1 January 2006 - A Walk for Daniel in the MalvernsThe alarm went at 7.40 am on New Year's Day and the weather outside looked dull and miserable - not ideal for a walk in the Malverns but we were committed for our sponsored walk for Daniel. The Malverns are a range of hills about 8 miles long by 3/4 mile wide rising above the Severn Vale on the eastern side and the Hereford countryside to the west. The Malverns are made of granite which is more than 600 million years old. The highest point is Worcestershire Beacon at a height of 1395 ft. Although the Malverns are a good hour's drive from our home we have often walked in the area. However we have never tackled the highest point before so this was our target for the day. The drive to the Malverns was virtually traffic free which is one of the benefits of driving early on New Year's Day when everyone is still sleeping off the excesses of the night before, and we arrived at Wych Cutting where we planned to start the walk at 11 am. By this time the weather had much improved and there was even some sunshine. Very soon after the start we came to the Gold Mine.
This is the location of a shaft 220 ft deep which was sunk in the 1700s by a man who thought there was 'gold in them there hills'. Needless to say no gold was found and the shaft has since been filled in. From the Gold Mine it is a steady up-hill climb to the Beacon. On the top of the Beacon there is a toposcope built in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. This shows the direction to various viewpoints around - to the north we could clearly see The Wrekin which was 40 miles away.
However at the summit it was blowing a gale and extremely cold so we stayed only long enough to take a few photographs (Photos 3 & 4) and then moved on taking the path down the other side of the Beacon to the point marked on the map as the Gravel Pit which once provided gravel for a variety of building purposes. Here we met a group calling themselves the Mad Cap Morris Dancers who were performing a number of dances to the delight of various onlookers.
Our route continued on down-hill to St Ann's Well. The purity of the spring water running from the hillside was recognised more than 200 years ago and this place subsequently became very popular for 19th century visitors to the developing spa town of Great Malvern. From St Ann's Well our return journey took us along the eastern hill side where our next stop was Earnslow Pool which is a shallow lake occupying the floor of a former quarry. From there we returned to the Gold Mine and then to the car park. The total distance covered was only 4 miles but, as Alma says, with the degree of difficulty (for senior citizens) it was equivalent to twice that distance! By the time we got back to the car park it appeared that the world and his wife and his children and dogs were out for a walk and the car parks were all completely full. We rounded off our day with a late lunch at The Kettle Sings, our favourite restaurant in the area. The damson and sloe gin home made ice cream at the end of the meal made the walk all worthwhile as well as the sponsorship money for Daniel's Trust Fund which currently stands in excess of £250. Our thanks to everyone who supported us.
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