HEREFORD

Saxon in origin, dating back to the 7th century, Hereford was extensively developed by the Normans, who rebuilt its famous cathedral and a castle (sadly no longer standing). Now you can enjoy an abundance of stunning half-timbered buildings, together with marvels like the Shire Hall, town hall and library, alongside the modern developments of the Old Market shopping centre, Maylords centre and the Courtyard, the town’s arts centre.

Packed with myths, legends and amazing facts, fascinating daily guided walks reveal Hereford’s evolution through the ages. e treasures of Hereford Cathedral are world-renowned – wonder at the Mappa Mundi, the world’s leading example of a medieval map, and the 1217 Magna Carta, one of only four copies in existence. e Chained Library is a unique collection of 1,500 books dating back to the 8th century – many with their original security chains – while the modern-day Ascension memorial window and sculpture pay tribute to the region’s connection to the SAS.

To market, to market…

High Town, Hereford’s marketplace for almost 1,000 years, is still the busy heart of the city, with weekly and seasonal food, craft and retail markets. Explore the stunning Jacobean Black and White House, now open as a museum, and marvel at the tiny former apothecary’s shop up high opposite Boots.

Don’t miss the independent quarter, centred on cobbled Church Street. It’s home to a selection of wonderful specialist retail shops, galleries, eateries and pubs. e city has a great indie food culture with plenty of co ee stops, gourmet burger joints, tapas bars, bistros and winebars, plus the glamour of Castle House Hotel and the Left Bank Village with their waterside locations.

Famously producing more than half of the UK’s cider, thanks to its abundant orchards, you can learn about Herefordshire’s cider-making heritage less than a mile from the city centre, at the Museum of Cider in the old Bulmer’s factory. See the ancient methods and equipment for crushing and juicing apples right through to the modern machinery of today’s mass production. Of course there’s cider tasting too.

Water everywhere!

Did you know?

The quirky statue of composer Elgar is by Shropshire sculptor Jemma Pearson e Waterworks Museum is a brilliant day out for the engineering and history enthusiast as well as the whole family. Virtually all the working engines and pumps are among the last remaining examples on public display, including the earliest water-raising devices of the Greeks and Romans. e gleaming machines are in action on regular steam days throughout the year, while children will enjoy lifting, pumping, moving and ltering water in the outdoor ‘water park’.

Contacts

Museum of Cider

Pomona Place HR4 0EF www.cidermuseum.co.uk

Castle Green is a ne early example of a city park, laid out in 1745 on the site of the Norman castle, and across Victoria Bridge is the enchanting riverside walk along the Wye. Elgar’s legacy during his years here is marked with a statue in the cathedral grounds, showing the composer leaning against his bicycle, admiring its splendour. Find excellent accommodation for your city break at www.eatsleeplive herefordshire.co.uk

Hereford Cathedral Cathedral Close HR1 2NG www.herefordcathedral.org

Waterworks Museum

Broomy Hill HR4 0LJ www.waterworksmuseum.org.uk

Black and White House Museum

High Town HR1 2AA www.blackandwhitehouse.org

Hereford Daily Guided Walks Depart from the Cathedral at 11.30am (Sundays 2.30pm), April to October www.herefordguided walks.org.uk

Groundworks, Construction & Agricultural Contracting

We have been in business for 3 years and started with just one small digger. Since then we have grown, now employing several staff and owning our own fleet of vehicles and a wide range of plant and equipment. We are based in the small village of Longtown, south west of Hereford. Working all over the UK but mainly operating in the surrounding areas of Herefordshire, we carry out all types of groundworks, construction, tree shearing, steel building and agricultural contracting.

WE SPECIALISE IN -

• Ground source heating

• Electric cables

• Ponds/lakes

• Treatment plants

• Supply & disposal of soils

• Tree shearing

• Bulldozing

• Tractor & Dump trailer hire

• Footings

• Concreting

• Ditching

• Pipe laying

• Site clearance

• Muck away

• Driveways

• Drainage

Discover what Shire’s team thought of the concerts, live events and shows they’ve seen at local venues

Circus Funtasia

Loud, amazing, thrilling, and totally unlike any circus you’ve seen before – welcome to the crazy world of Circus Funtasia. Featuring motorbike stunt riders in a Globe of Death, a laser

Rich Hall At Market Drayton Festival Centre

Rich Hall arrived looking suitably shell-shocked to perform his latest show ‘Fired from Cannons’. “You’ve paid for the whole seat,” he said, “but you’ll only need the edge of it.” He wasn’t fooling anyone: his highly intelligent, engaging humour made you want to sit back and relish it.

Oiling his deep, croaky voice with plenty of expletives, the Montanan’s cranky misanthropy wasn’t fooling anyone either. He mocked American forced positivity and English queueing manners equally, but his humour was as cheering as it was well observed.

Hall embellished his stand-up with a second set show, high-ropes trapeze acts, a roller disco, highly skilled juggling acts, a huge rotating cage with no safety line for the blindfold acrobat… and much more. What really stands out is the way the audience are engaged and drawn into the whole experience – with several appearing on stage to take an active part. The talented clown, played by Emil, with mime acts, smoke tricks and a brilliant knack of poking fun at the audience, is a real star and keeps you on your toes!

Circus Funtasia visits Telford, Oswestry, Warrington and Crewe in March, so keep an eye out for next year! DB ★★★★★ of country music, improvising exchanges with the audience to deliver some hilarious lyrics. The grand ole Mississippi was replaced by Drayton’s Tern, rolling “like a dribble to the middle of the sea, a slither of a river is she.”

“What car you drive, fella?” prompted a twangy Nashville tune. “No one wants to listen to a song about a Nissan.” JH

FOXY: LIFE AT THE LIMIT

Telford Theatre had been sold out for months in advance of Jason Fox’s Life at the Limit tour, and not a seat was spare on the night, with fans – many issues he developed as a result of his SAS career.

Overall, Foxy comes across much as he does on screen – just a down-to-earth bloke you’d like dressed in ThruDark branded performance wear – eagerly waiting to hear about the life and times of TV tough guy Foxy. He’s certainly led a life of adventure since leaving the military, and discussed in some detail how this helped him overcome the mental health

Shropshire Kids Festival

There was a lot of fun to be had for little people at Shropshire Kids Festival. A mixture of inflatables, fairground rides, music, performance, crafts and have-a-go sporting activities were all on offer within Telford International Centre. The only activities charged in addition to the ticket price were face painting and cookie decorating.

There were short queues for some of the activities at the start of the day, but all were well managed, and by the afternoon there was barely any wait at all. My kids are towards the upper age limit of 12, so I can’t comment on the under-5s zone, but they were well and truly tired out by the time we left, declaring it had been a great day and asking to come back again next year.

If you have a show in the Shire area, we can send a reviewer – and your show can appear on these pages too! Email editorial@ shiremagazine.co.uk Get in touch!