Discover History

Join Paul on 'The Worcester Story' walking tour on Sunday at 6pm. To book your place, please follow the link. Tickets cost £7.50 per person.

The Worcester Story Tour at 6pm (Sunday 27th September 2026) Do you want to find out more about the historic city of Worcester?  Then come and join Paul as he walks you through the days of yesteryear, allowing you to relive the Worcester Story and the making of a Cathedral and University City. Hear about the Romans, the devastating Viking raids, Elizabeth I ...

- This weekend could be described as a nautical weekend. HMS Worcester was launched 104 years ago, and it's also . We therefore take a look at the extremely valuable citrus fruit, known as the Lime. This small green, oval or round citrus fruit is full of Vitamin C and high in sour Citric Acid. It has been cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for many years, growing on short evergreen shrubs. They originate from SE Asia and spread along trade routes to Europe during the Medieval period. There are many varieties including Persian Limes and Blood Limes. Scurvy was always a problem in the Royal Navy when sailors were at sea for long periods of time, eating dried and heavily salted foods. The lack of fresh fruit and vegetables would kill many sailors. When Captain James Cook circumnavigated the World he started the ball rolling for a cure. Surgeon James Lind also began some of the first true tests, pairing sailors with scurvy and treating them differently. Those receiving citrus juice recovered quickly. Eventually citrus juices became the secret weapons used by the Royal Navy. This is also said to be where the British took the nickname Limies. Today the fruit and its juice is used in recipes and often garnishes drinks such as tasty cocktails.

- We pride ourselves in looking at sites, buildings, artefacts and people outside the popular tourist locations such as the Cathedral or Sir Edward Elgar. Located just off Junction 6 sits a farm occupied by the fantastic Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. The farm is known as Lower Smite Farm and has an interesting history. The Wildlife Trust own the farm diaries from 1908-19, which house a wealth of information on livestock, field use and much more. We see mangles, cabbage, potatoes, and winter wheat being grown. We see sheep and heavy horses on the site too. The diary covers the Great War when farming was intensified to cope with feeding a nation at war. Two days after the war broke out, on the 6th August 1914, we see the entry ' War Office men came and commandered two of my horses.' A 'War Horse' moment at Lower Smite Farm. Further intensive farming and mechanisation took place in World War Two. The farm declined in the period that followed and was purchased by Hereford and Worcester Council in 1979. It was earmarked to be used as a new refuse tip! However, in the 1980s it temporarily became a training farm, as part of the Worcestershire College of Agriculture near Hindlip Hall. By the 1990s the college closed leaving the farm empty. It was at this time that the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust began having links with the farm. It led to them purchase the site completely in 2001. The farmhouse was listed in 1985 and began life as a humble 18th Century farmhouse in the Parish of Claines. It may have earlier origins from around the late 17th Century. It is made from brick, with some showing signs of being manufactured by hand. In the 19th Century the building was extensively altered and extended. The garden attached to the farmhouse still retains a traditional look due to the Wildlife Trust using it as an educational resource to demonstrate how you can re-wild your own garden using traditional methods, without pesticides. The Farmhouse is also surrounded by numerous outbuildings, some dating back to the 18th Century. One large structure is an old Threshing Barn. The associated farmland covers 150 acres and is very well managed by the Trust. We love what the Wildlife Trust are doing in helping to restore the farmland using traditional methods. These include crop rotation, haymaking, and replacing vital hedgerows. The Trust has reinstated over 3km of vital hedgerow, often using Medieval techniques with the vegetation partly cut using billhooks and bent to make a living, stock-proof boundary. The fields under Trust care are predominantly organic and act as teaching aids to explain how farming can assist wildlife. Located on site is a building we have also used for living history. The Granary is a spectacular Timber Framed building from the 17th Century. It is built into the bank overlooking a well established pond and farmland. The Granary is technically a 3 story building with 2 upper timber framed floors, and a Tudor brick, and stone, livestock or wagon store below. The upper floor has pigeon holes and perches for local birds to establish themselves. This building was fully restored in 2004 and was used as an education building. It is now a protected bat roost. The farm also includes an Orchard containing traditional species of fruit tree, such as pears, plums and apples. If you look carefully in some fields, you will also see ridge and furrow where the fields had been deeply ploughed in the past. The farm's Nature Trail is open at all times. In a way, a visit is like stepping back in time to farming in the old days around Worcester. Please note the buildings are used by the Trust as offices and educational facilities so are not open to the public. To get the best from your visit do ask for a trail map at reception, which is open Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm or look out for an open day or craft fayre. Do consider joining the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, or volunteer for them and learn both ancient and modern farming and conservation techniques.

Apologies for the lack of posts recently but we have received some bad news.

Helen has been been in hospital where she has been diagnosed with having cancer. It is treatable but sadly not curable.

We are clearly both devastated and it is a lot to process at the moment. Currently we are just waiting for results and a treatment plan to enable us to know how best to move forward.

We know many of you love the and posts so we will try our best to continue with those, but please bear with us if they don't happen on time.

Thank you for all your love and support. We are still here, just taking a little time out. If you need us, please feel free to email.

- This week, we turn back the clock to Ancient times. Here's a recipe for Catos, 200BCE Olive Relish.

120g black olives
120g green olives
4 tbsp red w**e vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
1 heaped tsp chopped fennel leaf
1/2 level tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chopped fresh coriander
2 tsp chopped fresh rue
3 tsp chopped fresh mint

Method : Chop the olives and pour on the vinegar and olive oil. Chop the herbs finely, and add to the mixture. Place the olive relish in a container and pour a little olive oil over the top.

If you try this recipe, please send us your photographs in the comments. We would love to see how you got on.

375 Years ago - Sporadic gun shots were heard throughout the night, whilst Cromwell began to write his brief description of the fight. Around 4,000 Royalists had been killed, and only 200 Parliamentarians.

375 Years ago - The Royalists who could not escape Worcester were either dead, dying or being held captive in the Cathedral, or at the Guildhall. The last men to surrender were the defenders of Castle Mound. The city was in a ruinous state!

375 Years ago - Charles is forced to leave his army and flee! Vicious fighting continues in every house and street. Some Parliamentarians start looting houses and killing anyone found in the city!

375 Years ago - The Royalist flee into the old Medieval streets of Worcester. The Parliamentarians pursue, and fighting erupts in every street and alleyway. Houses become battle grounds!

375 Years ago - The Worcestershire Miltia help to storm Fort Royal! Some of the most fierce fighting took place on the Fort and into Sidbury below.