A weekend in Worcester
15th -18th November
After leaving Conwy, we crossed over the border from Wales into England and headed to Worcester to spend the weekend with Saul’s sister Angharad, her husband Patrick, and their entertaining and gorgeous 3.5 year old Henry. Driving rain and flash floods on the roads slowed our progress, but we arrived eventually to find Henry standing at the living room window ready to welcome us! Couldn’t get any cuter than that 💙
We all went on the bus into Worcester for lunch and a walk around – Henry forfeited lunch in favour of a nap!
We visited the spectacular Worcester cathedral, by the River Severn, and chanced upon a choral practice – what a stroke of luck! The Cathedral was built between 1084 and 1504 and, as such, represents every style of English architecture within those years, from Norman to Perpendicular Gothic. The original Cathedral was founded in 608 although nothing remains of this building. While we were here, we saw the burial place of John, King of England, who died in 1216. And Auntie Angharad took the children down to see the crypt! It dates from Norman times, the 11th century, the time of Wolfstan, Bishop of Worcester.
17th November: Despite the (very) wet weather, we also made it out for a lovely walk/cycle and to the park. Here you can see the River Severn having broken its banks. The area of the river in the foreground is where it usually flows; the area beyond the hedgerow in the middle is where the river has flooded.
The park we visited is home to a stark memorial to servicemen of the British Forces who died in World War 1. In fact, the park is named Gheluvelt Park as a tribute to the 187 Worcester men who died in the Belgian town of Gheluvelt, near Ypres, in October 1914. The memorial consists of columns of steel, each one representing a two-month period of WW1. 500 deaths are represented by every 1cm in height in each column. Some are so high that they tower above us. Three of the columns represent the loss of 250,000 lives or more, per two-month period. It is devastating to contemplate the extent of the loss, the heartbreak, the utter waste of life.
On a lighter note, the children were having a blast in the playground 😊
