- Start – Worcester
- Finish – Upton on Severn
- Distance – 21.5km
- Time Taken – 6 Hours
The plan today was to walk one stage of the Severn Way. This 210 mile long distance walking route starts on Plynlimon in Powys and follows the Severn (or Afon Hafren in Welsh) all the way to Severn Beach near Bristol. The walk book we are using divides the route into 21 stages and today we were walking Stage 14, Worcester to Upton on Severn, calculated at 19.3km long.
We would have lunch at a pub on the way and then catch a bus back from Upton on Severn to Worcester. What could go wrong?
First, however, we decide to have some breakfast. It turns out that eating breakfast out is incredibly fashionable in Worcester, with literally dozens of potential venues open at 8:30 am on a Saturday morning. However, we were so impressed by the Black and White Kitchen we had lunch at yesterday, we decided to go back there for breakfast this morning.
Craig had Eggs Benedict and I had something called a ‘Frenchy’ which turned out to be eggy bread, bacon and poached eggs smothered in maple syrup, very nice indeed!!
We then began our walk. Having spent the whole of yesterday afternoon wandering around Worcester, we decided, with no justification whatsoever, that we didn’t need to consult the map in order to find the start of the route and promptly set off in the wrong direction! After going back on ourselves, we eventually found the start of the walk at Worcester Bridge having added just over a km to the day.
The first thing we noticed as we walked down the river promenade, was the sheer number of swans!
Apparently, this section of the river is something of a swan sanctuary and the local tourist office sells special swan food designed to keep their digestive tracts healthy. I don’t think you would want to hang around once you’d run out of pellets though, you are likely to be mobbed!
Moving on down the river we came across the lock which marks the junction between the river and the Worcester/Birmingham Canal.
This just happens to be right next to the site of the former Worcester Porcelain works. It is clear what a formidable centre for trade Worcester was, shipping goods north to Birmingham up the canal and south to Bristol down the river. In the 18th and 19th centuries the river would have been teeming with traffic, now on a rather overcast day in late October we share the river with only a few narrow boats and the odd sculler.
We continue to wander down the river. As we leave the suburbs of Worcester the path gets less distinct and rather overgrown in places. We pass the site of the preliminary action in the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
Then, after about 5km, disaster! The path is closed!
The officially sanctioned detour is very long and will add kilometres to our walk and blow our lunch plans out of the water. We start walking the detour, crossing over the A440 Roundabout, the works on the bridge here are the reason for the closure. Note the view of the Malvern Hills in the background, that will be tomorrows adventure!
After crossing the A-road a hasty consultation of the map suggests an alternative diversion on a rather unused (and it turns out nettle infested) public footpath, with only a very, very, minor piece of trespassing at the end, will get us back to the river much quicker. So we do that 🙂 We emerge back on the river path with only another km added to our trip and several dozen nettle stings added to our legs.
We are a bit up against it now, with a table at a very busy pub in Severn Stoke booked for 1:30pm, so we have to get a bit of a stride on.
We eventually reach the very pretty Rose and Crown only 10 minutes late, for which we are forgiven by the stressed staff.
The pub is heaving and it takes us 30 minutes to even get a pint. The pub serves fairly standard pub grub, I have steak and chips and Craig the scampi. Both are well cooked, if unexciting, and the beer is well kept. We can see why it is popular. However, we are now on a mission. The last bus leaves Upton on Severn at 4:19pm and we still have quite a way to go!
We get back down to the river close to the slightly bizarre looking Severn Bank House, which while imposing and with great views, has clearly seen better days and continue our walk.
This area of the country has been continuously occupied since at least the iron age and Craig and I (with our iron age understanding honed by the Ridgeway) clearly identify a barrow by the side of the route. Who cares what the Ordinance Survey thinks!!
Finally, the bridge and spires of Upton on Severn hone into view and it’s only just after 4pm, we are home and dry!
Umm…. well maybe not. By 4:50 we have given the bus up as a bad job and repaired to the Anchor for a pint of beer while we wait for a taxi.
Once safely back in Worcester thoughts turn to tonight’s meal. We have booked a table at Worcester’s best Thai restaurant – Thai on 7evern – I’m sure that pun never gets old 😉
It doesn’t disappoint. The starter platter looks really pretty and tastes better.
Then, as a main I had Weeping Tiger (lovely pan fried steak) and Craig had the Moo Pad Prik (which is actually pork!!). This was all washed down with a very nice Viognier.
Fun day, looking forward to the Malvern Hills tomorrow 🙂