Eat, Drink, Stay in Malvern

Ale, man, ale's the stuff to drink For fellows whom it hurts to think (from AE Housman, Terence, this is stupid stuff).

Accommodation. B&B, guest houses, camping, small hotels, self-catering.
Local real ale and wine producers.
Pubs around Malvern.
Refreshments on or near the Hills.
Vegetarian choices in Malvern.

Also See

Cider and Perry (apples, pears), a specialty of the Three Counties, have their own page.
Local and organic food suppliers are on the Sustained Visits page.
Towns and villages in the area (and Other Places) will have some mentions of cafes, tea rooms etc. under the relevant place name. We may also note pubs that do B&B on that page.
Want help with planning a cycling excursion? See Cycling around Malvern page.

Accommodation

This our own selection, based on a variety of factors, including green credentials, walker/cyclist friendly, interesting web sites, locations or features. Feedback on your experience welcome (contact info on About Us).

Bunkhouse, camping

Caves Folly This organic garden nursery has branched out, with an Eco-Campsite which is only available to anyone who turns up either on foot, by bicycle or on horseback (stabling is available nearby) - new 2007. Also a self-catering holiday cottage. MalvernTrail can advise on cycle and walking routes from here

Orlham Bunk Barn, Leadington near Ledbury. They say that it makes an ideal cycling base - veggies may be put off by the meat production side of the farm though.

Berrow House, bunkhouse and camping at Hollybush at the south end of the Malverns, proclaims that it is 'Walkers and Cyclists' friendly (CTC listed). Only a few pitches. Under cover and lockable cycle storage available.

Other local campsites Marlbank Inn near Welland has a small campsite attached, WR13 6NA (01684 310603). As does the Robin Hood pub at Castlemorton, WR13 6BS (01684 835212). Kings Green Farm, Kings Green Berrow, WR13 6AQ ( 01531 650272). Blackmore Camping and Caravanning Club site, WR8 0EE (01684 310280).

Youth hostel in Peachfield Road closed in October 2006 - may be replaced eventually.

See Organic Places to Stay - under England/Welsh Borders for the following:

'Organic camping' may be available at Birds Farm Cottage (direct weblink redirecting to limited info on AOL, Feb 07), How Caple,HR14SR, phone 01989 740644
And also further on at Windle Park (B&B), Hardwicke near Hay-On-Wye, HR3 5HA phone 01497 831666.

The Buzzards organic smallholding near Mortimer's Cross, north Herefordshire has a small camp site (as well as B&B etc).

B&B, hotels

Old Country House B&B has gained both a 'green business award' and 'silver wildlife award'. Near Mathon, just west of the Hills. Also well reviewed on responsibletravel.com.

Harmony House is in West Malvern, looking out over Herefordshire.

Malvern Hills Hotel is right next to British Camp, for easy access on to the Hills. Popular bar with local beer, restaurant.

Wyche Keep For 60 mile views over the Severn plain. Also see Wyche Inn, a bit further up the road, listed under Hill refreshments below.

Sally Beds Bed and Breakfast is just over the Hills in Evendine Lane, Colwall.

Cottage in the Wood, Malvern Wells. 3 star hotel and restaurant, always with veggie option.

Treherne House, Guarlford Road (a little east of town). Classic quality without the snobbishness and with modern facilities. Cycle storage available. MalvernTrail can advise on cycle and walking routes from here

Link Lodge B&B in Malvern Link, originally built circa 1700. Elgar connections and rooms with curved walls.

Cowleigh Park Farmhouse B and B in black and white timber-framed farmhouse, plus adjoining self-catering cottage (up to 6) and 'cider press' (2). Cowleigh Road, just outside of town.

Bidders Croft in Welland has some bicycles to lend to guests and lots of storage space for visiting bikes. It's a pity that their website has various problems.

Growing Green Tourism from Herefordshire Nature Trust for 'green' B&Bs.

Self-catering

Walkers End ( new Sept 2007). Just over The Wyche from Malvern in Upper Colwall with views across from one side of Herefordshire to the other.

The Malvern Retreat, self-catering next to Treherne House near Barnards Green.

Hillside House Good views over Great Malvern and the Severn valley.

Whitehall Farm, near Upton - Threshers Barn (sub-divided into two parts) has lockable covered area for cycle storage and 'cyclists and walkers welcome' signs.

White House Cottages, Aylton - west of Ledbury. We don't have any comments on the self-catering cottages, but they've got a good What's on diary for tourists on the web site.

Hidelow House Cottages Acton Green SO700495 Award winning self-catering cottages. Phone 01886 884547.

Hareley Farm, Linley Green, WR6 5RF. A restored Grade II listed barn on a working 'rare breeds' farm, towards Bromyard. First spotted on environmental web site downsizer.net,. Phone 01886 884362.

Cowarne Hall Cottages, Much Cowarne, HR7 4JQ is listed on the CTC Cyclists Welcome pages as giving a 5% discount to CTC members.

The Woodhouse Farm Cottages just north of Ledbury (Staplow) includes a Grade II* Listed semi-moated medieval hall-house which sleeps 7 to 9.

