Walking across the Malvern Hills

Start: Colwall train station. MAP Explorer 190

Walk over the footbridge and along a path to a gate leading into a field. Go left along the field's edge to a stile on the top left corner. From the stile, head right, climbing the wooded slope to a stile on the right of three trees. Walk up the green lane, crossing a stile on the left and turning right. Keeping the hedge on your right, cross another stile and walk up to a Tarmac lane. Turn right to visit "The Kettle Sings" tearoom then head up the lane to the main road.

Cross the road, heading slightly right out of the car park up the hillside to join the path. Turn right when you join the main path and look across Oyster Hill and the Woolhope Dome.

Follow the paths down to a car park, over a hillock and down to the main road. At the main road, turn left to the Malvern Hills Hotel, reputedly once the haunt of highwaymen. Across the road, a well-worn track leads to the British Camp or Herefordshire Beacon. Measuring 13⁄4 miles in circumference, the earthworks are attributed to the warrior leader Caracticus who, in 100BC, defended the spot from the Romans.

Retrace your steps to the hotel, cross the road and return to the path by the toilet block which descends down a rough grass bank and across a field to a stile. Cross the bridge and stile ahead of you, keeping the field hedge to your right, to a gate leading into a track between houses and to a road in the hamlet of Evendine.

Turn left past Upper House and Malt House, continuing until you see a green path leading up to two stiles in quick succession on the right. Cross the paddock to a third stile, turn right along the track to a stile leading to a field. Cross the field to another stile on the left. Walk with the hedge on your left and pass through the next boundary. Follow the hedge on your left through a gateway and across a corner stile. One further stile leads you back to the railway station gate.