Workman Gardens, Evesham

Tiger Lilly and Leo needed their annual boosters. After getting the vets we visited last year in Skipton to email their records through we looked ahead and found that Evesham had four vets within walking distance of the river. We chose the least corporate looking one that displayed their prices online. We were also encouraged by the good review given by a boater who had previously taken their dog for a booster.

Evesham's central moorings are limited to 48 hours but there were was a 24 hour jetty just a little way downriver meaning we could stay 3 days within easy reach of shops.

The receptionist at JP Vets advised us to come to one of the open surgeries, held for an hour every weekday morning and from 16:30-18:00. We walked the dogs in the narrow terraced park between the boat and the road, hoping to tire them out. Unfortunately Leo found and tucked into what looked like human diarrhea and very cross when Vicky scooped him up and plonked him back on board 💩🤢

When we arrived at JP vets it turned out Jo Parsons was the only vet with a small team around her. Everyone was encouraged to wait outside the building to give the animals space and reduce stress. It seemed to work because when Jo called us in, she was able to give Leo his injection without a muzzle or so much as a grumble! 5 star service!

We moved to the central moorings adjoining Workman Gardens the following day. The linear park was lovely, with seating and picnic benches, an avenue of Lime Trees, 3 petanque courts, room for a group to set up a gazebo, chairs and play croquet, table tennis tables and a number of whale art sculptures. These came about as a result of an expedition to the Arctic in 1819 that killed 10 whales. A Mr Stanton sent the jawbones of one of the bowhead whales to his friend Dr Cooper, who lived in the manor house that is now Evesham Hotel. In 1906 Copper's granddaughters donated the bones to the town, who displayed them in Workman Gardens. In 2012 they were returned to the hotel as they could no longer stand up to the weather and floods. A local metal worker and a woodworker created the sculpture that now stands as their replacement. A small group of Eastern European daytime drinkers would gather close to the sculture, but they were friendly and didn't cause anyone any bother.

The council had obviously made a huge investment in the waterfront and it really was the jewel in Evesham's crown. On the opposite bank was Abbey Park which led up the hill to the Abbey tower and walled gardens. Beautiful old trees dotted the slopes, casting refreshing circles of shade. Further down there were sand and water parks, a band stand, lilly pond, boulevard and café, not to mention the tennis courts, multi use games area and rowing club! On the water, the Avon Navigation Trust had a welcome boat like the one at Tewkesbury and beside it were dragon pedalos for hire.

The very centre of Evesham was pedestrianised but the shops seemed to be struggling. Nail bars, vape vendors, fried chicken joints and off licenses were more frequent than any independent retailers and despite our love of charity shops even we felt like Evesham was drowning in them. The indoor shopping centre only had a few outlets that remained open and was a really depressing place to walk through.

We kept our eyes open for somewhere to eat and found a nice looking café called Brew Bear. It had beautiful original paintings, some of them on canvas, some on the walls themselves and all done by the manager. The owner Rob was standing as an independent candidate for the upcoming parish council elections. He was a friendly and charismatic chap who had about half a dozen framed local newspaper articles about his exploits.

We hadn't had the chance to eat out much recently so we visited the timber framed Red Lion the following day. The pub was friendly with the baked potato café next door and Will took them up on their offer of bringing food from one to the other. We passed the group of older customers spouting anti immigrant rhetoric and found a little snug at the back where Will taught Vicky how to play backgammon. The manager admitted he too was putting distance between himself and the incendiary political talk, saying it was difficult to know at what point to step in on a private conversation, albeit in a business open to the public.

There were a few things we really liked about Evesham, but the town was obviously struggling. In the end it was a relief to leave because of Leo's obsession with scrounging scraps from under the picnic tables and raging at the lovely swans. We love him dearly but he's not the easiest of dogs!Leer más