The Malvern Hills

Saturday 8th March 2025

I have desired to walk over the Malvern Hills for a long time, and I didn’t realise how long that had been until just before this walk when I was looking through some old files and I found some pages I had downloaded from the walkingbritain.co.uk website of various walks over the Malvern Hills in 2001. A forecast of sunshine and unseasonably warm weather in March prompted me to take the opportunity and catch a train to Malvern getting off at the Malvern Link station where I walked along the road towards the impressive line of hills ahead of me. My starting point was at a car park on the North Malvern Road, which rises over the northern shoulder of the hills, and where I started to follow a walk from the BBC Countryfile Magazine called Malvern Hills ridge walk. A clear stony path led me up the hill, zigzagging several times and soon provided me with extensive views across the Worcestershire plain, though the distant views were very hazy. A maze of paths provided me with many options for ascending the hill and I soon lost the prescribed route, but I wasn’t too bothered by this as I made my way around the northern slopes while admiring the awesome views.

After gazing at the views over End Hill I finally turned my attention to North Hill which I had been circumnavigating to slowly climb onto the windswept summit where the hazy views were on display in all directions including south along the ridge towards Worcestershire Beacon, the highest point in the Malvern Hills. I enjoyed this climb and relished the opportunity to stretch my legs over the many tops along the ridge so I was disappointed to discover that the prescribed route avoids all of the tops between North Hill and Worcestershire Beacon and decided that I would ignore the route and bag each and every peak I found, keeping to the top of the ridge the whole way. My first target was Table Hill which lies to the west of North Hill and after that I proceeded along the ridgeline of Sugarloaf Hill before finally climbing steeply up to the crowded top of Worcestershire Beacon.

I didn’t linger, but maintained a brisk pace along the top of the ridge with awesome views ahead of me along the range of hills until eventually I reached Wyche Gap, a pass through the Malvern Hills, where I stopped for my lunch while gazing west into Herefordshire. My onward route carried me up over Perseverance Hill and Jubilee Hill before I finally reached Pinnacle Hill where the Countryfile Magazine ridge walk turns back, but I was having too much fun to stop now so I kept going over Black Hill, gradually descending to eventually reach Wynds Point where another road crosses the mostly impenetrable line of hills. Before me now was the steep slope of Herefordshire Beacon, also known as British Camp after the vast Iron Age hill fort at the top and an exhilarating climb took me all the way up to the windswept summit, but I didn’t stop there as I continued south over Millennium Hill before finally dropping off the eastern slopes. The Malvern Hills technically don’t end at this point but on Chase End Hill several miles away, but the continuing hills are less than a thousand feet high and I needed to get back so I turned left onto a bridleway that crosses the eastern slopes and soon brought me back to Wynds Point where I wearily climbed the ridge again.

I had hoped to avoid any more climbing, but that was frustratingly not possible, though I did take advantage of several paths that bypassed some of the peaks until after bypassing Black Hill I crossed the ridge and joined a bridleway that traverses the eastern slopes of the hill before turning north to head back to the start along the originally proscribed route. This took me into woodland for an extended walk that often seemed to be climbing back up the side of the hill when all I wanted was a flat traverse, but instead the path kept undulating up and down, through the woodland below Perseverance Hill. At Wyche Gap a stretch of road walking followed before the path continued through woodland weaving exhaustingly up and down the slopes of Worcestershire Beacon, past St Ann’s Well and around the slopes of North Hill. Eventually I came off the return route of the Countryfile Magazine’s ridge walk to descend onto a road that took me back to the railway station through Link Common where a seasonally early appearance of celandines provided me with a pleasant end to the walk. This was a strenuous walk, which was precisely what I wanted to enjoy the sunshine and remove my winter laziness in preparation for the coming year. It is tragic that it has taken me so long to come to the Malvern Hills as it is a fabulous place to walk. I loved every moment and with what seems like a maze of paths at the northern end of the range I hope it won’t be too long before I return and further explore this awesome place.

