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Just a few miles west of
the town of Bewdley and the River Severn,
Bayton is arguably the ideal place from which
to explore the magnificent Wyre Forest. The
surrounding area has spectacular views - with
the Brecon Beacons, the Cotswolds and the
Birmingham Hills all visible on a clear day. |
St Bartholomew's Church, Bayton - Photo:
Derek Harper
CCL |
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Bewdley Town Centre - Photo:
Chris Heaton
CCL |
Bewdley lies on the banks of
the River Severn at the edge of the ancient royal
hunting ground of The Wyre Forest. Sometimes
described as the perfect Georgian town, its
riverside setting gives it an unusual air of
elegance. Its railway station is on the 16-mile
line operated by the steam-powered Severn Valley
Railway and nearby is the West Midlands Safari
Park. Bewdley is dominated by the 18th century
Church of St Anne and a stout bridge designed and
built by the great engineer Thomas Telford. The
full story of its past is revealed at the
‘Butchers Shambles’, home to both a museum and
tourist information centre. |
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Sitting proudly in the
Cotswolds, Broadway and its honey-coloured
buildings feels untroubled by time and apart
from its old-world beauty is noted for
antiques, art and local crafts. The ‘Lygon
Arms’ was one of the first staging posts to
exploit the town’s position on the Worcester
to Oxford road while St Eadburgh’s was the
village church for 700 years until the
Victorians built St Michael’s near the village
green. Overlooking the village is Broadway
Tower, a folly designed for the 6th Earl of
Coventry and one-time home to the influential
designer William Morris. A few miles away are
the lavender fields of Snowshill, Charles
Paget-Wade’s arts and crafts garden and the
National Trust’s Snowshill Manor. |
Broadway Village - Photo:
Dennis Turner
CCL |
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Bromsgrove Town Centre - Photo:
Chris Mc Millan
CCL |
An industrial town at the
foot of the Lickey Hills, Bromsgrove’s
prosperity was originally built on the
manufacture of nails, though its Guild for
Applied Arts, established in 1894, is famous
for ironwork which includes the gates of
Buckingham Palace. Nearby, the Avoncroft
Museum of Historic Buildings is a 15-acre
open-air site with over 25 rescued and
relocated buildings, including a
fully-operational windmill, a 1940s
prefabricated house and the national
collection of telephone kiosks. The town hosts
an annual music festival and stages an
Elizabethan street market. |
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This picturesque village
has half-timbered cottages and many old
buildings. The Talbot Inn dates to the 14th
century, as does the local church, which is
dedicated to St Cassian who was murdered
locally. The church’s font is even older,
dating to the 12th century. Nearby is the
moated Tudor manor house of Harvington Hall
and its secretive priest holes. |
Harvington Hall - Photo:
Martyn B
CCL |
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Chateau Impney - Photo:
Chris Allen
CCL |
The Romans called
Droitwich ‘Salinae’ or ‘the place of the salt’
and even today this fascinating Worcestershire
town possesses Britain’s only natural brine
spa complex where a bathing pool has 2.5lbs of
salt per gallon, a proportion equalled only by
the Dead Sea.
Victorian John Corbett, known as the ‘Salt
King’, was responsible for the town’s sudden
transformation into a fashionable spa town.
His old house, Chateau Impney, is a turreted
French castle that is now a hotel.
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The Italianate church of the Sacred Heart has
splendid mosaics and Venetian glass while lovers
of porcelain should head to the beautiful National
Trust property of Hanbury Hall. Salwarpe Court is
a fine half-timbered Elizabethan house while
Westwood Park – also Elizabethan – has a beautiful
gatehouse. Salwarpe Valley Nature Reserve is one
of the few inland sites containing salt water.
