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Great Malvern
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One of the most exclusive and well-heeled areas of the Midlands,
The Malverns
is the generic name for a string of towns and villages stretched along the eastern lower slopes of the
Malvern Hills
, which rise spectacularly out of the flat plains a few miles to the southwest of Worcester. About nine miles from north to south - between the A44 and the M50 - and never more than five miles wide, the hills straddle the Worcestershire-Herefordshire boundary. Of Pre-Cambrian rock, they are punctuated by over twenty summits, mostly around 1000-feet-high, and in between lie innumerable dips and hollows. Nonetheless, it's easy walking country, with great views, and the hills are crisscrossed by hiking trails.
The centre of the region is GREAT MALVERN , a pretty little place - and the most obvious base - served by rail from Worcester, Birmingham and Oxford. The town's medicinal waters became popular towards the end of the eighteenth century, but it was the Victorians who came here in droves, making the steep hike up to St Ann's Well on the hill behind town, where you can still try the stuff yourself. The peculiarities of Great Malvern's spa waters are explained in the Malvern Museum , housed in the delicately proportioned Abbey Gateway, plum in the centre on Abbey Road (Easter-Oct Mon, Tues & Thurs-Sun 10.30am-5pm, also Wed in school holidays; ?1). The main sight in town is the Priory Church (March-Oct daily 9am-6.30pm; Nov-Feb till 4.30pm; donation requested), adjacent to the museum, its patchwork exterior contrasting with the ordered interior, which is notable for its stained glass and hundreds of detailed wall tiles, all added to the building in the mid-fifteenth century. The window of the north transept is especially fine and contains a portrait of Prince Arthur, Henry VII's son - the same Arthur who is commemorated in Worcester cathedral. Among the priory's graves is that of Darwin's granddaughter, who died here as a child despite being bathed with Malvern water. From the church, it's a short walk to the Winter Gardens pavilion , one of the key venues for the wide range of special events the town puts on each year, including the excellent Almeida Drama Festival held in August.
For
walkers
, the Malvern Hills offer splendid day-hikes and a number of historical landmarks, including the remains of an Iron Age fort high on the ridge to the south of town. The panorama from here takes in the contrasts of the surrounding countryside: plains to the east and gentle hills rolling towards the gloomy Black Mountains in the west. The hike along the ridge takes about four and a half hours. Start from the southern end at
Chase End Hill
and work your way north, or head for
British Camp
, midway along the route, and begin there. It's possible to get to both of these starting points by bus, but the service is infrequent; the tourist office has the timetables. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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United Kingdom,
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