Worcester – A Pleasant Chaos

I know it’s over with, but as I say, I am trying to catch up with what we’ve been up to.

So this year, I felt that I should mention Mother’s Day. In previous year mentioning it would have been only to moan about how much I do and how it’s just one day out of the year where some kind of expectation of appreciation is placed upon them. Not necessarily worried about a gift, but just not being expected to do everything I usually do in a day.

Well this year was different. The children were very vocal to Bruce about what they wanted to buy etc. So I did actually get gifts this year. Logan wanted to get me a cute sheep doorstop. And Caitlin wanted to wander around Poundland getting me an array of presents in the most glittery bag she could find. Bruce told me she wandered around the store like she own the place, casually picking bits up and sticking them in the basket. She kindly bought me some wonderful things like scouring pads (she loves cleaning, so she thought it was amazing).

And on the big day, there was no housework… we had a day out. We went into Worcester where we had a spot of breakfast at Cafe Rouge – no review for that, it’s a high street brand.

Afterwards we visited Greyfriars House, the Tudor House Museum and The Commandery.

Greyfriars was very good. Tours are given in the morning and you can wander freely in the afternoon. I’d recommend a tour to get the most out of it, as the tour provides the bulk of the information regarding the history that make things more interesting (things you may not even notice unless on the tour). It’s not very big, but it packs quite a bit of history in. There is a small entry free, but as National Trust members it’s a free entry site. It’s just a house in the city centre, with a small courtyard garden. You get information on its uses, extension works and changes over the history of a few key families, and see some original furnishings, wall coverings etc.

The Tudor House Museum was free, I can see why in all honesty, it was not very extensive and was done and dusted fairly quickly. It’s worth a wander around as you’re not paying for it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit. It’s only a few houses down from Greyfriars, and just up the road from The Commandery, so would be worth doing if doing the other two. A few artifacts and some information about the building’s previous usage history.

The Commandery, very interactive, and of the 3 I would say had the most information, and interested the children the most. It explains the history of the civil war, and exhibits a lot of information through different media, some of which is very interactive – pushing buttons, trying on costumes and the like. The children thought it was amazing. There was a small entry fee (costing around £5.95/adult, children free) and it was most definitely worth that.

Royal Caitlin

Rolling their eyes at Politicians Bruce and Ariella pretending to debate in parliament

Soldier Logan

One Autumnal morning we found ourselves in Worcester, in need of breakfast with a strong desire for nature… so, we ended up at Worcester Woods Country Park.

We went into the cafe (The Orcahrd Cafe) where we ordered toast and jam and, of course, some hot chocolate. The kids were super excited to make a riot of a mess by spreading their own butter and jam; both have some motor skills problems, so we really did get some looks.(I should clarify the mess was riotous, not the children). But the staff were friendly and polite regardless. The cafe was clean, the food was served promptly and was as ordered.

After we had our fill of food, and the obligatory toilet break, we headed out to the trail. Caitlin has what we call “poorly legs” (that will be covered in a later post once we have more understanding of definites). So we have a game, or a dance, we do on walks where she walks and then she gets up in our toddler carrier (yes, I quite literally mean a sling-babywear type thing – it’s the Beco toddler version so will take up to 27kg). So, we started with her up until we could make sense of the terrain and how it would be for legs.

Fox print

A little owl

Much of the trail was accessible and potentially even pram/wheelchair friendly, and there were plenty of things for the children to stop and marvel at, little sculptures and information signs etc., we even found a painted rock (and rehid) on the way around. The children really had fun.

Leaf identification

Rock finding

We eventually ended up back in the field near the cafe, where the children were able to play in the park for a while. Well, it’s actually 2 parks one open, and one fenced in. With a mixture of slides, swings and climbing makng use of park equipment whilst trying to incorporate natural play area pieces in too (log stepping stones etc.).

Open park area

Enclosed park area

The Country Park is only a few minutes from both junction 6 and 7 of the M5, and has a free car park available on site. Details of location, and a guide, and details for the Orchard Cafe can be found in the links at the bottom.

The Orchard Cafe

Worcester Woods Country Park

A Pleasant Chaos

Tag: Worcester

A Mother’s Day out…

Review: Worcester Woods Country Park