Worcester Cathedral

Wednesday
A rather dismal day weatherwise. Janet was busy this morning, so Roger and I drove into Gloucester, and had a bit of a wander round the beautifully redeveloped Docks area and Gloucester Quays outlet stores, where I picked up a few clothing bargains! Our overall timing of being in the Gloucester area is poor as far as the Docks are concerned, as they had their Tall Ships event over the weekend, but it ended on Monday when we arrived! We have been to the Docks before, and visited the Waterways museum, but it’s a nice area to wander round, and I love how the old warehouses have been kept, still proudly bearing their names, but refurbished into apartments etc. We returned to Janets for lunch, then in the afternoon the three of us went into Worcester to see the cathedral. Roger had thought we had seen it before, and whilst I remember being in Worcester, by the river, at one time years ago, I think en route from my sisters up to my parents, I wasn’t so sure we had seen the Cathedral - I seem to remember we were short of time. When we saw it this afternoon, Roger had to agree he didn’t remember it! Whilst perhaps not the grandest of British cathedrals, it does have some interesting features. King John, founder of the Magna Carta is buried here (minus his heart which is buried elsewhere!) and also Prince Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII, who was married (at age 14) to Catherine of Aragon, but died about six months later of uncertain causes, leaving Henry heir to the throne. There is also an Elgar memorial window from the 1930s - Elgar was born 4 miles from the centre of Worcester, and maintained close links with the city throughout his life. The window finds it’s inspiration in one of Elgar’s most famous pieces, the oratorio The Dream of Gerontius, based on a poem by Cardinal Newman. We couldn’t spend too long in Worcester, as Janet needed to get back to fix the dinner, so Andrew could join us again, after playing badminton and before returning to his house in Gloucester. Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow!