First glimpse of namesake, some 3,500 miles away...

It prides itself on being in the heart of New England - centrally-located and near to all the amenities Boston offers, but far enough away to retain its individuality.

The New England area has a varied countryside and the 38-mile drive from Boston Logan Airport to Worcester included plenty of greenery and more rivers than I expected.

In fact, ski slopes and sandy beaches aside, I was struck by a number of similarities with Worcester's relationship with Birmingham.

All this information, gleaned from chatting with my limo driver, Donald, and gawping out of the car window like every bit the tourist, seemed very promising as I gained my first glimpse of our namesake, some 3,500 miles away.

My Bank Holiday weekend trip, as a 20-something travelling on my own, had already seen airport security at its most zealous in both Heathrow and Boston.

My treasured "Swiss credit-card" - with a pen, scissors, nail file and small blade - was destroyed in London, where my bag was also earmarked for a "random" check.

If I started having those twinges of doubt leaving the country - had I really held onto my bag the whole time? Could anyone have got to it? - things warmed up Stateside.

We had to take our shoes off during further safety checks at Boston and, while everyone accepted these were all sensible precautions, anyone travelling should plan for inevitable delays.

Real fun started when, during the final passport control and Visa checks, they discovered I was a journalist.

It seems our international reputation is little better than at home and when I was eventually cleared, several hundred holiday-makers must have been wondering what horrible confession I had made to cause such a stir.

When I first met Donald - my driver and effectively tour-guide - at the airport, I discovered the first striking feature of our twin town.

It has 25 letters in the alphabet, because R's don't exist.

Car and bar are pronounced caaah and baaah, with varying numbers of a's in the middle, depending on how long they have spent in Worcester.

The accent of the region is apparently unique - for example being the only area of the USA to pronounce "aunt" as we do, the rest of the country saying "ant"- and as a first-time visitor to America, stereotypes and myths were instantly erased.

Sarcasm is the staple diet of their sense of humour and while the popular view is that Americans are overweight, I was struck far more by how tall they generally are.

My first day began with a tour of Worcester's EcoTarium, a nature centre with everything from environmental-regeneration projects to polar bears and eagles.

It offered a fascinating insight into the surrounding countryside and local wildlife, with turtles and frogs the current focus, and comes into its own as a learning centre for everything from school trips to scientific research.

My trip was very much a whistle-stop tour of Worcester's tourist sites and art galleries and craft centres were all whizzed through.

However, the highlight of my tour was the Higgins Armory.

Founded by keen collector of antiquities John Higgins in 1928, the museum hosts the largest display of arms and armour in America - and is as impressive as it sounds.

It includes live demonstrations, the chance to try the weapons and armour - and fencing lessons were even being held while I was there.

My guide, Sara Murphy, knew a dizzying amount about her subject and it was certainly the hardest of all attractions to pull myself away from.

It was made slightly easier, however, by my next stop, Herbert's Candy Mansion, the perfect place to pick up presents for friends and family.

Imagine Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory located just off a motorway and you are probably not far wrong.

The smell was intoxicating and the colours and shapes of sweets were unlike anything I had ever seen.

Though, it has to be said, having seen them being made, I won't look at my old favourite fizzy cola bottles in the same way again.

That evening, after a few drinks in the atmospheric Union Station - a must-see restaurant, bar and jazz club with the ambience of the Great Gatsby era - I strolled for five minutes to the Foothills Theatre for a production of Romeo and Juliet.

The irony of travelling 3,500 miles to see a Shakespeare play was not lost on me, but neither was the quality of the performance.

The size and atmosphere of the theatre bore similarities with The Swan, and judging by the audience for a members-only show - the night before it officially opened to the public - its star is also on the rise.

The following day I skipped breakfast and went straight to brunch at Tatnuck Bookseller & Sons, one of the largest independent book sellers in the US.

I would hazard a guess it also has some of the best scrambled eggs, though my knowledge of breakfast at other American bookstores is, admittedly, limited.

After a fantastic snack, a satisfying browse and a relaxing read, I spent an amazing afternoon at Worcester Academy - an internationally renowned high school - and Worcester Art Museum.

However, these traditional treats did little to prepare me for an evening meal with local artist Gary Vaillancourt at the Flying Rhino Caf, in Worcester's thriving Shrewsbury Street.

Take your pick from Thai, Chilean, French, Italian, Japanese and pretty much anything else you can think of.

While eating spicy sushi, spinach and artichoke wraps, tequila shrimps and quesadillas for starters, followed by a light salad and veal medallions, I was told by the manager, Paul Barber, where the name Flying Rhino came from.

"My wife and I were on safari helping move two rhinos from one part of Africa to another," he said.

"We had to move them by aeroplane but when one engine stopped working we had to push one rhino out of the back of the plane with all our parachutes attached to it.

"It floated down, was absolutely fine and was picked up later the same day."

Now, there was no chance I was going to believe that story - and I was pretty wary about anything he told me afterwards - but it was all part of the atmosphere in a thoroughly enjoyable and different night out.

It had all the basic ingredients for a good meal - great food and fun staff - as well as a lively little sports bar at the back, with a choice of 16 cocktails and 19 beers.

The cafe is also ideally placed as Shrewsbury Street is the main strip for a night on the town and buzzes with restaurants, bars and clubs.

I wasn't feeling too adventurous so took the 10-minute walk back to the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

It has to be said that with their propensity for featureless malls, there is little in the way of shops to see along the way, but churches and attractive pedestrian areas provide interesting architectural focal points.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel cashed in on these with some impressive "green" views, despite its city centre location, and the reception area, bar and restaurants were all impressive. My room was better still.

Those who have travelled a great deal tell me that one hotel room soon becomes much like any other - I suggest they take a suite at the Crowne Plaza and revise that axiom.

With every feature you care to mention - including two TVs and CD players - as well as a lounge and dining room, I was almost sorry I had spent so long out and about.

With an ice-hockey stadium, a string of colleges, minor league sports teams and shopping malls aplenty, there was far more I wanted to see but simply couldn't fit in.

I certainly plan to return and complete the tour.

FACTFILE

Worcester, MA, is 74th out of 316 "metro areas" in the US.

The city has a population of around 170,000 and Worcester County around 790,000.

Around 2.5 million people visited Worcester County in 2003.

Average temperature is around 70F in July.

Average rainfall is 48in a year, while snowfall is around 68in.

John Adams - second US President - comedian Dennis Leary and songwriter and musician Cole Porter all came from Worcester.