Carefree scenes before the coronavirus lockdown have been captured on Google Street View – showing people milling around outside fast-food restaurants and packed into pubs.
Time has been frozen in places including McDonald’s in The Burges and The Flying Standard in Trinity Street, where customers mingle around outdoor seating on a sunny day.
The images provide a window into what feels like another age - when we squeezed into busy coffee shops and brushed shoulders with strangers before Covid-19 was heard of.
Such scenes now would risk disapproval and even fines from the police.
The laid-back settings can be compared with the present scenario of shuttered-up shops and pedestrians at pains to stay two metres apart from the nearest person.
Boris Johnson ordered pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants to close on March 20, with the lockdown on free movement ordered three days later. As restrictions ease, some businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire are returning to the high street with new health and safety measures.
But scenes like these won’t be repeated for some time to come.
Before...
Smithford Way, Coventry city centre
Smithford Way fountain
Lower Precinct, Coventry city centre
Stratford-upon-Avon
Starbucks, Broadgate
Café Rouge, Leamington Spa
McDonald's, The Burges
The Earl of Mercia, Coventry city centre
Tesco Express, Leamington Spa Parade
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Warwick Market Place
The Flying Standard
The Encore, Stratford-upon-Avon
And after...
Coventry city centre in the days following the lockdown in March 2020