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Tucked away in Britain’s
principal fruit growing region, this ancient
market town stands on the banks of the River Avon
and is overlooked by a 110ft, 16th century bell
tower which, together with two churches and an
almonry, are all that remain of one of the
wealthiest monasteries in Britain. Southeast lies
the orchard-filled Vale of Evesham and the unique
‘Blossom Trail’ and ‘Vale Trail’. Just north of
the town is the site of the Battle of Evesham in
which Simon de Montfort was killed in 1265 by the
future Edward 1. |
Evesham Abbey Almonry - Photo:
Ron Strutt
CCL |
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Feckenham High Street - Photo:
Penny Mayes
CCL |
This pretty village stands on
an old Roman road and boasts a number of
half-timbered and Georgian buildings. It was once
the centre for the manufacture of needles and
fishhooks before the industry moved to nearby
Redditch. |
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Sheltering beneath the
peaceful Malvern Hills, the famous Victorian spa
town of Great Malvern has been a fashionable
holiday spot ever since the arrival of the
railways. Settlements on and around the Malverns
date back into prehistory but Benedictine monks
first established a community here with the
building of a priory. Today the building houses an
important collection of 15th century stained
glass, wall tiles and 13th century misericords.
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View of Great Malvern Taken from the Hills -
Photo:
Bob Embleton
CCL |
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View of Great Malvern from Priory Church -
Photo:
Bob Embleton
CCL |
Queen Victoria herself sought out the curative spa
waters of the Malvern Hills but the town is
equally well-known for its association with the
composer Edward Elgar, who drew inspiration from
the region. It is the base for hand-made Morgan
sports cars as well as the home of the English
Symphony Orchestra. Within easy reach is the
summit of Worcestershire Beacon and the
neighbouring Herefordshire Beacon. On the summit
of the latter is the Iron Age hillfort known as
British Camp. |
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Ravaged by fire in 1937,
once-sumptuous Witley Court is now a mere shell
but its remarkable fountain has been restored by
English Heritage and ‘fires’ on most days. The
town’s restored parish church of St Michael’s has
an opulent baroque interior replete with painted
glass windows, decorated carvings, monuments and
ceiling paintings by the Italian artist Antonio
Bellucci. The organ case is from an instrument
originally played by Handel. |
Witley Court - Photo:
Bob Bowyer
CCL |
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Church of St. John the Baptist - Photo:
Geoff Pick
CCL |
A large village, Hagley is
best-known for the Palladian mansion Hagley Hall
that was built for George, 1st Lord Lyttleton, in
the late 18th century. In the panelled Barrel Room
two of the gunpowder plotters were caught before
being hung, draw and quartered. In the splendid
350-acre landscaped park surrounding the house are
Gothic ruins, an Ionic temple and a rotunda. The
Hall is now exclusively used for events such as
conferences and themed events. Nearby is a popular
falconry centre. |
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Worcestershire’s enthralling
County Museum can be found in the grounds of
Hartlebury Castle, home to the Bishops of
Worcester for more than 1,000 years. The north
wing hosts a range of exhibitions explaining the
history of Worcestershire from Roman times to the
present day while the palace’s state rooms are
opened to the public at certain times.
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Although this town lies at the
southern terminus of the steam-powered Severn
Valley Railway, which runs 16 miles north to
Bridgnorth, its real claim to fame is carpet
making, a one-time cottage industry that was
transformed by the invention of the power loom.
Many old mills have survived and stand as a
testament to a remarkable local heritage. The
town’s most famous son was Rowland Hill, inventor
of the penny post. |
Kidderminster Loch - Photo:
David Stowell
CCL
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Pershore Abbey - Photo:
MYM
CCL |
The setting for an annual plum
fair, this elegant Georgian market town’s greatest
single tourist attraction is an abbey dating back
to the time of King Oswald in the 7th century.
Although it was largely destroyed by Henry VIII’s
Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey church
has survived together with its 14th century tower
and 13th century apse.
Pershore is home to the Royal Horticultural
Society’s Centre for the West Midlands at Pershore
College and Plant Centre, which hosts the national
collections of penstemons and philadelphus. Nearby
is the historic National Trust property Croome
Park - the first complete landscape designed by
Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown - which is being
lovingly restored to its 18th century splendour.
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In the 19th century ‘La
Redidich’ - a small hamlet that expanded around a
12th century Cistercian abbey at Bordesley – was
famous for the manufacture of articles such as
needles and fishhooks. The remains of the abbey
can still be seen on the outskirts of the town
alongside the restored Forge Mill Needle Museum.