Hopton Hall snowdrops

Saturday 22nd February 2025

In the depths of winter, when it is cold and grey and the landscape looks bleak spring seems far away, but then up comes the white flowers of snowdrops to provide some hope and the promise that spring will come soon. Therefore, I have snowdrops in my garden and I like to visit places where there is an abundant display with the most common place for me to go being Dimminsdale Nature Reserve on the Leicestershire and Derbyshire border. After weeks of cold, overcast weather it was a joy to find a Saturday with warm temperatures and sunshine so I wasted no time in nipping up to Staunton Harold Reservoir and walking around the adjacent nature reserve. Although the sun was not yet out the snowdrops were looking superb, at their peak though already showing signs of starting to go to seed. However, I did not spend long there before I had returned to my car and was heading north, passing Derby to reach Hopton Hall where I had previously seen their snowdrops five years ago which had lingered long in my memory because it was my last proper walk before Covid. I have been keen to return ever since and now I finally took that opportunity to once again experience the deservedly popular Hopton Hall Snowdrop Walk. Since the sun was now out the displays were fabulous with extensive coverings of the delicate white flowers throughout the woodland walk and the delights continued past beds of crocuses beside the drive and was followed by a relaxing walk around the Rose Gardens and a lake.

Five years ago, after doing the snowdrop walk, I had walked around the nearby reservoir of Carsington Water, but this time, rather than doing the same thing again, I took my inspiration from a walk on the O.S. Maps app called Hopton Hall snowdrops, which heads in the other direction. I came out through the gates of Hopton Hall and followed the road into the village of Carsington. A track beyond the village gradually climbed around the southern slopes of Carsington Pasture and provided me with views into the low sun across the reservoir while I passed outcrops that decorated the hillside before finally descending into the village of Brassington. The weather was now feeling unseasonably warm, so I was soon stripping off layers as I climbed back out of the village, enjoying the sunshine, although a cold wind encouraged me to keep my cagoule on. I found this upward ascent very satisfying, especially as the rest of my walking this year, since coming back from the Lake District, has been on pretty flat terrain. I was invigorated by the exertion and the sunshine as I strode on up the road, across a field and along Manystones Lane past an industrial site and up to the High Peak Trail. Ahead of me was Harboro’ Rocks and despite my route keeping to the High Peak Trail I couldn’t resist climbing steeply through the crags to reach the trig point that sits at the windswept top.

Clouds now covered the sky and with many people around I felt a little disappointed after all my effort. Soon, I made my way back down the hill and onto the High Peak Trail, which follows the course of the old Cromford and High Peak Railway. I followed this for several miles while overhead the dark skies tried to rain, though ultimately they hardly dropped anything. Before reaching Middleton Top I came off the trail and tried to follow a right-of-way heading south, but the route marked on my Ordnance Survey Map was not possible on the ground. Occasionally I came across gates or stiles, but since these were not on the route of the right-of-way it was quite a challenge for me to find my way, though the path did become clearer as I descended and eventually brought me to the road just outside the village of Hopton. Snowdrops decorated the roadside as I made my way through the village and back to Hopton Hall. This was a good little walk and I enjoyed the climb to the top of Harboro’ Rocks even though this is a relatively small hill and the conditions at the top were not so appealing. I enjoyed returning to see the snowdrops at Hopton Hall for the first time in five years and it was great to have a bit of warmth for the first time this year. It is so much more enjoyable to have sunshine and blue skies overhead than to walk under cold, overcast skies. I was looking forward to better weather this year.

