A different view of Worcester

Sunday 19^th July; staying put in Worcester

I walked up to Foregate soon after 8 to get the Sunday paper in the small Sainsbury’s.  It’s just over 10 minutes’ brisk walk from the mooring, across the racecourse and up the hill past the Ducati motorcycle garage.  On the way back I realised there was a small garage shop a few minutes closer.  After last night’s rain it was a beautiful morning, with the rowing club out on the water and early boaters puttering by.  We’d decided not to move on today, but to explore the footpath on the other side of the river.

We packed the rucksack with some water and snacks, crossed the Sabrina footbridge and turned left.  The path runs between the road and the river, so there is a lot of traffic noise as you walk towards the road bridge.  Once across, we joined Bromwich Parade, which sounds very urban.  It’s an extremely popular path on a Sunday morning!  It's a ‘shared space’ of wide tarmac with broad grass verges along most of the length, fortunate as it was thronged with cyclists, dog walkers and families, many on bikes too.  No chance for Meg to be off the lead, even on the occasional diversion.  One area is being managed for wildlife, with a rather splendid bug hotel.

Palatial accommodation

We watched one visitor for a while – she was prospecting, checking out various ‘rooms’.  She might be a leaf-cutter bee, as she looks very similar to the one we watched in action in our somewhat smaller version at home just a few days later.

Will this do for my babies?

Bromwich Parade continued to be very busy, so when we saw a footpath into a field alongside we took it.  Going away from the river, the path led through two fields up to a road, but we walked diagonally away from the busy tarmac, now hidden behind a belt of trees, along a clearly defined path with just one dog walker in the far distance.

Towards the next field

The field had been cut for hay or maybe silage, all cleared so ideal for playing ball – please note, we stuck to the path and would have picked up after Meg if necessary!  We know dog poo in pasture is A Bad Thing.  We followed the path for several hundred yards, crossing to another field, finally rejoining the main drag at Diglis Weir.  The weir was hidden behind high barriers.  Explanatory notices are displayed – they are constructing a fish pass to allow fish, specifically the rare Twaite Shad as well as salmon, to return upstream to spawn.  Eels are able to pass obstructions on damp land if they need to.

I hope the EU funding continues till the whole project is completed

Once past the weir we could see the construction works, which have started again after lockdown, though as it was Sunday all was quiet today.

The path was still busy but now we could see why – the footbridge below Diglis, built in 2010, crosses to the opposite bank where the path leads back to towards the city so clearly people were doing a circular walk on the nice firm surface.  We though walked round the base of the bridge, through a gate and onto a much narrower path between the river and a field of maize.  We could have followed the path all the way to the Battle of Worcester battlefield site, but instead found a way down to some flat rocks by the river where we sat and enjoyed the view and the snacks we had brought along. It was delightful, watching the water flowing and relaxing in the sunshine.  A couple of boats passed but didn’t notice us.

Wobbly reflections

Sausage rolls and spinach and ricotta parcels now satisfactorily polished off, we retraced our steps to the bridge where we went up to see Diglis lock from an unfamiliar position.

Diglis river lock

Then, rather than returning along the other bank, which is tarmac or concrete all the way, we retraced our steps through the fields where you can see the cathedral and several churches in the distance.

Playtime again

We stopped at the swan sanctuary to watch the crowds feeding the swans and pigeons.  The pigeons will happily sit on your head, we observed.  Not for us though.

The birds are well used to being fed here

We got back and had a belated lunch.  Then, as there was a stiff breeze blowing the boat away from the landing, we realised it could potentially be dangerous to do any work, so we spent a lazy afternoon reading the papers instead.

0 locks, maybe 4 miles walk, so a relaxing day all round.