon Marsh]
* [http://www.speedwayplus.co.uk/BrandonStadium.shtml Brandon Stadium speedway page]
* [http://www.oldstox.com/ a photographic archive of the 'golden era' of British stock-car racing, 1955-75]