Step Up to the Beacon

This morning I set off with friends B, L and R to climb up to the top of the Malverns one last time on this visit. Exiting the front gate it is an immediate leg stretch. This time we took the zig zag route to North Hill before heading up to Worcestershire Beacon and the nearby trig point. There are always people here taking photographs of themselves or asking for their group to be photographed.

Then down to St Anne’s Well and then our hosts house.

There are a lot of curiosities in Malvern. One is finding working gas lamps at the railway station yesterday, and again in the woods on our way down to the Well today ( extra). CS Lewis lived in the town (as did JR Tolkien, they were drinking buddies apparently), which is why they are lovingly maintained. Further down a plaque on a building now converted to apartments explains that US President Franklin D Roosevelt convalesced there in 1889 aged 7.

It has been an excellent three plus days, really good spending time with friends. Somehow we managed to always walk in good weather, missing the forecasted heavy rain and thunderstorms. I am now back home resting my legs, and intending to have an early night.