Worcester – the Faithful City. We’re a small but great city, with a population of 100k, 1/10th of which are students. From Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce to Berrow’s Worcester Journal (the oldest newspaper in the world), there are lots of reasons to be proud to live in “the Woo”. In recent years, we’ve also been voted one of the safest and happiest cities in the country too! Here’s why Worcester is a great place to live.
There’s plenty to do here
Worcester is a beautiful and historic city with so much to do. Based alongside the River Severn, the city features many landmarks such as Worcester Cathedral, the Hive, River Severn and the Worcester Uni campuses. Recently, Cathedral Square has undergone many refurbishments and opened up a wide range of services, including new restaurants, shops and even a gym and Travelodge!
Within the city centre there is a wide variety of shops like Topshop, Jack Wills, Primark and New Look (to name a few). There are also lots of restaurants here too, such as Nandos, Weatherspoons, ASK Italian, GBK and Bill’s.
There are plenty of events here
There’s a lot of sport to see in Worcester. You can watch Worcester Warriors Rugby at Sixways Stadium, Worcestershire County Cricket Club at New Road and Worcester Wolves Basketball at the Arena. If you love horses, you can also watch the races at Pitchcroft Racecourse, which is a beautiful landmark as well as a popular sporting venue.
Top tip: check out Worcester Festival starting on August 11th, featuring the Worcester Beer, Cider and Perry Festival, live music, exhibitions and workshops.
There’s so much to see here
There are also many historical places in Worcester. For example, Worcester Cathedral which is famous for its Norman Crypt, Chapter House and King John’s tomb. You can also visit the Tudor House Museum, Museum of Royal Worcester and St Andrew’s Spire, which is the tallest spire in the UK.
There is so much history within the city and lots to explore and learn about. This goes to show that Worcester is an exciting city. It’s developing and improving its modern areas but still has its historical roots and heritage. Another top tip: you can climb to the top of Cathedral Tower for £5, to enjoy amazing views of the City from above. This is where Charles II watched the Battle of Worcester, so this spot is a unique piece of history!
It’s easy to get around the city
We have efficient transport here in Worcester, including bus, train and taxi services. There are also many different bus services that are easily accessible all over the city. The bus station is at Crowngate Shopping Centre and you can get the 31 bus straight from St John’s Campus. You can use your student ID card to get discounts on your bus fares, so it’s worth remembering your lanyard!
If you fancy a day trip outside the city, we have great rail links. The city has two main train stations: Worcester Foregate Street Station and Worcester Shrub Hill Station. These both prove very useful as thousands of people use these services to commute each day. We’re less than an hour away from Birmingham, Cheltenham and Gloucester by train, so we’re in a perfect location for exploring the West Midlands.
There is so much more than what I’ve briefly written about here. Worcester’s a diverse area with people of different races, opinions, beliefs and nationalities. I love how close-knit the community is here and how impressively diverse it is. Overall I think this brilliant city has so much to offer and I love living here.
For more on life here in Worcester, here are a few extra blog posts:
Make the Most of Worcester
A Student Guide to Eating Out in Worcester
Where to Shop in Worcester
I hope that this has explained some reasons why I think Worcester is such a great city to live and also inspires you to come visit and enjoy the city for yourself! What do you love about Worcester? Let me know in the comments section!
(A huge thanks to one of our work experience students for writing this blog post).
Worcester Student Life 