Travel Information

Badsey is in the Vale of Evesham, right in the middle of England. So if you are traveling in the midlands on Saturday 23rd July 2011 it is worth looking in on the Badsey Flower Show. Badsey is 2 miles east of the town of Evesham and 30 miles south of the City of Birmingham. Do not go into Evesham. Take the A46 which is the Evesham By Pass. Leave this at the B4035 roundabout following the signs to Badsey. After a mile turn right into the village. It has two parks and a small first school located in the centre of the village. The village has a Spar shop (open 7 days a week) with a post office located inside. There are also two local pubs called the Wheatsheaf and the Round Of Gras. The flower show will be held in the afternoon between 1pm and 5pm and there is free parking. If the parking is on grass, as I suspect it may be, just be aware that your Midland Campervan Hire is front wheel drive and if the ground is soft you will not get off grass when you decide to leave. Similarly, if it is wet your Midland Motorhome Hire may require assistance to drive off wet grass. It may be prudent to find hard standing in the village some distance away and walk to the recreation ground show site. This is a small village show with admission prices advertised as, Adults £3, OAP’S £2 and Children £1, so attending this small country show with your family is quite reasonable. There are stalls, shows, competitions and refreshments and of course, flowers on display. Last year’s Flower Show saw 200 exhibitors across 146 classes. There is a variety of entertainment to be had here throughout the afternoon with many traditional and local stalls. This is an ideal opportunity to enjoy local English tradition with an afternoon at Badsey Flower Show, enjoyed as part of your midlands campervan hire tour.

Badsey Flower Show
Vale of Evesham
Worcestershire
England
WR11 7EW ( BadseyHigh Street).

Whilst exploring the West Midlands in a motorhome why not visit the Black Country Living Museum, a historic open air museum located in Dudley.

The Black Country Living Museum offers a host of authentic historical buildings and recreations of typical Black Country life. Costumed performers are at work to bring the ambiance of traditional Black Country arts and work into the 21st century.

There is even an original 1920′s cinema on site offering a nostalgic look at silent movies.

Set on a 26 acre site there is plenty of see and do at the museum to keep the whole family entertained.

Black Country Living Museum
Tipton Road
Dudley
DY1 4SQ
Telephone: +44(0)121 557 9643
Email: info@bclm.co.uk

Collections in this industrial museum describe the history of needle-making in Victorian times. Check their website for opening times and further information.

Forge Mill Needle Museum
Needle Mill Lane
Riverside
Redditch
Worcestershire
B98 8HY

Tel: +44 (0) 1527 – 62509

George Marshall Medical Museum holds a wide selection of medical instruments. The museum charts the history of medicine and is very fascinating.

For those of you with National Trust Membership, admission to Hanbury Hall is free. Admission is by a timed ticket for guided tours from February till October each year. This William and Mary style house has an amazing mix of styled interiors. A great deal has been recently restored including some beautiful wall paintings by Sir James Thornhill. The gardens are a delight to enjoy in fine weather. Take a walk around the fruit garden, the orangery or the orchard. Enjoy the parterre or the space available in the surrounding parkland by trying out the many park walks. If you are planning a picnic this is just the place to find a spot the whole family can enjoy. If you prefer your meals in doors then there is an excellent café to meet your needs. Like most good National Trust houses there is also a National Trust Shop selling quality gifts that are sure to tempt you to buy. This imposing house is set in twenty acres and sometimes has special events taking place, so it is best to always plan your visit prior to setting out in your Worcestershire Motorhome Hire. At Hanbury Hall it is not unusual to find activity days, open-air theatre productions and concerts during the year as well as art exhibitions and themed weekends. For a programme of events and more admission details click the link below which takes you to the National Trust website.

Hanbury Hall
School Road
Hanbury
Droitwich Spa
Worcestershire
WR9 7EA
England

Telephone: 01527 821214

Steam railway enthusiasts, film buff’s, visitors seeking all the romance and nostalgia of a by-gone age will love a ride on an authentic restored steam train. So many TV dramas, films etc have included this railway that you may well feel that you have seen parts of it before. The classic feature film, ‘The Thirty-nine Steps’ with Robert Powell in the leading role, was filmed here and you will recognize the highlight of the trip when crossing the River Severn by means of the Victoria Bridge – a massive 200-foot single span, high above the water. You are not just being transported in a restored steam train you are being transported to a different era before mobile phones and computers! You pass on your journey through some of Englands beautiful scenery. You can get off at any station en on the route and catch the next train onwards or return again. This is all run by a host of enthusiastic volunteers and provides one of the best days out as you hop from train to train, station to station.  The whole journey along the beautiful Severn Valley between Kidderminster in Worcestershire and Bridgnorth in Shropshire, is across16 miles of track. Situated on Comberton Hill, the A448 Kidderminster – Bromsgrove road and is signposted from Kidderminster Ring Road, the A449 Worcester – Wolverhampton road. It is also signposted from the M5 Junction 3 southbound and northbound and M5 junction 6 northbound. Follow the brown tourist signs showing the little steam engine. If you are arriving in your holiday Motorhome hire you are advised to use the set-down point adjacent to the booking hall entrance for passengers who wish to avoid a very long walk to reach the station platform from the coach and car park. The SVR car and coach park is situated to the right of the station building as you approach it. Visit the Severn Valley Railway website for ticket prices and further information.

