Length: 20.6 km (12.8 mi) [shorter and longer versions
possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 1078m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 ¼ hours
Toughness: 8 out of 10
Take the 09.52 Hereford train from Paddington (Reading 10.19),
arrives Great Malvern 12.15.
With a Network Railcard (valid to
Worcester Stations only), this train is too early for the RC to be valid, but
maybe paying full price to Reading and the discounted price from there to Worcester
will still save you some money.
If punters want to drop some luggage off: the start of the route winds its way up through Malvern past plenty of
accommodation options, and we can re-group at the top of town beside the Mount
Pleasant Hotel (bottom page 5 in the pdf) at an agreed time.
“The Malvern Hills stand majestically above the Severn Plain in
Worcestershire and the rolling wooded hills of Herefordshire, offering far
reaching panoramic views across a variety of landscapes from a multitude of
viewpoints. The area is famed for its steep dramatic hills rising out of flat
vales and for the pure spring water that flows from them, but it also offers a
rich cultural heritage of forts, castles and priories in a landscape of ancient
woodland, rolling pastures and wild, open commons.
The circular route rises through the town past all important landmarks and ascends the famous 99 Steps to St. Ann’s Well, but then heads southerly, mostly through ancient woodlands along the foot of the hills, to lunch. It then rises up through the mid slopes of scrub, grass, rock and bracken, first to the Herefordshire Beacon and then returns along the top of the ridge via the Worcestershire Beacon to Great Malvern, with its grassy commons maintained by livestock grazing, in places with Bilberry and Common Heather.”
Walk Options:
Taxi from the station to Wyche
Cutting/The Wyche Inn or The Malvern Hills Hotel/British Camp (taxis usually on
stand).
Outward and return route are never far from each other (if mostly at
much different height), therefore there are several ways to pick up the return
route to Great Malvern earlier than described:
· at the Gold Mine stone dial (7.9 km/4.9 mi, 457m ascent);
· at the Wyche Cutting/The Wyche Inn (9.1 km/5.6 mi, 519m ascent);
· at The Malvern Hills Hotel (17.2 km/10.7 mi, 884m ascent).
Finish at the Wyche Cutting (16.5
km/10.3 mi, 876m ascent) and take Bus Line 675 back (at 16.05 & 17.40).
An Extension to the four northerly tops adds 2.0 km/1.2 mi and 111m ascent.
Early Lunch/Tea en route/Tea in Great Malvern: Plentiful options. Check the webpage or the pdf for details.
For walk directions, map, height
profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.324
3 comments:
The train was full and standing all the way to Oxford as per usual, but quiet after that (apart from the odd table of American tourists), but at Great Malvern it was only me getting off the standard class carriages (n=1). One other walker emerged from 1st class, so n=2 started walking uphill through town to drop off their luggage and get going. We met 3 others (car drivers and a local friend of a regular who couldn't make it) at St Ann's Well Café and started as a group of n=5.
At the old Malvern Water well we were awaited by walker n=6, another car driver.
Later on we were passed by a group of 3 SWC regulars going the other way (they had arrived the night before and started the walk a couple of hours ahead), accompanied by a local friend of one of them, i.e. n=10 in total by now.
We got to the lunch stop, The Malvern Hills Hotel, just before 3 and left just after 4, later stopping again for ice creams.
Back in Great Malvern just after 7.
The weather was w=sunny-and-warm-without-haze due to the rainy week, making for stupendous far views to the Black Mountains and all the Shopshire Hills.
1 other walker had missed the morning train due to the Elizabeth Line malfunctioning, she walked significant parts of the route by herself and hour behind, and most of us met up again for a group dinner.
N=11
N=2 others, based in Malvern Link, walked up the Worcestershire Beacon and back down into Great Malvern, i.e. part of the route: n=13
2nd correction: 1 other from Malvern Link also walked up the hills, but from Great Malvern, reversing the end of the walk, and there is another one that came out on the piste strain but only to Worcester to drop her bag and take a later train on to Malvern and walk almost all the route, just way after anyone else, i.e. n=15 albeit in 6 (!) subgroups
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