Gloucester via... Worcester?

Love the bird, Gloucester Cathedral, September 2025

Here's Lola II again, continuing her account of our trip. We've spent two days in Hay-on-Wye, and we're now off to Worcester for the day... or are we?

Day 3

As we headed away from Hay, we looked forward to Jolly Holiday Stage 2 of 3. Lola I won a Buddhist auction of a guided tour of Worcester by a friend of hers who lives there. But an hour into our drive the car started juddering. We couldn’t drive above 2000 rpm which was fine downhill but tougher accelerating up. [There was a welcome distraction when we had to pause whilst a truck brought a full skip from someone’s front garden over a high garden hedge onto his vehicle.]

Fun fact - we were near Malvern four years ago on a similar break, Lola I’s car broke down and she took it to a random garage she found online. They were lovely, fixed it on the spot and saved our holiday. Well, guess what. We encountered our difficulties once again near Malvern! The challenge was remembering which garage it had been, 208-ish weeks ago. As luck would have it, Lola has only ever written two Google reviews so she was able to work out which garage it was, call them, and we limped there. I got to be Hazard Lights’ Monitor a little bit between indicator use.  

They had said on the phone that they were very busy, and yet they worked on it while we waited. What great service. We ate our leftover bread, cheese and tomatoes as a late breakfast and spent the rest of the two hours sitting in reception doing personal admin, so time well spent. And by chance, when we had called our Worcester guide, her son was unexpectedly off school ill so postponing wasn’t quite the inconvenience we anticipated. 

The carillon is still in working order

Next stop, several hours earlier than planned, Gloucester. The Museum of Gloucester had a fair mix of things to see - downstairs were dinosaurs, fossils, the Romans and upstairs were a whole heap of things from grandfather clocks to furniture to clothes. The “world-famous” Birdlip Mirror wasn’t there - on loan or being repaired? The Roman tombstones had a recorded explanation (love a button) but unfortunately I couldn’t hear it over folk music being played. The Gloucester Tables Set was good - the oldest complete backgammon set in the world. Then it was time to drive to our AirBnb.

As luck would have it, Gloucester’s Heritage Open Days are on while we’re here, so lots of free events to choose from. We convened our planning meeting for the next couple of days in the garden until the sun went behind clouds, and then had supper and a quick game of cards. 

Day 4

This morning Lola I had a Zoom meeting and so I headed out in town to a Craft Collective - a shop displaying a variety of art and craft from a number of people. In return they take it in turns to staff it. Once Lola I joined me we visited a church that had a free concert by the Gloucester Dementia Choir which was fun to hear. On our way to the Cathedral we crossed paths with the Gloucester Pride parade. 

We timed our arrival for a Cathedral tour perfectly. In addition to us there were two men who kept talking to each other throughout, and parents with two kids, both dressed as Harry Potter. The guide had a rough start - confusion over numbers, disturbance from someone moving furniture, an enormous clap of thunder and then she had to stop completely whilst someone started saying a prayer from the front who was clearly untrained in the best use of a microphone. Once she got going, she was great. 

Gloucester Cathedral, September 2025

Gloucester Cathedral (GC) has a rich history. In 1216 there was a rush to crown nine year old Henry III before French Louis could take over the crown. As a result the coronation took place in GC, the only coronation outside Westminster Abbey since 1066. Some old headdress of his mother was used to make a makeshift crown. Apparently the new king fell asleep during his own coronation. 

A hundred years later, King Edward II was a rubbish king and was murdered in 1327 to get him out of the way. He was buried under a plain stone in the cathedral, but KE III felt aggrieved that his father didn’t get a proper tomb and so built him one. He also banished his mother because of her involvement in his father’s murder so she lived out her days in relative comfort away from Royal circles. When Henry VIII was ridding the country of monasteries, he turned the original Abbey into GC because KE II was buried in it, rather than destroy the building. And so we have a lot to thank Mr Rubbish King for. 

And it doesn’t end there! In the 2nd World War people were certain that GC would be be bombed so they removed the enormous, mostly medieval, stained glass windows, labelling each section to help with its reconstruction once danger has passed. Unfortunately it was stored in the crypt and the damp meant the labels deteriorated. They ended up having to do their best to reconstruct it, using a picture postcard. How fortunate the Cathedral wasn’t bombed, eh? Unfortunately, because we had the two mini Harry Potters, the rest of the tour was focused on the cloisters and the films. It is an impressive space, and the guide seemed to be as much a fan of the films as the children. 

Next we headed into the docks and the National Waterways Museum. My favourite fact was that, when building the canals, the navvies used heavy puddling boots and sticks to pack down the clay. In rural areas it may have been done by herding cows along the canal. Our AirBnb host, Andy, used to be a vicar and preached in the Mariners Church so we added that to our itinerary, only to find it closed an hour earlier than publicised. 

A short break in a café with board games and then home until we came out again to see The Life of Chuck in The Guildhall cinema. It was alright. I wouldn’t really recommend it but it was interesting, so maybe if it comes on telly... 

Day 5

We had a leisurely start, packing up the car and then walking into town for our 11am city tour. Our guide was very good and very patient when one of the group stole his punchline of a real miserly man in Gloucester being Charles Dickens’ inspiration for Scrooge. Another of the group was VERY vocal in her distress at the thought of a bishop being burnt at the stake, and having to stand there for an hour in January before the fire got going. 

[Editor's note: At this point I whispered to Lola II "I wonder how she'll feel when she finds out how Jesus died?"]

There was also a circular conversation between her, the guide and another woman about a mural in a church. None of them were really putting their finger on what the other was saying. In these situations I sometimes intervene to help clarify, but this roundabout was going faaar too fast. 

Rebuilt in 1455, the most complete surviving example of a medieval courtyard inn with galleries in Britain, Gloucester, September 2025

There are an enormous number of interesting sights when you’re shown them. We really love a tour. The rain mostly held off and we headed to our next appointment with a Sunday roast. By now it was pouring with rain as we drove on to the Nature in Art art gallery and sculpture park. What should have been an 11 minute drive doubled in length until we stopped following the location on Google Maps and input a postcode they say to use on their website.

The Nature in Art place was beautiful - several rooms of paintings, drawings, ceramics, glass, paper cutting - all plants or animals or scenery. I took a few photos before seeing the sign telling us not to. Outside were sculptures of all types in a smallish garden. We headed in when it began to rain again and made the 1.5hr drive back to Leamington. I’m now on the train to Marylebone and looking forward to hearing what Mr M has been up to…

And that was our latest Jolly Holiday. When we put our heads together and looked at diaries, the next time Lola II and I are both free to meet is towards the end of November!

 [Note: all photos in this post were taken by Lola II, except the one with her in it.]

Nature in Art, September 2025