Malvern Hills

[Trossachs?]

Not sure if this is where this question should go, but here it is.

I have family in Worcester and am sick of running on the flat, though it does lift moral to feel so easy.

Anyway I am down there again this weekend (for my partner and her sister to run the Worcester 'race for life') and was looking at running the Malverns south to north on Sat.9th (if I can get a lift and pick up organised with family as Im baby sitting while they run on Sun.). Its only 10miles so could be great for a warm up to Glen Rosa next week. However from anyone local I'd just like to know is it worth it? Is it dog friendly (well behaved collie)? Anything I should know? Anyone fancy a jog out if they are around?

Jason

[ChrisU]

The Malvern Hills are great and well worth a traverse - especially in Elgar's 150th anniversary year:
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=828412007

[Raymond Hickman]

Absolutely - the Malverns are great and no navigational worries!

Cheers - Raymond

[Multiterrainer]

There's nothing like resurrecting old threads (though this could/should of course be in 'today's training'!).

Had a great slow run on the Malverns today in glorious conditions but with a biting wind. Was en route from visiting sister near Caerphilly to home.

They can certainly pack in a few feet as my out and back from Blackhill car park to North Hill over all the 'summits' including Worcestershire Beacon twice and then up and around Herefordshire Beacon came in just shy of 10 miles/2000ft - great fun despite my recent lack of hills!

[Travs]

I live in Coventry, and the Malverns are the nearest sizeable hills for me... thinking of getting the train out to Ledbury, then running up onto the southern end of the Malverns, along the entire ridge, and dropping into Malvern to catch the train home.

Looks approx. 10 miles.... if anyone local has any thoughts on this as a run, or any suggestions/improvements? Would it be more beneficial to just go straight to Malvern and do out-and-back along the ridge?

Pete

[Dave_Mole]

Hi Travs

I live on the Malverns!
It's a bit of a dull run-in from Ledbury. I'd say either get off the train at Colwall and head up from there where you can go up Jubilee Hill and then turn right down to British Camp/Swinyard, then head back along the ridge to the end, dropping down to Malvern Link station at the north end of the hills.
The alternative is an out-and-bad from Malvern Link. The end to end on the hills is about 9 miles/3000ft, so don't underestimate it. Nearly all of the hills are runnable, but the climb from Malvern Link to End Hill and the climb up Raggeststone at the other end are the toughest!

[Travs]

cheers for the info... yes I've done a 21 mile walk which included the entire ridge, so got a rough idea what to expect, but good to get some proper info from an expert..!

[Travs]

I went down to the Malverns yesterday... as suggested by Dave_Mole I got off the train in Colwall and headed south along the ridge as far as the road before Ragged Stone Hill... then headed back north over the ridge... a fine few hours of running... a bit of light entertainment provided by racing an army regiment who were out training on the British Camp ridge... only problem was the amount of flies and midges which amassed in great numbers every time I slowed below running pace...

[PeteS]

I went down to the Malverns yesterday... as suggested by Dave_Mole I got off the train in Colwall and headed south along the ridge as far as the road before Ragged Stone Hill... then headed back north over the ridge... a fine few hours of running... a bit of light entertainment provided by racing an army regiment who were out training on the British Camp ridge... only problem was the amount of flies and midges which amassed in great numbers every time I slowed below running pace...

Welcome to my neck of the woods! A great day can be had out on the hills - glad you enjoyed it. A breezy day this time of year is sometimes preferable to deal with the fly situation!
There are plenty of footpaths that criss-cross the side of the hills which can add plenty of variation to a day out in the Malverns. Link a few of these together and you can get some serious climbing in a relatively short distance.

[Dave_Mole]

glad you enjoyed it Travs!