The Worcester & Birmingham Canal provides a direct, traffic-free route past Worcester city centre. It’s well surfaced throughout, though often narrow. Take particular care by the locks, where the towpath falls rapidly and then sometimes curves sharply under a bridge.
You can head towards the city centre at Lowesmoor (just south of the railway bridge) or at the Commandery, though both are busy roads; or, of course, continue along the canal to the river, and head up the riverside path.
For south-east Worcester, follow the path past the Anchor Inn at Diglis Basin – famous for its Belly Buster Breakfasts! – to join the quiet Diglis Lane, a more pleasant alternative to the parallel Bath Road. This passes along an improved cycle path to Barneshall Avenue (once notorious for its bike-hostile residents) before crossing Bath Road towards the Norton Pedway, for access to St Peters and Norton itself.