A weekend in Worcestershire

 

It's that time of year when I have to use up the annual leave that I inevitably failed to take last year...it's not that I don't like taking holidays but for reason I always seem to hang on to a few days 'just in case'.  So this week we took the opportunity to have a short break in Worcestershire.

My wife went to college in Worcester so we have friends in and around the city and have spent quite a bit of time there.  This time round we caught up with a couple of friends, had a long walk around the city and the riverside and a trek up into the Malvern Hills.  On one of the days Elaine indulged me and we we went down to Tewkesbury and followed the Battle trail which takes on some of the key locations of the 1471 battle

We stayed a few miles from Worcester at the Hadley Bowling Green Inn which I can highly recommend. Home of the oldest (or maybe 2nd oldest depending on who you believe) bowling greens in the country... I imagine there is a lot of inter-village rivalry to claim that sort of honour.  Allegedly Guy Fawkes stayed here while visiting Robert Catesby to do some plotting, but I reckon Fawkes is the English equivalent of Mary Queen of Scots and has stayed in every Inn and stately home in the country, mainly for tourism reasons!

The walk around Tewkesbury was interesting although inevitably parts of the site have been developed over the centuries.  There is a well marked 2 mile trail that circles the Abbey and some handy info boards give the background and point out key features such as the Bloody Meadow.  Elaine really enjoyed me explaining interesting facts to her in great detail!!

View of the battlefield from Windmill Hill

The Bloody Meadow

Cleo, looking out for any routing Lancastrians...

The Lancastrians broke and fled across this field, looking for the safety of the Abbey.

The Abbey is very impressive.  Some of the routing Lancastrians tried to claim sanctuary here without success.  The resulting slaughter led to the Abbey having to be closed and reconsecrated (and presumably there was a lot of cleaning required!)  There are several nobles buried there including Edward Prince of Wales (son of Henry VI)... fun fact: the only PoW to die in battle, and George Duke of Clarence, as well as John Courtenay, Earl of Devon.  It's very much a Kingmaker location

Before heading home we clambered up British Camp in the Malverns.  This Iron Age hillfort sits at a lofty 338m and really domnates the landscape.  It's thought to have been built in the 2nd century BCE and a castle, Colwall Castle,  was later built on the site in the mid 10th centry CE, possibly built by Harold Godwinson.  It went through some rebuilding during The Anarchy but was eventually destroyed by Henry II.  It's a bit of a climb up to the top although the paths are well maintained and the views are well worth it.  The banks and ditches are still very distinct.

The banks and ditches are still very intact

I still have one more day before going back to work tomorrow which will be spent chopping back branches in the garden and, perhaps, fortifying myself with coffee and cake!