Length: 34.4 km (21.4 mi) [shorter versions possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 589/592m; Net Walking Time: ca. 8 hours
Toughness: 8 out of 10
Take the 08.50 Great Malvern train from Paddington (Slough
09.05, Reading 09.20), arrives Evesham 10.36.
Return trains from Pershore: 17.31, 18.18, 19.31,
20.27, 21.27.
“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.
Various options to shorten the walk – either by bus, by a shortcut or an alternative ending or a combination of those – are described.”
Walk Options:
Start the walk directions with or w/o a brief tour through Evesham’s
very pleasant town centre and take the 540 Bus to Sedgeberrow at 10.48
from the bus station or at 10.49 from the Police Station a little further
along.
Bus 540 from Evesham (hourly from Bus Station or Leisure
Centre/Avon Bridge) also continues to Ashton under Hill, the lunch
destination. So, you could have a leisurely stroll through Evesham, follow the walk
route to the Avon Bridge and take the bus from there.
A Shortcut from Sedgeberrow to Ashton-under-Hill cuts 5.7 km/3.5 mi and 111m ascent.
An Alternative Ending at Elmley Castle’s pub and then a bus (Lines 564/565) from there to Pershore or Evesham cuts 8.4 km/5.2 mi and 72m ascent (Mon-Sat; last to Pershore at 15.05, to Evesham at 16.14). Should you have missed the last bus, an agreeable walk route to Evesham is shown on the route map.
There are also several bus lines from the centre of Pershore to the outlying train station (cuts 3.2 km; last at 17.50).
A Shortcut from Sedgeberrow to Ashton-under-Hill cuts 5.7 km/3.5 mi and 111m ascent.
An Alternative Ending at Elmley Castle’s pub and then a bus (Lines 564/565) from there to Pershore or Evesham cuts 8.4 km/5.2 mi and 72m ascent (Mon-Sat; last to Pershore at 15.05, to Evesham at 16.14). Should you have missed the last bus, an agreeable walk route to Evesham is shown on the route map.
There are also several bus lines from the centre of Pershore to the outlying train station (cuts 3.2 km; last at 17.50).
Tea: Plentyful 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
1 comment:
A busy extra-long train, ferrying punters to the Wilderness Festival in Charlbury, also had n=3 SWC folk on it. All opted for walking the stretch to Sedgeberrow, rather than taking the bus, while keeping the shortcut option open. The forecast had kind of improved over night, so we had some hope of largely agreeable weather. Upon entering the Abbey precinct in Evesham we encountered a mob of hundreds by the Memorial to Simon de Montford,and plenty of riders, knights and peasants in medieval garb. Turned out a Medieval Festival was on, incl. a later reenactment of the Battle of Evesham, where our man de Montfort was slayn.
Pictures taken, booklet bought, on we marched. When the shortcut turnoff came along in Sedgeberrow, all of us decided to walk the real scenic bits, the hills, and then opt for the alt. ending in Elmley Castle.
So, there was enough time to wait out the two short rain showers of the day under mature trees and for a proper pub lunch. The day had started largely sunny,then it mostly cloudy with some breaks, but it also included some drizzle, and those two showers. Not, thankfully, when we were atop Bredon Hill, so we did get those Malvern Hills views,
Finding an available taxi from the brilliant pub in Elmley Castle back to Evesham was hard work, but we were able to catch the 19.39 with seconds to spare.
We saw a muntjac and a rainbow, and the weather was w=largely-sunny-or-cloudy-with-short-periods-of-drizzle
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