On cold winter’s mornings and hot summer days, the train to Worcester Foregate Street starts at Dorridge. When I worked full time, this commuter train took me regular as clockwork, most of the time, to either Birmingham Moor Street or Snow Hill. Sometimes I wondered what it would be like to stay on the train to the final destination of Worcester Foregate Street. This blog is a pictorial record of my visit to Worcester via the train.

Worcester Foregate street is a busy station with the London trains from Paddington passing through onto Malvern and Hereford. My photographic agenda was the River Severn, the Racecourse, the Swan Sanctuary, the Cathedral and the Commandery. After that anything was a bonus including the town centre.

The River Severn was swollen and muddy brown in colour following recent rain. It is difficult to imagine what it must be like when it floods and breaks its banks. The racecourse is small but even when empty it was fun to photograph with the cyclists and joggers passing through. Walking over to the west side of the river, I moved onto the Swan Sanctuary. I had timed it well as lunch time was about to start and a large flock of swans had gathered. The sanctuary is a simple set of steps from a boat house down to the river and allows you to get amongst the flock for pictures. For photographs it is ideal as the cathedral provides a dramatic backdrop.

Retracing my steps, I crossed over the road bridge along the East bank making my way through Kings school Worcester to the Cathedral. There is so much to enjoy when visiting a cathedral and whilst parts of the tower were undergoing storm damage repair, there was the Norman crypt and the cloisters to explore. The west window with its spectacular stained-glass window looked down onto the nave. The Cathedral has so much history and I will have to visit again when the restoration of the Quire is completed.

Next stop was the Commandery and the site of the last battle of the English Civil War. A time to brush up on my history lessons and as soon as I saw the helmets and the pikes on the canal bridge near to the building then all that knowledge came flooding back. I remember the Roundheads and Cavaliers together with all those famous figures of history including Oliver Cromwell. The battle of Worcester was the last battle in a sprawling conflict that had already seen the death of Charles I. His son, Charles, later to become Charles II came down to Worcester with a Scottish Army only to be routed by the New Model Army. Charles escaped to France not before hiding in an Oak Tree. The Commandery was the HQ of the Royalist forces, and all this history was built into the building. Even after the Civil War, it was visited by the US senators John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, soon to become Future Presidents. The Georgian rooms were particularly impressive looking out towards the gardens and the Fort Royal Hill.

I wandered back along Friar Street past the Tudor house and Greyfriars House onto Worcester Foregate Street for my Journey home. Reflecting on my visit, Worcester has much to offer, and I enjoy exploring such places with my camera.

Want to know more then here are some links
There is the official Visit Worcester site that has lots of information. Worcester Cathedral also has its own web site which gives lots of information. If you wish to learn more about the English Civil War and the Battle of Worcester please visit the Commandery Web site.

Pictures taken with the Fujifilm x100v and the Sony DSC-RX100M5 .

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