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Looking south from Worcester Beacon

Malvern Hills
Water, Landscape and History

Also see

Malvern Water

Springs, Wells, Fountains, Well Dressing

Malvern developed massively in the Victorian era around 'taking the waters'. A key date is 1842, when Drs James Wilson and Gully set up their water cure establishments in Belle Vue, at the centre of town. Two famous Victorian era Charles' came to Malvern for the water - both Dickens and Darwin, with their respective wives.

Malvern Water is bottled at Colwall by Schweppes (now part of Coca Cola), but you can get it for free from the various springs (take note of any warning signs re quality). The reputation of the water was firmly established by J Schweppe & Co. at the Great Exhibition in 1851. There have been other bottlers, going back to the 17th century. It is best known for "containing nothing at all" (ie high levels of purity).

A well dressed Evendine spring Malvern Spa Association has a more comprehensive list of springs etc. plus their location (approx. 70 in the area). Wells of Malvern is a map from Harvey (see Outdoor Links for contact details), similar to part of their Hills walking map. Also see under Points of Interest below for our own Google Map/GPX record. Check any notices of water quality if you want to take a drink (and some springs may be 'dry', or at least not running).

Cora Weaver has written a number of related books (which can be obtained via The Spas Research Fellowship): Springs, Spouts, Fountains and Holy Wells of the Malverns; Aquae Malvernensis; A Short Guide to Malvern as a Spa Town; other titles on Malvern history.

Well dressing competition happens the same weekend as the Fringe May Day event (Saturday before 1st May) - see Events. Some pictures of dressed springs (2002, 2003, 2007). Anyone can apply (to Spa Assoc) to dress a site, on a first come first served basis.

Local BBC pages are worth a look.

The Mystery in the Attic pages on an educational web site are based around the Malvern water cure but extend somewhat beyond it. A review of Waterlog: A Swimmer's Journey through Britain on London Review of Books (1999) includes the following "The hydrotherapy in Malvern cured both Florence Nightingale and, in part, Tennyson, 'who came after a nervous breakdown, and declared he was "half-cured, half-destroyed" by the place'. Charles Darwin 'arrived depressed and unable to write, but was so persuaded by the effects of his treatment that he returned three more times'. (Darwin was to have his own douche-bath fed with Malvern water installed at home.)" The Attic extract from The Story of Malvern (1911) is an idiosyncratic take on the ups and downs of local developments.

Malvern Hills

This well known ridge runs roughly north/south, to the west of Great Malvern, and stretches for 8 miles or more (depending on what you include). William Cobbett, the author of Rural Rides, described the Malvern Hills as "those curious bubblings up", when staying at Woollas Hall (quote from Mark Horrell's web site). While the ridge itself is open, and often windy, the lower slopes have a range of woodland and scrub, with quarries to explore (not all are recommended as safe).

Malvern Hills Conservators are responsible for management of the Hills plus other green spaces dotted around. Their web site has info on birds and plants to look out for. The Conservators were set up by Act of Parliament in 1884, pre-dating National Parks in Britain by some way and just 12 years after Yellowstone in the US. See all 5 Malvern Hills Acts on their web site. There was a long struggle to limit the damage done by quarrying, which went on to some extent until the 1970s. Find out more history at Malvern Museum.

The Conservators have produced a range of useful leaflets covering Wildlife highlights, Access paths and a couple of Hill walks. Green spaces and hidden places gives info on some of the land managed by the Conservators around and beyond the Hills. Obtain from the Conservators office in Grange Road (opposite the Theatre) or the TIC in Church St - last time we looked they were in the window behind the ice cream! Also available as pdf downloads from Conservators web site, where they've also placed copies of their Information Boards at particular hill locations (Earnslaw Quarry, Gullet Quarry, Swinyard car park, British Camp).

The Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty extends beyond the Hills themselves, reaching from Knightwick to Bromsberrow, and from Ledbury to Welland, totalling some 105 square kilometres. The 'About the AONB' section on the Malvern Hills AONB web site is probably the best place to start, and has various outline maps - landscape, wildlife, geology etc. Note that links next to publications metnioned on the site are generally to downloads in pdf format, and to order any listed either contact the AONB or try Malvern Tourist Info.