Shepherds Rest, Much Marcle - historic features and good views.

Kerne Cottage, Kerne Bridge near Goodrich - the holiday cottage was originally a forge.

Further afield

Aspen House at Hoarwithy - lovely location for B&B proclaiming 'real food'.

Corner House, Newton St Margarets, Herefordshire, HR2 0QP. Self-catering. Cycle friendly, with discounts for those arriving by bike. Some info on Alistair Sawday Special Escapes. Phone 01981 510283.

Upper Newton Farmhouse Kinnersley, Herefordshire, HR3 6QB. B&B and self catering. Tudor farmhouse, Slow Food Herefordshire members.

The Old Post Office Bed & Breakfast, Llanigon, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford, HR3 5QA is a vegetarian option out west.

Penrhos Court Hotel has a couple of self-catering cottages. Lyonshall, Kington, HR5 3LH.

Real ale, wine

The Hop Pocket, as well as being a good tea stop near Bishops Frome, has a Wine Company shop selling a lot of the local beer, cider and vineyard produce.

Local breweries

Malvern Hills Brewery (old web link), 15 West Malvern Road, North Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 4ND. Phone 01684 560165. Their beers have won a few CAMRA awards, and Mr Phoebus ale is named after Elgar's bicycle! Use local hops. Polypins of 10 or 20 litres available for retail sale, and fairly widely available in local pubs. Official web link - this has been under reconstruction for long time - only the brochure download working at Feb 08.

Herefordshire

Wye Valley Brewery Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire, HR7 4HG (SO623502), next door to Plough Inn. Phone 01885 490505, email: enquiries@wyevalleybrewery.co.uk The original brewery pub The Barrels is at St Owen St, Hereford, while the Rose and Lion is off Bromyard High St.

Herefordshire CAMRA has updates on changes to pubs and local breweries in its area - tehre has been quite a turnover since this page was started in 2001.

Wheatsheaf Inn & Fromes Hill Brewery, Wheatsheaf Inn, Fromes Hill, Ledbury, Herefordshire, HR8 1HT. Phone 01531 640888. Probably closed.

Three Horse Shoes, Norton Canon, Herefordshire, HR4 7BH. Phone 01544 318375.

Marches Ales web site is redirecting to the defunct 'Beer in a box site'! Their shop is at 1 Old Street, Ludlow, SY8 1NP. Phone 01584 878999, email: info@beerinabox.co.uk (email may not work either). Brewing address: Marches Brewing Co, The Old Hop Kiln, Claston Farm, Dormington, Hereford, HR1 4EA.

Frome Valley Brewery, closed 2002. Replacement Mayfields Brewery moved to Leominster Jan 08, according to Herefordshire Camra.

Worcestershire

Teme Valley Brewery sign Teme Valley Brewery is based behind The Talbot Inn. Use own hops in This, That, T'Other beers and if you're lucky, Porter. Pub food reported good, but very little veggie. Knightwick, Worcs, WR6 5PH. Phone 01886 821656, email: info@the-talbot.co.uk

St George's Brewery. Premium Bitter won 2001 National Beauty of Hops award. Old Bakehouse, Bush Lane, Callow End, Malvern, Worcs, WR2 4TF. Phone 01905 831316.

Wyre Piddle Brewery. Established 1992. Highgrove Farm, Pinvin, Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 2LF. Phone/fax 01905 841853. (Some beers distributed by Aston Manor.)

Brandy Cask Pub and Brewery, Bridge Street, Pershore, WR10 1AJ. Phone and fax 01386 552602. Reviews on Beer in the Evening are very positive but suggest the pub is best visited in summer, as the interior is dull.

Also see Worcester CAMRA web pages for local independent breweries and info on their Real Ale around the Malvern Hills guide - the county's quarterly newsletter, Pint Taken, is reproduced on the web. Shakespeare Branch of CAMRA (shakesbeer) covers Evesham to Stratford.

Gloucestershire

Whittingtons Brewery is attached to the Three Choirs Vineyard (see below), using locally sourced hops.

Freeminer Brewery Mainly uses Worcestershire hops. Whimsey Road, Steam Mills, Cinderford, Royal Forest of Dean, GL14 3JA. Phone 01594 827989, email: info@freeminer.com.

Wessex Craft Beers bottles and distributes some of the output from breweries such as Freeminer listed above. They are based in Gloucestershire. Now known as Integrated Bottling Solutions. Phone 01594 544776.

Gloucestershire CAMRA have started developing Real Ale in Glos web site.

Vineyards

Coddington Vineyard. Has listed farmhouse. Phone 01531 640668. The Independent said (May 2004): "With two acres in an area of outstanding natural beauty, Coddington is one of Britain's smallest vineyards, and one of the loveliest too. Location, and its award-winning wines, make visiting a treat." See info on Wine Anorak. Has a holiday cottage available, too.

Four Foxes Vineyard, Bartestree (SO565409). If open, there are light refreshments as well as its own wine and local cider for sale, and good views from the terrace. However, best to ring to check first. Phone 01432 261853 (or possibly 850065).

Three Choirs Vineyard, near Newent, is England's second largest. Has (heavily booked) restaurant and guest rooms, and a tour. Phone 01531 890555.

