Edward Elgar was born on June 2 1857 at Lower Broadheath. He is best known as a composer of classical music, but was also a very keen cyclist.

Elgar’s wife Alice’s diary for July 10 1900 simply reads ‘bicycle sent for’. It’s hard not to imagine the long, heavy sigh accompanying these words as she penned them.

In 1900 Elgar was 43 years old, but he was never a man to let something as trifling as middle-age get in the way of his leisurely pursuits. His friend Rosa Burley had written to him from Scotland a few weeks previous, where she had attended a cycling holiday with cousins, only to discover on her return that he had bought his own machine and had immediately ‘wobbled round to The Mount with the suggestion that (she) should go for a ride with him’.

For the next decade or so, Elgar would travel far and wide upon his state-of-the-art ‘Golden Sunbeam’ bicycle, which he named ‘Mr Phoebus’ after the sun God of antiquity. He mapped out his travels on ordnance survey maps in thick red pen.

Elgar often found inspiration in his wanderings, and cycling was no exception. Friends knew that should a sudden silence descend during a bike ride, it was best to keep quiet so as not to interrupt his mind at work.

The maps showing where Elgar cycled locally still exist and are kept, along with a restored Sunbeam bicycle and other details about his cycling adventures, at the Elgar Birthplace Museum in Lower Broadheath.

Now managed by the National Trust, displays at ‘The Firs’ have just had a major revamp and are well worth a visit. Better still why not get inspired yourself and cycle there.

To tempt you, anyone arriving on a bicycle will get a free tea or coffee when purchasing one of the National Trust’s excellent cakes. This offer is available to any cyclist visiting the tearoom. You don’t have to be a NT member or pay to go around the museum. There’s also a free cycle map for those wanting to explore Lower Broadheath on two wheels.

To help protect your ‘little sunbeam’, Push Bike! has worked with the National Trust and County Council to make sure there’s secure cycle parking.

The Elgar Birthplace Museum is on the signed ‘Broadheath Hallow Loop’. A 7.5-mile or 14-mile leisure ride that starts from the University of Worcester campus on Oldbury Road. A free cycle map is available at the Tourist Information Centre (Ask for the Worcester Cycle Leisure Guides pack of five rides) or downloadable from the Worcestershire County Council website.

‘The Firs’ is open Friday to Monday, 10am- 5pm. More details can be found at nationaltrust.org.uk