Getting to Great Malvern from London
One of my friends is training to walk the 24 Peaks Challenge in the Lake District in October. So, at 8am on a Saturday morning, we found ourselves boarding a Virgin Trains train at Euston station to travel to Great Malvern railway station to go and walk in the Malvern Hills. With a change of trains at Birmingham New Street, we arrived in Great Malvern at 10.45am and off we went.
Where are the Malvern Hills
The Malvern Hills are located in England on the borders of Herefordshire and Worcestershire – in my opinion, two of the most beautiful shire counties in England.
From the railway station to the start of the walk
From the station, we walked the 15-20 minutes up to the centre of Malvern and the start of our walk. If you need a toilet stop before heading onto the hill, the toilets located on Grange Road, the same road that the theatre is on.
Malvern Water
Malvern is famous for the Malvern water. When you come to Malvern, bring empty bottles with you to fill up at the ‘Malvhina’ drinking spout located on Bellevue Terrace. The water is piped directly from springs above the Town.
Once I had filled up my water bottles we wandered along Bellevue Terrace to the start of the walk opposite the Unicorn Inn, at the bottom of St.Ann’s Lane. We headed up and on to the hills. Essentially, we followed the first part of the guided walk to North Hill and then, to extend the walk went across to Table Hill, then over again and up to the top of the Worcestershire Beacon.
The first part of the walk is through some shaded forest and then comes out onto the side of the hill with splendid views down over Malvern Town.
The trail requires sturdy foot wear. The paths include some rocky and uneven surfaces and some steps on the ascent and descent.
Once on top of North Hill, you are able to see the walking tracks leading over to Table Hill and beyond to Worcestershire Beacon. We stopped for lunch on the ridge just past the Worcestershire Beacon.
After lunch, there was a choice to continue to walk along the ridge away from Malvern or retrace our steps and walk right around North Hill and up to the top of North Hill before dropping back down into Malvern via St Ann’s Well. We chose the latter.
At the time of writing, St Ann’s Well is closed while it is restored, so there is no access to the museum. The cafe is still available and is reinvented as a pop-up just a few metres below the Well on the path back into Malvern.
Tea and Cake
After the walk, it was time to have a well-earned cup of tea and some cake before heading back to the railway station. We went to The Bluebird Tearooms which are located on the corner of Church Street. The tea rooms have an additional menu to cater for people who want to eat gluten-free.
We also stopped in one of the many art and craft shops and both found something to buy from local artists.
We caught a train at Great Malvern at just after 4pm and with a change at Birmingham New Street were back in London Euston by 7pm. It was a beautiful day of walking, and we both felt energised by the experience.
Top Tips
Malvern Town – is located in Worcestershire and the Malvern Hills are a designated Area of Outstanding National Beauty. You can find out more at the official Malvern visitor website
Walking in Malvern – There are some walking guides for the Malvern Hills which I used to plan this trip. There is also an annual walking festival. The 2018 dates are Saturday 26th May to Sunday 3rd June.
Getting there
From London, the easiest way to travel to Malvern is by train from London Euston station. You can book a ticket through to Great Malvern (you need to change trains at Birmingham New Street) on the Virgin Trains website.
Footnote
My friend Chantelle is training to walk the 24 Peaks Challenge to raise money for Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis.
TRISH TRAVEL FOOD 