St Anne's Vineyard, Oxenhall, near Newent, by contrast to the last entry, is pretty small.

Paunton Court, near Bishops Frome: Frome Valley Vineyard.

Tiltridge. White and sparkling 'Elgar' wines. Self guided tours available. Upper Hook Road, Upton, WR8 0SA. Phone 01684 592906. Near Clives Fruit Farm (see Cider and Perry page).

Bodenham English Wines, Broadfield Court, Bodenham.

Lulham Court is near Madley, a few miles west of Hereford (there's also a vineyard site with less info!).

Tipsage Farm near Tenbury Wells, produces traditional English fruit liqueur. They are replanting damson orchards as part of this, and also produce other flavours.

Pubs worth a try

More are mentioned under the appropriate location on Around the area page. Also a couple under Veggie options below.

Nags Head, Bank Street, Malvern has an excellent range of beers. Good food (not the cheapest), best to book. Camra's Town Pub of the Year 2006, Good Pub Guide Pub of the Year 2008.

Bear and Ragged Staff, Bransford (between Malvern and Worcester), was Worcester Dining Pub of the Year in the Good Pub Guide 2004.

Duke of York, Rye Street, we've enjoyed when walking at the southern end of the Malvern Hills.

Marlbank Inn, west of Welland. Also does B&B. April 08 update: despite work on extending and improving the pub, trading continues as usual - "excellent value-for-money homecooked food, 6 well-kept real ales at all times".

PubHub. Their selection of "Country Pubs, Inns and Secret Beer Gardens" in Here & Worcs was very familiar (ie we've enjoyed drinking in quite a few).

Alistair Sawday's Pubs and Inns of England and Wales (in Special Places to Stay series) features a number of our favourites in the area. Published April 04 - buy from Amazon.co.uk.

Pub Walks in the Malvern Hills (June 03) by local author Roy Woodcock. Countryside Books, ISBN 1-85306-788-1, £6-95. See Publishers.

Hill refreshments

St Anns Wells cafe St Ann's Well cafe Vegetarian and vegan, excellent cake, on the way up the hill from town (off St Ann's Road, SO 772458). In winter, only open at weekends. Built 1815, with the Octagonal Bar added 1843. Phone 01684 560285.

The Brewers Arms, West Malvern, is just down from The Dingle (the 'valley' north west of Worcestershire Beacon). Food served most of the time, can do packed lunches. Phone 01684 568147.

The Chase Inn is tucked away to the south west of Wyche Cutting, on Chase Road. Wye Valley and other real ales. Food lunchtimes only, not sure about Sunday/Tuesday. Open all day (from 11am Mon-Sat, noon on Sun), in season? Phone 01684 540276.

The Wyche Inn, at the Wyche Cutting. Refurbished and improved, early 2006, with decent beer. Food choices looked reasonable, from snacks to main meals. Phone 01684 575396.

Both See View Cafe (Wyche Cutting) and Cloud Nine cafe (Jubilee Drive) no longer exist.

The Kettle Sings tea room is just by the junction of Chase Road and Jubilee Drive (about half way between Wyche Cutting and British Camp). Good views to the west.

Excellent ice cream at the kiosk at the bottom of British Camp/Herefordshire Beacon. Hot and cold drinks, snacks etc. Limited opening outside main season. The Malvern Hills Hotel is just over the road - good beer and food, including veggie, but can be very busy at peak times.

Bluebird Tea Rooms, Church Street, Malvern, retains many original features from the early 20th century, when Elgar (whose statue can be seen through the windows) was a visitor. Across the road from Post Office, above the shoe shop. Open all afternoon, including Sundays.

Veggie options

Personal taste of the editor ...... See St Ann's Well cafe above, too.

The Indian restaurant Anupam at 85 Church Street (down an alley then up some stairs) can be quite good value, and the food is good.

Red Lion pub, a short way up St Ann's Road (off Worcester Road near town centre), has a range of vegetarian options. I've enjoyed the veggie chilli (one was the best I've ever had) and veg cakes with salsa sauce. Good beers too. Phone 01684 564787.

There appears to be a good selection of veggie dishes at Priors Croft, the newish place opposite the theatre.

Lady Foley's Tea Room at Great Malvern Station (SO 783 457) does light lunches - vegetarian food is always available. Monday-Friday, 9am to 6pm. Phone 01684 893033.

Plume of Feathers, Castlemorton, WR13 6JB has a vegetarian proprietor so should be a good bet. Phone 01684 833554.

A press feature on The Pheasant Inn, Welland, WR13 6LP (phone 01684 310400) Sept 06, says "vegetarians are also well catered for".

See Vegan 3 Counties (run by a Malvernian) for info on vegan choices around Here, Worcs and Glos. They also meet on last Sunday of each month at St. Ann's Well Cafe, from noon. Wye Valley Veggies group (link problem Feb 08), based in and around Hereford. Malvern Hills Vegetarian Club phone 07772 720462.

Vegetarian Vacations is a worldwide directory of tour operators, B and Bs etc offering vegetarian or vegan food. It's run by our friends at Bicycle Beano.