A NEW interactive route at a city museum will take visitors back over 350 years to its most famous period.

The Commandery is launching the new experience on Saturday to help show history fans Worcester's Civil War story, immersing them in battlefield strategy, the smells of gunpowder and the sounds of arguing Royalist and Parliamentarian voices.

At the start of their trip, visitors will be placed within a regiment either supporting the Parliamentarians or the Royalists with their loyalties tested throughout.

The UK's oldest re-enactment society the Sealed Knot will be supporting the opening weekend at the Commandery with a living history camp that provides a glimpse into life in the midst of the Civil War.

David Nash, manager of the museum said: "The idea is we want to encourage debate, by encouraging people to interact with the route.

"We have listened to what people have said and that is that they want it to be centred around the civil war and that the building needed a bit more to it.

"The new route will be educational as well as fun.

"We have spent a long time doing research, even talking to relatives of Cromwell.

"We would like to thank everyone who has given us support, we have been very lucky.

"My favourite thing is the mural in the Royalist room, anyone who has seen it so far have had a great reaction to it."

The Hamilton Room marks where the Duke of Hamilton was fatally wounded in 1651 during the Battle of Worcester and displays a timeline to why the English Civil War began.

The Presidents' Rooms will celebrate the visit of future US Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to Worcester in 1786 and overlooks the famous Fort Royal Hill.

There is not only plenty to view at the museum with sounds and smells to make visitors feel that they are really on the battlefields in Worcester.

There will be opportunities to master tactical techniques with the battlefield strategy interactive, try on a soldier's uniform, uncover the stories of families torn apart by war and come face-to-face with Oliver Cromwell.

A parliamentarian room and royalist room finish the tour where visitors will decide which side they would be on.

Worcester City Council has invested £380,000 into the project, in addition to £96,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and further funding from Worcestershire County Council, Arts Council England, the Friends of Worcester Museums and Art Gallery and Worcestershire Ambassadors.

The city witnessed the opening and closing battles, from the initial skirmish at Powick in 1642 to the final clash between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Battle of Worcester in 1651, during which the Commandery became the Royalist headquarters.

A seven minute video will take visitors through the history of The Commandery building.

The launch follows over two years of research and preparation and will take place at 10am.

The route is expected to add 45 minutes onto a visit.