I was going to go to a little town along the River Severn today called Chepstow, but as the rail strikes were called off, so were more than half of the services from Worcester to there, so I opted for the more expensive trip to Shrewsbury instead. It is the birthplace of Charles Darwin,and the origin of the Origin of the Species. It was in Shrewsbury that Darwin began collecting and cataloguing insects, this developing the interest and skill to study the Galapagos Island species a he did.
My travels today will take me through stations stops at Droitwich Spa, Kidderminster, Hagley, Cradley Heath, Rowley Regis, Langley Green, Smethwick Galton Bridge (where I change trains), and continue on to Shrewsbury.
The station at Shrewsbury is beautiful. As seen in this photo here.
I walked around and about through Shrewsbury only to find that there really is no museum for the Darwin Birthplace as such. The house remains, but has an assessor in it, and the pottery shed where Darwin performed some of his early experiments is in the back garden of a house down Hermitage Walk and around on Darwin Gardens. Clearly his father was not hurting financially as the house is huge, even by today’s standards.
I also shot some photos around Shrewsbury which I include for you here.
After leaving Shrewsbury, I decided to go on the train bound for Hereford to have a look around there, and with any luck, get there in time to shoot another few shots in the afternoon light.
Here is a ride that takes me past Ludlow, where Prince Arthur died and changed the history of England forever, as this lead to Henry VIII becoming King and severing ties with the Catholic Church and forming the Church of England.
But first I pass through wooded hills and sheep dotted vales and past stone cottages, over creeks and streams, and past country pubs, and a water treatment facility so small it could fit in a back garden. English rural life is attractive in it’s simplicity, and in it’s beauty. Of course, the region I am travelling in can barely be called England at all, for I am at times barely five miles from the Welsh Border. I pass over the River Onny and near a pond, behind which there is a castle like fortification that turns out to be a house that it still used today, but obviously predates the Tudor times.
From the train I can see Ludlow now, its castle looming over the town like a dark master whose ghost still subdues those over whom he recently ruled. A recording announces in a Welsh Accent that “We are now at Ludlow. The next stop is Hereford.” Smoke arises from the trees from among the trees on the south hill giving a feeling of what it must have been like in ancient times as we pass out of Ludlow and into the Welsh Border Region over which the Castle once stood as guard of England.
Clee Hill is not in sight. I have been up there once. From there you can see the back of the Malvern Hills, and from there you can get a feel for what Yorkshire is like. Clee Hill is on the left of the train, and a giant Radar listening station consisting of a set of towers from which cables are suspended, make up two parts of a Cold War era listening station that is now part of a modern listening station that I believe is used be the Americans.
Only fifteen minutes left on the train. From here I can see it is cloudy in Wales.
Off in the distance at Leominster is a beautiful stone Victorian house, left of the train as it pulls in. This is not a scheduled stop!
Finally we go forward. Whomever did have a scheduled stop or a pass on the rails, must have gone ahead.
Cadbury has a facility out this way that probably processes milk before sending it over to Bourneville. Tudor houses, stone cottages, wooden bridges, and a dark tunnel fill the rest of the journey before reaching the five miles point where I have only a little way to go. Green valleys and wooded hilltops surround the way into Hereford, and a 12th Century church spire pierces the sky.
These are the memories of England I want to always keep, and the3 parts of England I will always love.
Hereford was a matter of stopping in and shooting some interior shots of the Cathedral. I have been many times before, though I admit I have not stopped in to see the Mappa Mundi yet. I did just what I had hoped to and got those interior shots, and especially the little chapel under the Naive. Then I walked over to Castle Green and also past a house called the Fosse. Anyone from Hereford who knows it can see why I like it quite easily, but I think the best part of it for me is the conservatory which is on top of a floor that is over the garage. The house is obviously well tended for and in very good condition.
After walking back to the tow
n centre, I found my right foot playing up so badly that i was not sure if I would make it back to the train station. Of course, I did, and look forward to the ride across Hereford and Worcestershire, past Ledbury, Colwall, and Malvern, and a few other places I have enjoyed visiting over the years.
It is 6:31 PM and I don’t expect the train for another 10 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, Worcester party kids are queuing up to get on, and the trip home may not be as peaceful as I hope for. Never mind. they are heading to Wales.
The ride back to Worcester was fine, but the light was a bit low, not too many pictures.
