My Home Town

Kidderminster is fortunate in having the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal flowing through its town centre, which in years gone by, was used by the carpet factories to transport their carpets all over the UK and the world. The canal is now used by pleasure crafts, as people take boating holidays.

Much of the new town centre is reclaimed industrial land, but the old historic buildings remain. They look quaint with their old stone or brickwork housing modern retail outlets. One restaurant chain has moved into a building with a huge chimney, whilst another is moving into "The Piano" building, so called because of its shape resembling a grand piano.

Outside of the Town Hall is the statue of Sir Rowland Hill, (1795-1879) He is the man usually connected with the postal reform. He was born in Kidderminster in 1795, his mother died giving birth and he was raised by his father who was a school teacher, and for a time Rowland Hill was a teacher too. Hill published his most famous pamphlet "Post Office Reform: its Importance and Practicability" in 1837, when he was 42. Hill wrote in his reform plan about the need for pre-printed envelopes and adhesive postage stamps to indicate prepayment of postage. The sender paid the postage rather than the receiver. The Reform also called for a uniform low rate of one penny per half-ounce per letter to anywhere in the British Isles. Previously postage depended on distance and the number of sheets of paper, now one penny could send a letter anywhere in the country.

The longest river in England is The Severn and it flows near to Kidderminster. We have a preserved steam railway here which takes its name from the valley that the river flows in; hence it is called The Severn Valley Railway. It is in daily use and runs between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth.

Weekends in Kidderminster are ultra busy as steam enthusiasts from not only the UK, come to visit, film and ride on the railway. Once a year there is a two-week re-enactment of WWII, where local shops tape-up their windows as they did during WWII, and vehicles of the era are brought in to give it an authentic feeling.

Visitors are encouraged to dress up in the military costume or civilian clothing of the time. During each weekend, Saturday and Sunday lunch times are reserved for a WWII Spitfire acting out a mock strafing attack of the railway and station. There is even an original air raid warning siren, new for 2007, that will be used for authenticity. Each night is rounded off with a dance to a "Big Band" playing music popular at the time, especially music from Benny Goodman and not forgetting "The Glenn Miller Sound."

The Severn Valley Railway is also a big hit with the kids with regular "Thomas the Tank Engine" days and the Santa Claus specials in December.

The West Midland Safari and Leisure Park is located between Kidderminster and Bewdley in Worcestershire, and opened in 1973. The park has a four-mile drive round Safari, with many species of animals from all over the world in mixed and single species reserves. As well as this, there is a large theme park area, pets corner, discovery zone and Spring Grove House, the park being built within the grounds. The Severn Valley Railway runs parallel to the park at one point between the stations of Kidderminster and Bewdley. The only four White Lions in the UK are on display at the park, as well as the largest herd of Hippopotamus in Europe. The park houses several rare species in need of conservation including African Wild Dog, Aye-Aye, White Rhinoceros and White Tiger - of which West Midland Safari Park has the largest group in the UK. In 2006, the park added both Leopard and Cape Buffalo to its collection, making it the first safari park in the UK to host all of the African Big Five. The park was also infamous for its Baboons who developed a taste for car accessories (aerials, wing mirrors, windscreen wipers, wheel trims, spoilers etc) and would happily remove them from your vehicle free of charge. Sadly or happily, they are there no more.

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