Mileage 132 from The Gateway Resort near Llanelli to Blackmore Club Site near Malvern
Parking Co-ordinates 52.09657, -2.27536
Sunday 16th 🌧️🌧️☁☁☁🌞🌞🌞
Our day started with absolutely torrential rain and as it was a moving day and we were parked on grass we were slightly worried that we might get stuck😱! However, we'd had the forethought to place all 4 of T4rdis2's wheels on mud mats (Black flat plastic mats with traction tread) and these had helped to stop us from sinking into the soft ground, so we just glided off with no problem😀😀!
Today's destination was Hanley Swan near Malvern and to get there we could have chosen to go via the motorway but that would have been boring, so instead we poddled via the A40 which would take us through the splendid Brecon Beacons area. There our views were of majestic rolling hills and torrenting waterfalls, and it really made us want to pull over and grab our hiking gear but as time was limited we just made do with eating our lunch in the shadows of the mighty Pen-y-Fan (which we've climbed in the past).
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| Brecon Beacons. |
But just as we neared our campsite we had a very lucky escape because we needed to pass The Three Counties Show ground and it seems that this weekend had been the one when The Royal Three Counties Show took place. Apparently the show is a celebration of the countryside and extols the virtues and excellence in farming, livestock, agriculture and also food and drink from across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. We later learnt that about 90,000 visitors had attended, and judging by the number of cars parked across fields for almost as far as the eye could see it looked as if most of them were still there! I think that if we'd been just a short while later in our arrival we could very easily have got snarled up in that lot as they left the show - and that would have been the last thing we'd have wanted after a long drive.
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| The Three Counties Show Ground from High up in the Malvern Hills. (after the event had finished) |
Monday 17th ⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅
Mileage 17 in the van and about 6 🚶♀️🚶♂️
Today we did something that we don't normally do!! Usually when we've got the van settled on a campsite we don't move it again until we're heading for a new destination, but the site wasn't near enough to the Malvern Hills to facilitate our walk so this morning we packed everything away and nipped along to a car park right at the foot of them.
We then proceeded through a muddy old woodland and followed a path that kicked us out near 'The Gold Mine' which is a round guide post made of Malvern stone that has pointers that indicate which way to go depending on which hill you wanted to climb.
We attacked Summer Hill and this led us steeply up to The Worcestershire Beacon which is the highest point amongst the hills at 1395 feet.
There we found a toposcope dedicated to Queen Victoria that identified the features visible from the viewpoint which included the Severn Valley, and possibly in the very far distance, the Welsh mountains. What an ideal spot to stop and sip coffee!
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| The Memorial to Queen Victoria with the Toposcope on the top (+ Wally) |
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| Malvern |
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| The Beacon from a distance. |
Tuesday 18th ⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅ 🌧️🌧️
About 8 🚶♀️🚶♂️miles
Today our target was the town of Malvern itself, and we were a bit undecided how to get there because there was no public transport available and the site wardens told us there was no suitable footpath either! So should we move the van again or just to use Shank's Pony because despite what we'd been told John had used his maps and identified what he thought would be a 4 mile pleasant walk to the town using footpaths. We opted for the later and in the end it was the right plan because we only got a bit wet 🌧️on our way home!!
Our walk was also very varied because along our way we passed through corn and rape seed fields, fields with animals grazing, woodland and huge swarths of open meadow where gazillions of wild flowers were growing. Then towards the end of it, on Hawthorn Lane, we passed by some very pretty cottages and outside one of them was a little white bench, and as we paused to admire it I said 'I wonder if they'd mind if we borrowed it while we have a coffee'. I was obviously overheard because suddenly a lady popped her head out of her rose surrounded window and said 'I don't mind at all and would you like some water' We declined the water but it was another lovely place to sit while we sipped our brew.
We reached Malvern around 12ish after walking past quite a few buildings that were built out of stone quarried within the locality - I called them crazy paved but I'm sure that's not the proper name for this building style! |
| Malvern Priory |
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| The whole park had a wonderful rose aroma! |
Our first stop in the town was at Rose Bank Gardens which used to be the home of Charles William Dyson Perrins (deceased Jan 1958), and I'm not sure I would have recognised the name but apparently it was his Dad that owned the Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce factory! The old house is gone now but the beautiful manicured gardens remain, and from it you can either move on to explore the town or climb the 99 steps that lead first to St Ann's Well and then on into the Malvern Hills. But as the Hills weren't today's objective we decided against gaining any more height.
It was in the park that we also got to see the sculpture of the Malvern Buzzards which were created by Walenty Pytel to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
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| And the Lark Ascending also by Walenty Pytel |
Additionally we learnt that C.S. Lewis (the author of my favourite childhood Books 'The Chronicles of Narnia') went to school in Malvern and later, along with his mate JRR Tolkien, returned frequently to walk in the hills. And it seems that the gas lamp in 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe may have been inspired by his fascination with the towns 200 gas lamps!.
