vividventures

The Vale of Evesham in rural Worcestershire has been famous for fruit and vegetable growing since medieval times with the delicate blossom from its fruit trees giving stunning displays between mid-March and mid-May.  The Blossom Trail stretches for 55 miles with AA yellow signposts marking the way.  Japan might have its Sakura but by visiting the Vale of Evesham you don’t need to travel quite so far to see some beautiful spring blossom.

2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the Vale and Spa Blossom Trail and I was invited to join a group of other bloggers and journalists to follow the trail which takes in the attractive towns of Evesham and Pershore along with the charming Cotswold village of Broadway.  Growing in these orchards are cherry, plum, apple and pear trees with their delicate blossom ranging in shades from pure white through to shades of pink and crimson.  As the trees come into flower at different times there is always something in bloom along the trail.

Getting there:

The Vale of Evesham is just over an hour’s drive from both Birmingham and Oxford.  If arriving by car take Junction 3 from the M42 and follow the A435 to Evesham.  For visitors arriving from Worcester take Junction 7 off the M5 and follow the A44 to Evesham or Pershore to begin the blossom trail.

Arriving by car is the ideal way to visit the area as you can stop off anywhere along the route to stroll through the orchards and pop into some of the attractive roadside cafes, restaurants, pubs and farm shops for a bite to eat and to pick up some fresh produce.  Enjoy delicious blossom themed cream teas and for those not driving, sample some of the local blossom ciders.  I recommend Wayside Farm and Tea Shop where we enjoyed a cream tea in their garden.  The farm shop stocks home grown and locally sourced products, homemade jams, chutneys, pies, cakes and scones.  Attached to the farm shop is a cafe with a cider shed serving blossom cider in the grounds.

Around the blossom trail are numerous walking paths marked by wooden finger posts that take you along the edge of fields, through farm gates and over wooden stiles to reach more of the fruit orchards and enjoy the local countryside.

Guided coach tours along the blossom trails with informative commentaries by local guides are another way to enjoy the blossom.  The tours explore some of Worcestershire’s delightful small villages with their ‘chocolate box’ half timbered cottages with thatched roofs.

The term ‘chocolate box cottage’ stems from the picturesque scenes that were printed on the lids of Cadbury’s chocolates during the 1950s and 60s.  Several of these charming properties located around the blossom trail were used on their packaging.  How lovely to be able to say that you actually lived in a ‘chocolate box cottage’ and have the lid to prove it!  More information on guided coach trips can be found here.

Cycling: The National Cycle Route 442 travels from Worcester to Evesham via Pershore along tree lined country lanes.  Look out for the blue ‘spring blossom trail’ signs along the route.  There’s also an annual Blossom Trail Bikeaway which takes place along a number of fully signposted routes catering for all abilities with money raised from the event donated to local charities.

We explored the Georgian market town of Pershore which is located on the banks of the River Avon.  The town holds an annual Plum Festival which draws visitors from far afield as it is famous for its award winning Pershore plums.

Set within the attractive gardens of Abbey Park is a 15th century Norman abbey which was awash with colourful blossom during our visit.  The town also has lots of inviting little shops, cafes and restaurants and we called into the Angel Hotel at the heart of the high street for a delicious lunchtime buffet.  The hotel was on the old coaching route between London and Worcester and coaches carrying mail would have stopped there as it also served as a posting house.

It’s now a charming AA four star inn with 20 individually designed rooms and a restaurant open to non residents.  The hotel also owns The Bank House next door which has been tastefully transformed from a former bank into a stylish venue for private parties and events.

I’d like to return to the town in mid-summer to walk through the confetti fields in the nearby village of Wick.  These are usually open from the end of June to early July and from photos and videos I’ve seen are a spectacular sight comprising fields of delphiniums.  The Real Petal Confetti Company make confetti from the hand picked delphinium petals which are then dried and sold year round.  Unlike traditional paper confetti it’s readily biodegradable and can be thrown at weddings.  I’d not heard of this before but think it’s a lovely idea.

After lunch, we continued our travels along the Blossom Trail moving on to the historic market town of Evesham where we explored its early 15th century Almonry which was once home to the Almoner, one of the monks from the Benedictine Abbey that was founded in the town in the 8th century.

Following the closure of the abbey by Henry VIII it became the private home of  the last Abbot whilst the rest of the abbey buildings were sold for the quarrying of the stone.

Today, the Almonry, two churches, bell tower and cloister are all that remains of what was reportedly the third largest abbey in England.  The Almonry opened as a museum in 1957 and contains exhibitions about the Abbey, the Battle of Evesham, horticulture in the area along with a reconstructed Victorian school room.  Standard admission £5.

Leaving there, we strolled through the grounds of Abbey Park which slopes down to the riverside footpath along the banks of the Avon.  The gardens looked beautiful with spring flowers in full bloom and I very much enjoyed our short visit to Evesham.

We were staying at The Wood Norton Hotel a historic hotel built by the Duc D’Orleans, exiled French Royalty in 1897 where the family lived until 1912.  The BBC then bought the hotel in 1939 just before war broke out so that they could relocate their broadcasting operations away from London in the event of hostilities.  It’s now a beautiful hotel retaining its original French decorative interiors  tastefully updated for guests of today.

We concluded our blossom themed day with an art workshop using acrylic paints.  I’m not very artistic and had never worked with acrylics before.  However, led by artist Hayley Reynolds, we were guided through the process step-by-step and all produced artwork to be proud of.

For anyone planning on staying in the Vale of Evesham and the idea of an art workshop sounds appealing, more details can be found here.

Our Blossom Trail weekend was organised by Worcestershire’s Vale and Spa tourist office with more information being available on their website.

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