Worcester, Witley Court & Church

I've never been THIS excited about blogging before

Usually it takes me about a week of relaxing to recover from the exhaustion (and thrill) of travelling. During that period, I most commonly begin to contemplate whether or not I ought to blog about that particular experience. It generally is a big fat "yes" from me, but for some reason, writing somehow gets delayed by all the other interesting things I get involved with in life.

In other words, I procrastinate (sometimes).

But definitely not this time! After visiting Witley Court on an incredible sunny Monday (yes this was just yesterday), I was motivated to start blogging about it (almost) immediately. So, here goes.

Entering Worcester Cathedral

The medieval church of Saint Andrew

Sailing down the River Severn

Worcester

To get to Witley Court, which is located near Great Witley in Worcestershire, I had to head to the city of Worcester by train in order to catch the 758 bus to this English Heritage property. I'd made sure I'd left enough time to explore Worcester, mainly its Cathedral, as well.

Seagulls on patrol

Frequent flyer

A fine day in Worcester

If it's a very sunny day when you go, you should definitely take a walk by the River Severn as it looks absolutely stunning in the sunshine. There's also an opportunity to take a cruise up and down the river. Unfortunately, I didn't have time for this but I guess this, and the fact that I didn't get to see the other museums in Worcester + buy Worcestershire sauce, means I'll definitely have an excuse to go back again!

Walking to Witley Court

Witley Court's river

Witley Court

Hooray!

This was the main highlight of my day trip. And I am thoroughly pleased to say that I was NOT disappointed by it at all. In my opinion, the history of Witley Court is to an extent bittersweet. Although originally one of the most extravagant country houses in the UK, it suffered from a terrible fire in 1937 that has left the majority of it in ruins. Fortunately, a great portion of its beauty and charm has still been retained as the pictures show. And with the help from a series of info panels accompanying the key highlights of property, it's still possible to imagine how luxurious and spectacular the decor used to be.

The south facade

Inside the conservatory

Peeking through Witley Court

Personally, I would say that it is genuinely one of the most romantic and attractive Grade 1 buildings I have EVER been to in the UK.

The east parterre

Roaming around the garden

Next to the south facade

When I travel, I like to go in whatever direction my mood and guts take me in. Having ground rules can make travelling too stressful! However, if you did want me to recommend a must-see part of Witley Court so that you can plan out your route, then you should certainly pencil in the Perseus & Andromeda Fountain. It's design based on the Greek myth about Perseus flying on Pegasus to save his to-be-spouse, Andromeda, from a terrifying sea creature. An eye-catching masterpiece, water is shot from the fountain at every hour between 10am to 5pm. It's definitely something you HAVE to photography (and also film!).

The Fountain's sleeping

The Fountain's alive!

Great Witley Church

Outdoor tearoom

Taking it easy

Which way is which?

If you're feeling a bit peckish and tired after walking around Witley Court and all its garden trails, then head next door to the lovely little outdoor tearoom run by Great Witley Church . The pear flavoured popsicle is highly recommended (by me), just to let you know. And whilst you're there, why not check out the Church itself? I mean, who would have thought that a church with such a simple exterior could be so much more extravagant on the inside? See my pictures if you don't believe me.

Arriving at Great Witley Church

The Church's baroque styled interior

There are 48 ceremonial counties in England alone, and I have now officially visited 25 (= an average of around 6 new ones annually across the 4 years I've been here).

Bring on the next one :)

Mondays could never have been this enjoyable

Review: Learning Architecture at CSM

The amateur anthropologist architect

 

Usually on my weekends, travelling to a museum or hidden highlight are inevitable. I just love the idea of being able to experience new situations, and simultaneously learn more about life and history. However, as pointed out by the renowned psychologist Vygotsky, one can only learn so much through trial and error. In order to reach our potential, teachers or role models are what we require to become academically adept. And although the traditional note-taking and lecturing techniques may seem rather tedious especially on a weekend, I felt no regrets in enrolling myself into a 2-day architectural drawing course at Central Saint Martins (CSM); for those of you that don’t know, it’s famed for developing the star-studded fashion figures like A McQueen and S McCartney.

 

Why? Simply for the love of learning and sketching.

