08-May-2019
We're just back from another little family jaunt, this time to Worcestershire.
Worcester is a fine historic city, dating back to the Roman era.
The last time I was there, I was about nine or ten. Going on holiday to England from the Isle of Man was quite a performance, and not inexpensive, so generally we holidayed "off-island" once every two years. But for reasons I can't remember we had two successive years' holidays in the swathe of England represented by Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, and Gloucestershire. My mother loved this part of the country, and transmitted her enthusiasm very effectively to me.
Because we travelled in October (it was much cheaper at that time of year), I had to be taken out of school. The quid pro quo was that I was required to produce a "journal" demonstrating the educational qualities of the trip. This featured an account of what we had done, illustrated by postcards (surely the precursor of my blogging proclivities...). So we ran around as many historic places as we could afford, which Dad found unspeakably boring, but gamely went along with.
Those trips still conjure up powerful pictures of crooked, black-and-white houses, cobbled streets, and vast cathedrals. Such places of worship were wonderfully evocative, featuring cloisters, and crypts, and chapter houses, and tombs on which rested -- perfectly prone and deep in prayer -- representations of the flesh that had once clothed the bones beneath (deliciously creepy to my child's eyes).
I can't identify specifically which recollections arise from Worcester, but with its exquisite Cathedral and eclectic range of architecture, it could well be the source of many of those memories.
The tomb of Prince Arthur, first husband of Catherine of Aragon
The tomb of King John, who died in Newark
Worcester's varied building styles
I'd forgotten the river and the swans...
I wonder whether the seagulls were there back then...
Not far away is the very pretty village of Oddingley, which boasts a handsome church, some fine houses, and access to the Birmingham and Worcester Canal (which encompasses the longest flight of locks in the country).
Our desire to go canal-boating goes unabated and unfulfilled. As the Birmingham and Worcester is suitable for "those who don't mind taking their time", it sounds like it would be an excellent place for us to start.