BBC Hereford and Worcester has a good section on Malvern Hills: Hills, History and H20,

Points of Interest

We've compiled GPS data for use with Google Maps etc, recording refreshment stops, springs, bins, car parks, etc. along the Malvern Hills. More to add (e.g. more springs), but see the Google Map or download the GPX (from TrackLogs) file containing waypoints. (Cycle racks GPX info to appear on Cycling Malvern page soon.)

Clutters Cave, Broad Down, grid ref SO763394 [pic].

British Camp [pic] aka Herefordshire Beacon, is the most well known hill with old ramparts, but not the highest. Large car park, bus stop, kiosk with quality ice creams, pub/hotel all at the bottom. The gents public toilet used to have a good view, but now obscured by frosted glass. Grid ref SO761402. The Anglo-Norman Castles website has a page on the history around Herefordshire Beacon.

Worcestershire Beacon, facing north, Oct 01Worcestershire Beacon (left) is the highest point, and has a toposcope showing the various hills, rivers etc. that can be seen on a clear day. (The cafe which was near the toposcope burnt down many years ago and has not been replaced.)


Other toilet facilities: Wyche Cutting (Wyche Road/Jubilee Drive), West Malvern Road near Brewers Arms/footpath to The Dingle, St Ann's Well (when cafe is open).

Other refreshments.

Malvern Geology and Archaeology

There is a common perception that Malvern Hills are made of one type of stone, the oldest in England. It is actually much more complex and interesting. There is a geological plan on the AONB web site in the About the AONB section (although not as good as before the '06 redesign).

Printed Explore Trail Guides are good sources of information on local geology and landscape, from Here &Worcs Earth Heritage Trust (focusing on Regionally Important Geological and Geomorphological Sites - RIGS). From Tourist Info Centres, Beacon Books, or phone 01905 855184 (£1-95 or £2 each). For the immediate Malvern area there are:

MalvernTrail's editor has knowledge of most of these trails and would be happy to advise or lead on connected walks or cycle rides. See About Us for contact details.

The BBC series British Isles A Natural history has spawned Walks through time, which includes one around Malvern town centre/Common. They reckon it is about 2 miles, and takes an hour, but I'd allow a bit longer to take in all the interesting geology. I guess you either need to have a PDA or print off the 12 web pages before you set off..... Appears fairly similar to the Great Malvern Trail Guide above.

Tilt and fold Partly through EHT's efforts, there is now an Abberley and Malvern Hills Geopark (there's also info on Glos Geoconservation Trust site). A Geopark Way, a trail through the area, is being designed. Launch has been delayed due to the floods, and is now due for late August 2008. There will be a new geological map of the Geopark coming out at about the same time.

Picture Note: the photo is a part of an amazing tilted layer cake of May Hill sandstone which crashes into the Malvern Hills. It is fairly fragile and not that easy to get to - please treat with respect. Alternative photo.

Beautiful Malvern Hills geology and nature notes.

Countryside Agency still has (at Oct 03) a 1993 publication on the landscape, Malvern Hills, ISBN 0 86170 392 8.

Or there's an English Heritage book, March 2005, The Malvern Hills: An Archaeological Landscape, ISBN 1873592825 - buy from Amazon.co.uk.

Malvern Industrial Archaeology Circle has web pages on Quarries on the Hills, plus a piece (written in 1976) on Narrow Gauge railways in the Malvern Hills. BBC Hereford and Worcester pages on Geology, Quarrying and Railway Tunnels.

Worcs Archaeological Service.

See History resources for other archaeological sites and groups.

Rock Climbing: westmidlandsrock web site has a couple of downloadable guides to Rock Climbs on the Malvern Hills. See the entry on UKClimbing Database for a description of the popular Ivy Scar Crag.

 

Malvern Hills Geology Trail

The EHT 'Explore Malvern Hills 1' landscape and geology trail (see above) is designed more for motorists but it works quite well for cyclists too. Here are some suggestions to make it an even better (and safer) exploration by bike.

The basic route

The Hills obviously go up and down, so expect to have to do some fairly serious climbing in places! Our alternative route suggestion, below, allows the odd stop or even bike push to become part of the experience. Otherwise:

Alternative suggestion

We've created a GPS file of this geology cycle trail (in GPX format generated by TrackLogs software) although it could do with a little more work. Around 10 miles if stop 6 is included, almost 2 miles less if left out.