Elgar in Hereford

I’ve taken this picture before but as it was nearly dark I don’t think I used it for blip.

We came en route to the south west and somehow got lost arriving barely in time to see the Mappa Mundi housed in Hereford Cathedral. We barely had time to get in to see it and have a cuppa before it closed, being October we came out to near darkness.

The as it was on our route today along the Wye from Hay I suggested we stopped but wouldn't be able to access the cathedral on a Sunday. Chris looked it up and said if we got off in good time we could attend the morning communion service at 10.00 am.  So early breakfast and off arriving outside the cathedral at 9.45am to the cathedral bells ringing. 

It was very nice but we got a bit more than we bargained for, the service lasted one and a half hours  and we had full incense swinging! It was a nice experience and a goid way to end our holiday but we elected not to stay for coffee. 
What I did want to do was take this picture of Edward Elgar leaning on his bike overlooking the cathedral.
We were in Great Malvern last year in late September and saw a statue of him there too as he lived there for 13 years writing some of his most famous works but he also lived in Hereford from 1904 -1913 and was often seen on his Sunbeam bike  ‘Mr Phoebus’. Extra

We didn’t stop again aoart from necessities but headed home.
We’ve had a great two weeks away both with the girls and seeing Grace in Les Miserables in the first week and last week enjoying two beautiful gardens and the ever delightful environs of Bath. Thank you Grace and John for letting us stay.

In two weeks we only had one lightly cooler day and no rain at all. The garden needs some attention!