Worcester and Croome Park

Our first day trip of the year came on a very warm Monday. What with our holidays in Rome and Scotland, the latter coming fast after Alison's latest contract came to an end, it has taken until July for us to venture further afield. We had visited Worcester a few years ago, but did not have time to go in the cathedral, and it was somewhere that we wanted to see. A late start meant that we did not arrive at our destination until lunchtime. So we needed some refreshment before heading into the cathedral.

It is truly a magnificent building, and we were lucky to see it in the the afternoon sunshine. Inside, one particular place made the the trip worthwhile on it's own. This was the Chantry Chapel of Prince Arthur, who was the elder brother of King Henry VIII, and first husband of Catherine of Aragon. He died aged sixteen and his tomb was placed in this chapel built especially for him. But the connection for me is the defacement of some of the stone figures at the end of the chapel that are just visible in the photo. This happened in the summer of 1548, the second year of the reign of Edward VI (my speciality) when thirty commissioners were appointed to scour the land, armed with a set of injunctions to impose on the clergy and their churches. These included the removal and destruction of any "abused" images, including stained glass and stone figures. But this was taken to extremes, as in this chapel where the heads of stone figures were defaced. To see exactly what I has read about was quite something.

The other great wonder of the cathedral is the towering nave. I found it quite a moving experience.

It was still sunny as we found the deserted cloisters, and we sat on a bench with the tower right above us. Outside, we found the quiet green at the back that leads down to the river, and another bench to rest and take in a wonderful view. We wanted to walk alongside the river, and this means taking some steps down through an arch. Here there are plaques on a piece of wall showing where flooding of the River Severn has reached. July 2007 is prominent, but is not the highest.

After leaving Worcester, we just had time to drive the few miles south to reach the National Trust property at Croome Park before it closed. Prominent are the landscape gardens that were the first of many carried out by Lancelot "Capability" Brown. The house below is still privately owned.

The National Trust have typically spent heavily on restoring many of the features including this bridge over the lake round which we had a pleasant stroll. The end to another great day out.