Severn Valley Railway
The Railway Station
Kidderminster Station
Comberton Hill
DY10 1QX

Telephone: 01299 403 816

Lovers of Elgars music won’t fail to resist a visit to his birthplace, located three miles west of Worcester. This is a very humble house that saw the birth of such a great future international composer. Here you can find both a museum and a visitor centre. The house Elgar was born in was much loved by him throughout his life and now gives insight into his life and works. The collection includes all sorts of interesting contributions from family and friends. The museums collection holds a wealth of unique manuscripts, Elgars letters as well as diaries and press cuttings. It is nationally important as a resource and includes all sorts of memorabilia associated with his life and work. Once you are here it cant help but stir further interest into the man and his music. You will only see a small part of the immense collection on display at any given time. Much is stored in the research room and you can make a separate appointment if there is anything you especially would like to see. You can also buy his music at the shop. Masterpieces such as Salut d’amour or the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, to name but a few can be played on your CD player( if you have one) in your Worcester Motorhome Hire as you drive along on your holiday trip. For more information on opening times and admission costs etc. click the blue text on the link below.

The Elgar Birthplace Museum
Crown East Lane,
Lower Broadheath,
Worcester
WR2 6RH.

Tel: 01905 333224

The Forge Mill Needle museum tells the fascinating and sometimes gruesome story of needle making in Victorian times.The Mill is a listed building which houses original water powered machinery.

Forge Mill Needle Museum
Needle Mill Lane
Riverside
Redditch
B98 8HY

Tel: 01527 62509

Worcestershire is a lovely county to explore in a motorhome or campervan. If you are looking for a place to stop for a day trip whilst in the area look no further than the Transport Museum at Wythall!

The museum boasts a vast collection of buses, electric vehicles, and much more; there is even a miniature steam railway on site. The world’s largest collection of Midland Red buses is located at the museum making at a great place to immerse yourself into the local history of the Midlands.

Chapel Lane
Wythall
Worcsester
B47 6JX
TEL:(44) 01564 826471

This is a beautiful nature reserve of hay meadows that are managed in the traditional way. The meadows are cut for hay in the summer and then grazed. Unimproved soil provides perfect conditions for the wild flowers to flourish. These meadows are now extremely scarce throughout Britain, with over 98% having been destroyed in England and Wales since the 1930s. It is a treat then to view this from April till September when wood anemone first bloom, followed by buttercups then great burnet, meadow foxtail, red fescue, meadow saffron, narrow-leaved water-dropwort, mousetail, and the unusual small-flowered winter-cress on the bare banks of the Severn. The site is designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Visitors should keep to the footpaths and access track. Other areas of the reserve are only accessible on special Open Days. It may be best to Park your your Worcestershire Campervan Hire in Upton-upon –Severn and make your way on foot. From the bridge in Upton-upon-Severn, follow the A4104 towards Little Malvern. On leaving the town, turn left, just past the church, into Minge lane. Walk down Minge Lane until you reach a right hand turning, into Laburnam Walk, with a dirt track ahead. Access to the reserve is via this track. For more information on this sensitive site click the blue text below.

Upton Ham Nature Reserve
Laburnam Walk
Upton-upon-severn
Worcestershire.
WR8 0LW
United Kingdom.

This is a friendly campsite with plenty of facilities and located just sixty metres from the towpath of the local canal. Along the towpath, past the lock, is the local pub and further along takes you to Kidderminster. At Kidderminster you will find plenty of shops and places to eat. The canal was built to service the Black Country and Birmingham. The camp site has an historical background, as it was in 1943 that the US Army Medical Corps opened the award-winning 52nd General Hospital on the land now occupied by the Site. The site is well located for day trips. Visit Bodenham Arboretum, which has eleven pools, four miles of walks and a café. Travel by steam train on a journey on the Severn Valley Railway which runs from Kidderminster to Bridgenorth. Take the children on safari to the West Midlands Safari and Leisure Park, which has rides, a Discovery Zone, and houses the UK’s largest family of white tigers. If you want to cook for yourself in the evening stop and buy local produce from Hodge Hill Farm shop ( two miles from Site), which sells local meat, bread, vegetable and cheeses. Alternatively visit the Farmers’ Markets which are held monthly in Kidderminster and Bewdley. Bewdley is a lovely Georgian town to the south west of the camp site. Wolverley Camping and Caravan Club site is situated by a quiet village and welcomes Worcestershire Campervan Hire vehicles. For booking and information on facilities click the blue text below.

Wolverley Camping and Caravanning Club Site
Brown Westhead Park
Wolverley
nr Kidderminster
Worcestershire
DY10 3PX

Telephone: 01562 850909 (No calls after 8pm please.)