Richmond Park and Windsor Great Park

Saturday 1st and 15th February 2025

In February 2024 I spent a day walking around the Royal Parks in central London and so when I discovered there were cheap train tickets available to London I decided I would return and look at some of the other Royal Parks, those further away from the centre of London that I had never been to before. My target at the beginning of February was Richmond Park so after a trip on the London Underground I arrived in the town of Richmond and immediately set off through the streets of the affluent district until I reached Cambrian Gate, which brought me into the park. Unfortunately the weather was not great for this walk with thick clouds and it was very cold so I was soon wrapping myself up in everything I could find in my rucksack as I slowly made my way along the busy path filled with runners, cyclists and other walkers. It was a bit of a challenge for me to weave through the crowds and with poor views across the vast, featureless grasslands I was not inspired by my first visit to Richmond Park. My route followed the Tamsin Trail around the edge of the park, but after passing Sheen Gate I came away from the crowds, to pass to the right of Adam’s Pond, but this just took me onto muddy grass so I soon returned to the surfaced path and followed it around the eastern edge of the park eventually leaving through Robin Hood Gate.

After crossing a busy road I entered Wimbledon Common, which is not a Royal Park, but reminds me of the children’s characters, the wombles, which live on Wimbledon Common and make use of the rubbish that others have left behind: an excellent way to live your life. I didn’t see any wombles, but the walking was much more interesting as it took me through woodland that was more varied than the parkland I had seen in Richmond, though the path was very muddy. After a while I checked when I needed to be back in Richmond to catch the train and I realised that it was a lot earlier than I had planned so I needed to cut short my intended route, which would have taken me through Putney Heath, and instead took a course through the common, avoiding golfists, that soon, despite missing a turning, brought me back on track. Eventually I was back at the point where I had entered the common and now re-entered Richmond Park to continue along the Tamsin Trail through more appealing scenery than I had seen earlier with more woodland as I slowly made my way around the park, eventually climbing a hill to reach Pembroke Lodge whose gardens were beautifully decorated with snowdrops and where I had murky views to the west.

The snowdrops and extensive views continued past King Henry VIII’s Mound and made up for my disappointments with the rest of the walk. Soon, I left the park through Richmond Gate, but the delights continued with the view west from Richmond Hill over a wide turn in the River Thames before I finally returned to the train station in Richmond. Two weeks later I was back in London and further out to Windsor where the impressive walls of the castle loomed over me as I headed south and soon joined the Long Walk, which stretches from the castle and into Windsor Great Park. The weather was no better now than it had been in Richmond Park, even a little worse with drizzle in the morning, so the views were worthless while planes coming into land at Heathrow airport passed overhead. Despite the poor weather and scenery I was enjoying the chance to get out and not be stuck indoors all day. My route, from the O.S. Maps app, took me off the avenue and across grassy fields eventually leading me onto better paths and finally onto roads through the park, until eventually I branched off along a muddy, grassy lane, actually Queen Anne’s Ride, that led me to a statue of the late Queen on horseback erected to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.

My proscribed route would have had me continuing beyond the statue, but I decided that I wanted to avoid the mud and keep to the tarmacked roads, however, if I had tried to continue I would have found my way barred as it is a private area, which I also found later when I tried to follow the route past Round Oak. Instead, I stayed on Duke’s Lane until I reached a track that is open to the public and took me through delightful woodland that brought me to Blacknest Gate where I turned back into the park and crossed Five-Arch Bridge across Virginia Water before branching into the Valley Gardens. These were pleasing for me to walk through even though there were no flowers, despite thick compost lying on the ground, and on the far side I passed the Canadian Totem Pole and turned north to pass the Savill Garden, the Cow Pond and Cumberland Lodge. Once again the private areas blocked my route and this time I was confused as Ordnance Survey Maps show the route of the Three Castles Path also going through the private area. I should have gone around, but instead I kept to my prescribed route even though this necessitated climbing over a tall gate at the end, which brought me to the foot of Snow Hill with the statue at the top to King George III that is called the Copper Horse. From this point the entire length of the Long Walk lay before me disappearing into the mist with Windsor Castle at the far end and so now all I needed to do was follow this all the long way back into Windsor. These were both enjoyable walks, despite the poor weather, and provided me with the chance to start my training for my ambitious plans this year.