A dash off to Cheltenham

Yesterday I did a fast trip to Cheltenham, it is probably where I will end if I cannot find a place to live locally. It is not too far away, about 45 minutes with the number 41 bus. Unfortunately the usual Clarence Street bus terminal was closed so I ended up not quite where I wanted to be.

 

  

The church is the Catholic Church of St Gregory the Great and it seems to follow the pattern of a number of very similar churches that I have seen elsewhere. It was closed, but I did remind myself to check whether it was open on my way back, it was also a handy landmark to for the bus stop. I had no real destination in mind yet so as it was really about taking a look around and seeing the city and where the amenities are.  

I headed towards Clarence street anyway, passing an old fire station, 

 

and the library  

 

As you can see it was somewhat of a gray day, although there were at least 4 changes to that as the day progressed, the library is on my list for a rephotograph though, it is a stunning building, but not that easy to get a complete image of. 

 

My next encounter was with Cheltenham Minster, St Mary’s.   and it had the only graveyard that I saw in Cheltenham during my visit. Again it is one of those places that you cannot get a decent image of because of  where it sits. In this case trees obscured any semi decent shot that you could take of the church.  

 

I emerged into Clarence Street somehow, and it was kind of quiet, so I went for a quick breakfast while I mapped out a viewing of a potential living place.

 

  

This was probably the main shopping area, and it had a nice mix of old and new buildings in it, definitely worth looking at on my way back.

 

 

  

By now I was just walking, and of course looking for the War Memorial, which I found outside the Municipal Offices which are magnificent.

 

 

and for some strange reason their is a fountain depicting Neptune, and it was built in 1893. 

 

  

Continuing with my meanderings I spotted The Queen’s hotel, dating from 1838. 

 

Outside the building is the remaining plinth from a Crimean War Memorial, it once held a pair of canon which had been captured at Sebastopol. At the base of the plinth it still says ‘Taken at Sebastopol’, but in April 1942 both guns were recycled as armaments.

 

I had also spotted this very ecclesiastical looking building and had intended walking around it to investigate what it was.
There was evidence of a church in the building as witnessed by the gargoyles and statues around it.

It turns out that the whole block is more or less Cheltenham Ladies’ College.  It is a magnificent wedding cake of a collage, but the odds of getting into that chapel are non-existent..

It was time to head off for my viewing and leave this part of town behind. There was not too much to see on my walk, although I did grab a pic of the Holy Trinity Church

It looked like a very grim building, but apparently it has one of the larger congregations in the UK.

My viewing completed, I headed back towards town and had my sights on trying to find Cheltenham Spa Railway Station, which curiously enough was not in the town centre. On my way I came across the really stunning Christ Church, which seemed way too big for the small space it occupied.

 

The church dates to the 1830’s and must have seemed very impressive at the time as it would have dominated the surrounding area, today it is really a large church on a small stand. Also close by was this beauty which was yet another  care home.

And of course this one which may be part of the Ladies College

Eventually though, I found my goal, and the station proved to be somewhat of a damp squib. Unfortunately I was not able to get down to platform level.

It was getting to be time to head home, and I turned back towards town, finding this really nice bridge along the way.

From there it was a matter of navigating back to High Street Close and my bus back to Tewkesbury. And, as usual, I shall leave some random images behind. It is entirely possible that I will revisit this page as I am not quite done in Cheltenham, a return visit has to happen at some point.

 

 The local cemetery is called Prestbury, and it is where I went next.

 

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