Rugby Donkeys

There's a bronze statue of two donkeys on Rugby's High Street that stops you dead. They're life-sized, patient-looking creatures cast in metal, and they mark something genuinely odd about this Warwickshire town - Rugby was once famous for its donkeys. Proper working animals they were, used to haul goods and carry coal through the streets when the town was booming in the Victorian era.

The sculpture itself is modest but striking. You can walk right up to it, touch the worn bronze where thousands of hands have rubbed it smooth. It takes about ten minutes to really look and think about it, though most people stop for a quick photo and move on. There's no visitor centre or interpretation board, which means you either know the story or you don't.

It's the sort of thing that appeals most to local history buffs and families who like a bit of tangential storytelling on a day out. Kids find it interesting for about five minutes - the novelty of petting a bronze donkey wears thin quickly. But if you're stopping in Rugby anyway, it's worth the two-minute detour from the town centre.

It works well as a pitstop between Meadow Field Luxury Glamping just 2.7 miles away or Caravanning and Camping at Manor Farm at 3.3 miles. Neither site is far, so you could easily walk the town and take in the donkey statue before heading back for lunch. Don't expect it to be the highlight of your trip, but it's a genuine bit of Rugby's past cast in bronze.