By the time we'd finished in Rose Bank Park it was lunch time, and for once we'd decided to treat ourselves to a meal out! The only trouble was where should we pick because the choice was endless. However, in the end we picked good old Weatherspoons which was lodged in an old coach house called The Foley Arms.
The hotel's history begun about 200 years ago when Malvern was just developing as a spa town. The Georgian style Inn was originally called the 'Down's Hotel but was soon renamed in honour of Edward Foley who was a Lord of the Manor and was responsible for building the Coburg Baths and the Pump Room which were later to form the hub of the fashionable health resort.
Inside the hotel the decor and furnishings were a bit more up market than most Weatherspoons and we were fed very well on steak for John and chicken for me, along with 2 pints and all for just over 20 quid! Good old Weatherspoons 😀 I'm sure we'd have paid much more anywhere else in Malvern!
Also while we were in the pub we learnt a bit more about the iconic Morgan Three Wheeler, the garage for which opened in Malvern (Link) in 1906. It seems it became one of the most successful lightweight cars in the early days of motoring and from 1909 - 1953 30,000 Morgans were manufactured in the town and many more under license by Darmont in France. Fast acceleration combined with a cruising range of over 50 miles to the gallon made it very popular. But on the race track it also did well and in 1913 it won the French Grand Prix with speeds that exceeded 100 mph. Apparently Stirling Moss owned one and said 'My Morgan is a great babe magnet'!Once we left the pub we didn't have to go much further for our next point of interest - in fact it was a pedestrianised balcony just across the road.
There we found on of Britain's greatest composers - Sir Edward Elgar and John couldn't resist stopping for a mo to have a chat with him! He composed The Enigma Variations and Pomp and Circumstance (Land of Hope and Glory) along with many others while living in this area. And apparently cycling, walking and kite flying in the hills were amongst his hobbies and it's said that while engaged in such activities he formulated ideas for some of his works.The info boards said that he told a friend that 'if ever after I'm dead you hear someone whistling this tune (from his cello concerto) on the Malvern Hills, don't be alarmed, it'll only be me'
On the Balcony we also found the Malvhina Spout, along with a sign that informed us that the water is pure from the Malvern Hills and that the water is piped directly from Three Springs above the Town, one at Happy Valley, another at Rushey Valley and the third from Ivy Scar Rock. It went on to say that the water was thought to come from so deep down that underground pressure forces it upwards filtering it through the Ancient Malvern stone in the hills and that in so doing all impurities would be removed. Therefore, I trusted what they said and took a little sip!
But where does it all come from? It seems fissures in the rocks retain rain water which slowly permeates through and which can only escape at the springs. The springs in turn release the water with the flow rate depending on the amount of rainfall so it can vary from as little as 8 gallons per minute to over 77 gallons, but whatever the amount it has never been known to cease altogether.
The Malvern water has been absolutely pivotal to the town for many years and it experienced a major transformation in 1842 when Doctors Gully and Wilson launched their natural 'hydropathy' cures. It seems that Dr Wilson rejuvenated a 64 year old gout ridden drunkard and thus the Water Cure's fame spread rapidly. But some of the treatments were quite austere - for the 'Cold Douche Treatment' water was poured over a shivering naked patient from a height of 20 feet, then before breakfast they were required to walk up to St Ann's Well to drink the water, but despite these 'tortures', 'The Water Cure' quickly grew in popularity and attracted many famous folk like Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale and Lord Tennyson! However, eventually the practice lost favour (I can't imagine why) and petered out altogether around 1905 so happily at least there was no option for John and me to have a go!
Our last stop was in Priory Park and it was here that we found another delightful garden with a beautiful old wood carving displaying a swimmer, an otter and several fish. Unfortunately there was no info with it so it was hard to know what it depicted, but it looked like it was probably the remains of an old tree that had been carved into something equally as beautiful as when it lived!
It was also in this park that we witnessed a quite macabre event! There we sat by a long pond sipping our last cup of coffee and munching our lemon muffins when down came a big seagull who did no more than jump in the water and snatch a little moorhen chick! As you would imagine it was very soon dead because the gull was throwing it all over the place trying to break it down into bite sized pieces! But when he couldn't manage that he just tipped his head back and swallowed the poor baby whole - it was such a shame he didn't choke!
Wednesday 19th 🌧️⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅
Mileage 100 from Hanley Swan to Ripley
This morning our main task was to get on the road and drive back to our home town of Ripley, and as we'd only got 100 miles to go this was achieved in just over 2 hours. Once there we were very quickly and comfortably parked up on what has become our regular parking spot at Butterley Bank, but our plan is only to stay for 12 nights on this occasion.
While we're here we'll have a great time seeing all our family and friends, and also enjoy looking after John's Mum while his sister Val and her husband have a well earned holiday in their motor home. And after all that is done we're off to France for 3 months, so for now and just for a short while, it's Au Revoir from us
Click here to see our English camping spots
