Welcome to Worcester
If you’re looking for a bustling city surrounded by beautiful countryside, Worcester might just be the place for you. Nestled in the heart of Worcestershire, Worcester offers the perfect balance of urban and rural living, along with good schools and excellent transport links to the rest of England and beyond.
Within the city borders, you’ll benefit from amenities like Worcester City Market and Crowngate Shopping Centre, both Odeon and Vue cinemas, and a plethora of independent and chain pubs and restaurants.
Worcester is also a city steeped in history, with stunning architecture and a number of museums that allow you to step back in time almost as far as you can imagine.
Beyond the city borders, you’ll find the rolling hills and glorious countryside that inspired Tolkien to create the Shire for his Lord of the Rings trilogy. Walkers, hikers, explorers and nature lovers will find plenty to savour on their doorstep.
There’s almost too much to Worcester to list here, but some of the highlights include:
- Worcester Cathedral is a stunning building with a long and fascinating history
- With two theatres, the Swan and Huntingdon Hall, not to mention two cinemas, you’ll never be short of an evening’s entertainment
- Worcester City Market is a hive of busy stalls that hide treasures ready for the intrepid explorer
- Crowngate Shopping Centre provides a hefty dose of retail therapy
- Lovers of the outdoors will love parks like Worcester Woods Country Park, which combines a family-friendly park with two nature reserves; perfect for playtime or those who wish to appreciate the wildlife
Find out much about what it is like to live in Worcester.
Transport Links
Whether you want to get around the local area, or you want to travel further afield, Worcester’s excellent transport infrastructure means you can get to where you’re going with ease.
Worcester is easily reached by the M5, providing a straight-line route to Cheltenham, Gloucester, and Bristol in the south, and Birmingham in the north.
Worcester is served by three railway stations. Foregate Street and Shrub Hill are both within the city, while Worcestershire Parkway is on the south-east edge of the city. You can enjoy regular services that will take you to Birmingham in less than 50 minutes, Oxford in under an hour, Reading in around 90 minutes, and London Paddington in just over two hours.
Services also run to destinations such as Hereford, Weymouth, and Cheltenham to name just a few.
The local area is linked together by a solid network of bus services, with over 20 routes running locally and a number of routes stretching as far as Birmingham.
And, because it’s so easy to get to Birmingham by rail or road, you’ve got ready access to Birmingham Airport, from which you can fly to hundreds of destinations for work or holiday.
Schools in the Area
With a wealth of fantastic schools and a highly-regarded university, Worcester is the perfect place to raise a family.
Pitmaston Primary School received an ‘outstanding’ rating from Ofsted, which noted that “pupils at Pitmaston Primary thrive in all aspects of their academic and personal, social and emotional development.” Ofsted was also impressed by St George’s Catholic Primary School, where it noted that “both teaching and progress in reading and mathematics in Years 3 to 6 are outstanding” and gave it a ‘good’ rating.
Older children are well served by a number of excellent secondary schools in the area. Ofsted gave both Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College and Nunnery Wood High School a ‘good’ rating.
For those looking to study beyond secondary school, they’ll find the highly-regarded University of Worcester on their doorsteps, which has ranked 1st in the UK and 26th worldwide for Quality Education. Offering a huge range of respected courses, a student can find almost anything to suit their passions and accelerate their start in life.
Attractions in Worcester
Worcester Cathedral is a stunning example of local architecture and history. Wander the aisles and gaze up at the stunning stained glass (and try to find the infamous pink giraffe) or book a place on one of the regular tours. These explore dozens of historical topics from the life of King John, whose tomb can be found by the High Altar, to the preservation work that keeps the cathedral so that future generations might enjoy it too.
If you’re looking for outdoor spaces, take a walk through Gheluvelt Park. Built to honour the lives lost in the First World War, it’s split into two areas: one a park, the other a wildlife conservation area. The park features a splash pad, playground, and even tennis courts. The conservation area is home to birds such a Mute Swan, Mallards, and Kingfishers, not to mention squirrels and bats!
If you’re a nature lover, you’ll want to visit Worcester Woods Country Park too. This enormous park features two nature reserves, as well as a huge open field, two adventure play parks, and plenty of ancient woodland.
History buffs are truly spoilt for choice, with a wealth of museums and heritage properties in the city. Museum of Royal Worcester tells the 250-year story of the area through the largest collection of Worcester porcelain in the world. Greyfriars’ House and Garden is a medieval merchant’s house kept in a historically-accurate stasis for you to explore or take a guided tour. Tudor House Museum is a stunning 16th century building kept in authentic shape by a team of volunteers. Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum is filled with dinosaur footprints, the Worcestershire Sauce archive, a real Roman mosaic, and many more treasures. There is also the aforementioned The Commandery too.
On Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays Angel Place comes alive with Worcester City Market. Wander stalls for everything from fruit and veg to hot food, clothes to plants, or just a gift for a loved one. For retail therapy earlier in the week, there are plenty of both independent shops as well as the high street usuals in the city centre. For a concentrated dose of retail therapy, head to Crowngate Shopping Centre, where established retail brands sit alongside some excellent restaurants and eateries for when you need to stop for a bite to eat.
Other attractions in the area include the West Midlands Safari Park and the Great Worcester Maize Maze, which hosts an array of fun-packed events.
Bars, Restaurants and Nightlife
Family-owned, Globe Modern Bistro is a favourite amongst Worcester residents for its good, seasonal food that’s cooked with fresh, quality ingredients, served with remarkable wines and locally-roasted coffee.
Massalla Lounge is known for its incredible food, and the attentive and welcoming service. Massalla Lounge serves authentic Indian dishes with a mix of special dishes and traditional favourites.
If you’re looking for somewhere to have a drink with friends or family, you can’t go wrong with The Paul Pry. A beautifully-preserved Victorian building with original features, it’s a stunning, family-run pub that offers a huge range of beers, lagers, spirits, and ales, including the Paul Pry Pale Ale brewed especially for the pub by the Teme Valley Brewery. There’s a carefully crafted food menu too.
TripelB Belgian Café Bar claims to be Worcester’s only dedicated Belgian beer café. Look at its enormous range of more than 100 crafted beers, and you’ll agree that it deserves its accolades. The menu features everything from tripels and dubbels to fruit beers, spirits and hot and soft drinks, as well as a delicious range of authentic Belgian foods.
The Swan Theatre is Worcester’s professional theatre that welcomes touring companies as well as local and community projects. Visit the Swan for drama, music, and dance. For eclectic music or comedy performance, these tend to be found on the boards of Huntingdon Hall, a converted Methodist Chapel that boasts excellent acoustics for the thousands it welcomes each year and a welcoming stage for the renowned acts it attracts. Both Swan Theatre and Huntingdon Hall are operated by Worcester Theatres.
And for film lovers, Worcester offers two cinemas: an Odeon and a Vue. Worcester Racecourse also regularly hosts an Outdoor Cinema too.
Leisure Centres and Outdoor Activities
If you’re looking to work up a sweat, head to Perdiswell Leisure Centre. A recent £10.5m renovation has resulted in a 120-station gym filled with state-of-the-art equipment. There are also plenty of fitness classes to get involved with, including body combat, BodyPump, indoor cycling and more. The sports hall hosts badminton, table tennis, 5-a-side football, indoor bowls to name a few, and the centre also has an eight lane pool and a multi-use pool with an adjustable floor depth, perfect for lessons or family sessions.
For a different approach to fitness, try Life@Whitehouse, which promises a fitness centre where you can balance hard work with delightful relaxation. Found within Worcester Whitehouse Hotel, Life@Whitehouse offers a fully-equipped gym, a swimming pool with Aqua Aerobics classes, as well as a whirlpool spa, steam room and sauna for relaxing after your workout.
Don’t think that Worcester Golf and Country Club will only appeal to golfers. The club is proud of its stunning 18-hole course designed by renowned golf course architect Dr Alister Mackenzie (nicknamed ‘The Course Doctor’), offering superb views of the beautiful Malvern Hills. But it also supports a tennis club with four all-weather, floodlit courts along with three grass courts, as well as two recently refurbished squash courts. Whether your game is golf, tennis, or squash, players of all ages and skills are welcome.
History of Worcester
Worcester is located on the River Severn and has good transport links to Birmingham and other parts of the Midlands and sits 101 miles north west of London. The city has a wealth of history with plenty of landmarks and museums to visit.
The Battle of Worcester was the last battle of the English Civil War and came to an end in 1651. This was Oliver Cromwell’s last great victory in battle, and it secured his position, politically as well as military. You can find out much more information on this in The Commandery in Worcester city centre – most famous for being the Royalist Headquarters during the battle of the English Civil War which is accredited by the Visit England Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme.
Lea & Perrins first launched in Worcester back in 1837 from their factory in the city which is still there today! The famous sauce is exported to over 130 countries around the world and is still made in the same way today as it was when it was first sold in 1837.
