Hereford, Great Malvern, and Worcester

Hereford's main draw is its cathedral. There is an idyllic old house, appropriately named The Old House, standing alone in the pedestrian market streets that lead to the cathedral. 

The cathedral itself isn't much to look at in comparison with many of the others in Britain (as evidenced by the fact that even I didn't feel the need to take pictures of the exterior), yet it holds fascinating treasures. Unfortunately, photography of them is not permitted, so for visuals all you'll get is this brilliant and scathing social commentary carved in wood, titled "The Law Suit". 

The aforementioned treasures are the mappa mundi and the chained library. Hereford is home to the largest medieval map of the world still extant. It's quite something to behold. In the medieval mind, the world was a disk, with Jerusalem at the center (obviously). Rumors and myth fill the gaps of medieval European knowledge of the world, leading to scenes of unicorns grazing with rhinoceroses, and headless people with faces in their torsos, among other oddities.  Landmarks worth noting include the garden of Eden (separated from the world), as well as Sodom and Gomorrah (along with the pillar of salt that was once Lot's wife). 

The chained library consisted of shelves of ancient books whose spines were literally chained to their shelves. Books were clearly highly valuable and in need of protection. The library is also home to another of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta. 

On the train to Great Malvern I happened to be sitting near a woman with whom I had spoken on a bus ride in the Lake District. She was happy to hear I had toured her native Hereford as she had suggested. Great Malvern drew me in with its priory. 

More specifically, the priory's misericords (the underside of the monks' fold down seats) have fascinating carvings upon them, and the armrests were just as amusing. 

The day's penultimate stop was Worcester, home to another cathedral. 

The Cathedral is the burial place of King John, famed signer of the Magna Carta and enemy of his elder brother Robert the Lionhearted (not to mention Robin Hood). 

The king's unpopularity can be seen by the fact that the lion on his tombstone is attacking his feet instead of sitting there as a loyal guardian. 

On the train I heard a ringtone to the tune of that classic ditty "Uncle-fucker". I ended my day with yet another cathedral in Birmingham.