I was not impressed with the hotel I stayed in last night, it had a good view of the river but that was about it still it has been the only place I have stayed so far which has been poor value.
Tonight I am in a Wetherspoon Hotel in the centre of Worcester, a very nice room, good facilities all for £58 so lets hope last nights place was a one off.
I was staying in Holt Fleet and first thing this morning climbed up to the village of Holt which was recorded in the Domesday Book as a substantial place, now it is quite a sleepy little village.
I was keen to visit the Norman church, one of the finest in Worcestershire apparently. But the big attraction for me is the pulpit and lectern which were made by the rectors wife.
The Building News of 1858 wrote “We refuse to criticise them as they are the work of a lady and it is pleasing to find them taking an interest in these matters”!
Ladies – pick up your chisels and carve!
There was an A board outside the church saying “Open – All are welcome” but as you can see in the picture the door was firmly chained up so I did not get to see this wonderful carving.
My walk was only 8 miles today so I arrived in Worcester before lunch and had plenty of time to explore. The banner picture is of the green behind the cathedral.
First I visited the Commandery which was Charles II’s HQ before and during the decisive last battle of the civil war in 1651, the last time I visited was about 35 years ago when we inflicted it on two small boys during a canal boat holiday (we had sailed down the Severn from Stourport). Today, despite there being lots of activities for children and the Easter holidays the museum was deserted, good for me but such a waste.
I did not bother with the Cathedral and instead headed up to the town museum and art gallery. It has taken me a while to run in my new boots but I discovered that during the wars against Napoleon our soldiers were issued with boots that were not left or right, both were the same which must have taken some running in especially as they were supposed to march 20 miles a day.
The museum also had a stuffed sturgeon which was caught in the Severn in 1835, it is 6 ft long and pictured below.
In the art gallery were some interesting Japanese woodcuts by an artist called Masami Teraoka who moved to the USA after the war, his pictures try to capture the clash between the cultures, I think this one is rather good.
The highest rated restaurant in Worcester on Trip Advisor is a moderately priced Greek restaurant so tonight I will go Greek.