Lying on the River Arrow, Redditch is now a
so-called new town after accepting an ‘overspill’
from the nearby conurbation of Birmingham. |
Church of St. Stephen, Redditch - Photo:
Penny Mayes
CCL |
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Spetchley Hall - Photo:
Bob Embleton
CCL |
A fine collection of monuments
dedicated to the locally-important Berkeley
family, and a 16th century chapel, can be found at
All Saints Church which adjoins the fine 19th
century mansion of Spetchley Park. Surrounding the
house is 20 acres of picturesque parkland. |
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Sometimes referred to as the
Venice of the Midlands, Stourport is unique in
that it was built to fit the needs of the
so-called canal age in the 18th century. It has
successfully retained a strong waterside flavour
and once-vibrant basins, locks and warehouses now
provide a tranquil backdrop for a host of elegant
Georgian buildings. Here the rivers Severn and
Stour join up and form a connection with the
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal which is
itself linked to the Trent and Mersey Canal. |
Stourport Basin - Photo:
Colin Smith
CCL |
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A delightful old market town
lying on the banks of the stunning River Teme,
Tenbury was briefly a spa town before the fashion
for bathing in mineral water dried up in the 19th
century. Queen Victoria called it “my lovely town
in the orchard”. It is still surrounded by
orchards and hop fields. Among many interesting
buildings – some of which are half-timbered - is
the Royal Oak Inn dating from the Tudor period.
The town’s 18th century church possesses a 12th
century tower as well as effigies and a number of
tombs. Nearby Burford House holds the National
Collection of Clematis.
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A former river port, Upton
lies on the mighty River Severn, which still
provides a focus for the town’s pleasure and
leisure activities. It became an important
coaching stop in the 18th Century, a fact
reflected in many of its buildings. These include
‘The White Lion’ which appears in Henry Fielding’s
bawdy novel ‘Tom Jones’. The town’s 13th century
lantern and cupola church tower is known as the
‘Pepperpot’ and houses a museum. The tower was
once part of the Church of St Peter and St Paul,
which was badly damaged when it fell into the
hands of Parliamentary soldiers during the Battle
of Upton Bridge in 1651.
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View of Worcester Cathedral, across the River
Severn - Photo:
Richard Dunn
CCL |
This ancient Roman city is
divided by the River Severn and dominated by the
majestic edifice of its 11th Century cathedral
which contains the tombs of both King John and
Henry Vlll’s elder brother, Prince Arthur. Within
walking distance of each other you can find a 15th
century merchant’s house called Greyfriars, a
unique Civil War centre known as The Commandery
(once Charles’ 1’s headquarters), a modern county
cricket ground and a racecourse.
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The city is famous for Royal Worcester porcelain -
first produced here in the mid-18th century - and
has one of the largest collections in the world.
Sir Christopher Wren influenced local architecture
by designing St Nicholas Church - now a bar -
while a protégé designed the ornate Guildhall.
Edward Elgar’s father had a music shop here and a
statue of the great English composer can be found
near the cathedral. Performances of Elgar’s work
take place at the Three Choirs Festival.
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Greyfriars, Worcester - Photo:
Philip Halling
CCL |
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Half timbered buildings in Friars Street -
Photo:
D Johnston
CCL |
The city was the first to declare its allegiance
for King Charles during the Civil Wars which began
with a skirmish just outside the city at Powick.
It was also the last city to surrender to Oliver
Cromwell in 1646 when he routed a royalist army,
forcing King Charles 1 to flee for his life.
Visitors will find plenty to see and do in
Worcester, from taking riverside walks, shopping
in arcades or relaxing in the many cafés, bars and
coffee shops. They might even sample the local
delicacy, Worcestershire Sauce, which is still
made using a top-secret recipe. |
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Further information:
Worcestershire Hotels, Guesthouses and B&B Accommodation
Worcestershire Cottages, Apartments and Self Catering
Accommodation
Worcestershire Camping and Caravan Sites
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