For years as we have driven up the M5 we have commented that we should visit the Malvern Hills, however never quite got around to it. As we still have to stay fairly local, cannot go to the mountains and cannot stay away we decided this would be an ideal time to explore the Malvern Hills.

So that we could have a big day out, and not just walk out and then back we decided to do the full traverse of the Malvern Hills, stating at Chase End Hill in the south and finishing at End Hill in the north. This provided a walk of about 16km with 750m of ascent.

After parking the van at the north end of the ridge we headed down to the south and started walking shortly after 5. This meant that if we made good time we should just about be on North Hill by sunset.

The start of the walk was very quiet, on small paths with lovely views. It was also very hot! We had occasional views of the bigger hills in the distance on the first half, and they looked a long way away.

After the first bit the paths started to get bigger, the ascents less steep and the number of people started to increase. It was still very quiet and everyone seemed to be keeping their distances.

As we approached Worcestershire Beacon it became apparent that there were lots of people about, and also that there were numerous groups not conforming to any sort of social distancing regulations. Around the beacon is where I would have ideally liked to stay, but we had to get to the end, and wanted to get away from the crowds.

We enjoyed a lovely sunset from North Hill before descending back to the van, picking up my car and driving home for midnight.

Becky on Chase End Hill
Becky on Ragged Stone Hill
Descending from Swinyard Hill with a long way to go
Break on Millennium Hill
Descending towards Little Malvern
Looking back from Pinnacle Hill
Becky on Pinnacle Hill
Becky in front of Worcestershire Beacon
Descending towards Worcestershire Beacon
Looking south from Worcestershire Beacon
Evening light approaching North Hill
Beautiful evening light
Sunset from North Hill
Sunset from North Hill
Total distance: 15.8 km
Max elevation: 421 m
Min elevation: 99 m
Total climbing: 928 m
Total descent: -847 m