Worcester; Monday, 01 May, 2006

This part of the country was once a web of railway lines, most of which has closed. One such line, which re-opened as a heritage line (i.e. Using steam trains), is the Severn Valley Railway which runs from Kidderminster (a convenient 25 minute train ride from Worcester) to Bridgenorth in Shropshire.

Having gone there on a whim I was lucky to find that, as it was the Bank Holiday, they were running a regular service, with a train leaving less than 30 minutes late.

The line passes through some spectacular countryside running along side the Severn for most of the way (hence the name). Bridgenorth at the end of the line is a pretty town on the Severn with, what looks like an ancient stone bridge and one of the oldest funicular railways in the country. All the guidebooks and the leaflets on the train go on about it, so its a little disappointing to find out that the entire journey takes about 30 seconds and goes about 100 foot!

I headed back to the station and caught the return steam train back to Kidderminster, and from there the train back into Worcester.

Finally, after 4 days and having stayed right next door to it I decided it was time to visit the Cathedral. The building is impressive with lots of stained glass and its compliment of royalty (King John of Robin Hood, Magna Carta and Poll Tax fame and King Henry VIII's older brother Arthur who died aged 16). The tower of the cathedral, which dominates the skyline, is also open to the public and after the 236-step climb offers stunning views over the surrounding countryside. With the visibility even better than yesterday I could clearly see Worcestershire beacon, the highest point on the Malverns where I had been the previous day.

I descended from the tower and finished off wandering around the Cathedral before heading outside to have a wander around the grounds and along the riverside path. I walked back into the centre of the city and had a little time left to visit the Greyfriars house, one of the few preserved Tudor houses still in the city. The house is now run by the National trust and gives an example of what the place may have looked like in Tudor times, (they very clearly say that the house has been refurbished not restored!)

With less than an hour before my train, I walked back to the B&B to pick up my luggage and then walk back along the canal to Worcester Shrub Hill station and the train back to London.