Saturday Walk - Pershore to Evesham via Bredon and Dumbledon Hills (i.e. the original walk in reverse) [Malverns Trip]

Length: up to 34.3 km (21.3 mi) [much shorter versions possible, see below] 

Ascent/Descent: 532/529m  

Net Walking Time: ca. 8 hours 

Toughness: 8 out of 10

 

Take the 08.50 Paddington train (via Malvern Link and Worcester Stations), arrives Pershore 09.24. 

[The 07.51 from Paddington gets in at 09.44.] 

Return trains from Evesham: xx.38 plus-minus a couple of minutes, until 21.40.

 

This is the blurb for the walk in the other direction:

“This long walk between two elegant Worcestershire market towns on the banks of the Avon is set in the heart of the Vale of Evesham, famous for its market gardens and fruit growing and Cotswolds views. The towns are surrounded by stunning countryside and set in the shadow of Bredon Hill, a 5 km long outlier of the Cotswolds. The route passes through the Abbey Precinct in Evesham and follows the Avon to pick up a tributary, the Isbourne to follow it through the Vale of Evesham to Sedgeberrow.

You walk through pastures to Dumbleton and rise through a beautiful clump of minor hills past Dumbleton Hall, a large Country Estate and descend through woods back into the valley, heading for the impressive Bredon Hill, a 5 km long range rising above the lunch destination, Ashton under Hill.

The post-lunch ascent is of the tiered kind, revealing ever further views south along the Cotswold Escarpment down the Vale of Gloucester. On a clear day, you’ll see the Black Mountains in the Brecon Beacons and eventually, from the Iron Age hillfort site at the top of Bredon Hill, the imposing Malvern Hills range 20 km to the west. Descend through woods and pastures, pick up the Avon for a short stretch and reach Pershore, also graced with an abbey. The station though is some way beyond the far end of town.”

 

Walk Options: 

A very short walk ends at Elmley Castle’s pub and you can take a bus (Lines 564/565) back to Pershore (at 14.36). Should you have missed the bus, an agreeable walk route to Evesham is shown on the route map. 

A Shortcut from Ashton-under-Hill to Sedgeberrow cuts 5.7 km/3.5 mi and about 100m ascent.  

Bus 540 to Evesham from Ashton under Hill (14.22, 16.17, 17.17, 18.17, 19.17) or Sedgeberrow (15.08, 16.28, 17.28, 18.28, 19.28).

 

Lunch: The Star Inn in Ashton-under-Hill (17.2 km/10.6 mi, food served to 15.00). 

Tea: Plentiful options in Pershore, Elmley Castle and Evesham. Check the webpage or the pdf for details.

 

For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.323