Experience the best of Worcester

Worcester Cathedral stands on a rise above the Severn, its Norman crypt and Gothic nave giving way to the tomb of King John, who asked to be buried here. The old streets run down to the river, where walkers follow the bank beneath the cathedral tower. Sir Edward Elgar, born in the village of Lower Broadheath a few miles west, is remembered with a statue close to the cathedral.

The Commandery, a half-timbered former hospital, tells the story of the Battle of Worcester in 1651, when Parliament's army defeated Charles II and he fled abroad. Porcelain has been made in the city since 1751, and its history fills a museum in the old works. The Malvern Hills rise to the south-west, Droitwich Spa lies north-east, and the orchards of the Vale of Evesham spread to the south-east.

Worcestershire sauce, the dark, tangy condiment, was first bottled here in the 1830s. The county's farms supply cider, perry and hops, and the Vale of Evesham is known for plums and for asparagus, which appears on local menus in spring. Cricket at New Road, with the cathedral tower in the background, is a summer fixture.