England
Malvern Hills
Elgar's ridge where spring water flows free from taps carved in the rock.
The ridge rises from the Worcestershire plain like a wall, and the views from the top extend so far that the modest altitude feels like a trick. The Malvern Hills straddle the border between Worcestershire and Herefordshire — a switchback spine of pre-Cambrian rock that Elgar walked while composing the Enigma Variations.
The hills are among the oldest rocks in England, formed over 680 million years ago — older than most mountain ranges on Earth. The spring water that surfaces on the hillside has been bottled commercially since the 19th century, but Victorian spouts set into the rock still offer it free to anyone with a bottle. The Malvern Priory, founded in 1085, contains medieval stained glass rivalling anything in England outside York Minster. The switchback path along the ridge — the Worcestershire Way — gives summit-quality views from British Camp, an Iron Age hill fort at the southern end, to North Hill at the northern. Elgar's birthplace in Lower Broadheath, three miles from Great Malvern, is a museum that connects the landscape to the music it inspired.
Solo
The ridge walk is a full day of solitude above the clouds. Fill your bottle from the spring, climb to British Camp, and follow the spine north — the views repay every step.
Couple
The hills combine walking with culture in a way few English landscapes can match. Walk the ridge by day, attend a concert at the Malvern Theatre by evening, and stay in one of the Victorian spa hotels that line the hillside.
Friends
The switchback ridge is walking that generates conversation — the views change with every summit, and the pubs in Great Malvern at the end serve local cider and ales brewed in the hills' shadow.
- The spring water is bottled and sold worldwide, but here you can drink it free from Victorian spouts set into the hillside.
- Elgar composed the Enigma Variations while walking these ridges — the switchback path along the spine is still called the Elgar Route.
- The hills rise abruptly from flat plains, giving summit views disproportionate to the modest altitude.
- Malvern's priory and Victorian spa architecture make the town a base where culture and walking share the same postcode.
Malvern water — straight from the hillside springs that once supplied a Victorian spa town.
Ploughman's at the Malvern Hills Hotel after the ridge walk, with local Herefordshire cheese.
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