For such a course, you’d expect there to be some sort of practical element. You guessed correctly. Underneath the baking hot sun that shone through the dusted glass windows, I was able to perch myself on comfy wooden furniture whilst crafting my (very amateur) masterpieces (which were based on the interiors and structures of the captivating building which CSM was in). I was undoubtedly grateful for the guidance and support the course tutor showed me; although we do cover households as a topic in anthropology, we consider it through a more abstract and philosophical angle, rather than an artistic one. Through being taught about the importance of measurements and various viewing perspectives, I was able to progress steadily during the course. Fascination and enthusiasm quickly kicked in, despite the weather beckoning me to go out (it was apparently one of the hottest weekends in London during my time at CSM).

And since it was my first attempt at architectural sketching, I have to say, I think I did alright; don’t you? 

 

Singapore

Weekend getaway

The title normally means castle hunting or museum visiting when I'm in England. However, when in Asia, it's translated to having fun in a foreign land that's not too far away from home. And given the limited timeframe (i.e. Saturday and half of Sunday only) for travelling, Singapore appeared to fit the bill (and around my work schedule) perfectly.

It wasn't long after the screening of "Inside Out" that our plane descended gracefully onto the little metropolis's runway.

(Memorable) surpirses through spontaneity

Planning what to do during a trip is an absolute must for me. It honestly makes life easier and less hectic. On this occasion though, this action seemed completely inappropriate. Instead, I decided to go with my gut feeling for once (or rather with the results of a quick "eeny, meeny, miny, mo" on the tourist guide from the hotel's concierge) when choosing my first destination. That initially landed me at Marina Bay Sands, where cash splurging comes in two unique forms (i.e. shopping or playing at the casino). The shops weren't that spectacular to me (only because we have the same brands at home), but the interior definitely was.

Honeslty, just LOOK at my photos if you don't believe me.

 

 

One place I did enjoy was the Superheroes cafe (especially their rainbow cake --> truly a winner). I like the idea of combining fiction with food, as you get a story to go with your meal. It's absolutely worth the very, VERY long wait in queue!

Thank you spontaneity for bringing me to Marina Bay Sands - 'twas a perfect way to start my Singaporean adventure.

Animation: East & West

No trip is ever complete without a museum visit. The ArtScience museum (aka. the large lotus flower building) was the first one I headed to. There I guided myself through an inspiring movie exhibition by Dreamworks Animation. The models and art created for films like Shrek & Kung Fu Panda were all captivating, but what I became wonderstruck by was the amount of pictures the creators had to draw in order to produce just a single minute of an animation. The phrase "hardwork pays off" is definitely appropriate here in my opinion.

Another form of animation I enjoy is Japanese anime. I wouldn't call myself an overly obsessed fan, but I have been interested in anime ever since my younger years. It's no wonder I sub-consciously found myself headed towards the annual Toy, Game and Comic Convention. If I had to describe the main features of the showcase through a list, I would say that there was cosplay, manga, Sailor Moon figurines, cosplay, plush toys from Japan, fan art, cosplay, guest speakers, card trading and did I mention, COSPLAY?

 

       

  

 

The anime convention wasn't on my original itinerary, but it was surely a good choice! I then spent the evening wandering down Orchard Road, feeling content with my day and bedazzled by all the glittering lights.

 

Lucky last

It's hard saving the best till last at times, mainly because it's so unbelievably tempting to have immediately. However, if you can wait, it does make things seem much more memorable. And that's what happened with my day at Universal Studios. Despite the sweltering heat, I managed to go on a couple of rides and take lots of photos.

 

 

Here they are, FYI:

 

 

  

Clearly, I have an obsession with movie merch:

 

And obviously, I HAD to take a picture of the Fluffy Unicorn from Despicable Me (it was indeed incredibly "fluffy").

Oh yes and I had food, lots of it. Apologies for the lack of foodie pics (hunger made me forget to take my camera out).

 

 

 

I also captured many quirky sights on my Canon camera. Examples include...

 

 

 

  

This little fella here was particularly cute:

  

Last thoughts

Clearly I haven't even scraped the surface of Singapore's touristy sites (there's many more amazing highlights to see, believe me). Just walking around Sentosa was already enough fun for a day. But my weekend getaway is definitely something I will cherish for a very long time...

Well, long enough until I decide to head back for even grander adventures.

Like taking a spontaneous trip to Singapore :)