MALVERN’S popular annual walking festival is boasting another year of success after breaking all of its previous records.
The Malvern Hills Walking Festival kicked off again recently for the 19th year and welcomed more walkers than ever before.
Across nine days the festival hosted 75 walks for enthusiasts and novices alike.
Leading the walks were the festivals chairman, Bob Baldwin, Malvern Hills District Councillor Beverley Nielsen, Tim Lawrence and Ed Hoyle among others.
Walkers explored the history of the Wars of the Roses during the Battle of Tewkesbury, the Three Choirs Way which included a trek from Gloucester to Hereford Cathedral, many journeys through the picturesque Malvern Hills and much more.
Beverley Nielsen, who has been delighted to be one of the walk leaders for the past four years, took her group on a journey through ancient pathways over Ragged Stone, Chase End, Midsummer Hills and the hamlet of Whiteleaved Oak where three shires – Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester – meet.
She said: “Our group had a wonderful day and it’s a very special thing being able to bring people together through their love of walking and their enjoyment of the Malvern Hills.
“I’d like to thank all those who joined me for the day and the organisers of this splendid festival for building it into such an impressive event for our town.”
Coun Nielsen’s group also surveyed impressive historic buildings including, Bromsberrow Place, Bromsberrow Court, Eastnor Castle and St Mary’s Church Bromesberrow, first built in 1170.
Bromsberrow is considered to hold the world record for the most spellings of a single place, totaling 161 different spellings since the 10th century. As reported by local historian Lester Steynor.
Bob Baldwin, festival chairman, added: “We’re grateful to all our volunteer walk leaders who help make the annual Malvern Walking Festival possible, including Beverley whose walk was rated as one of the ‘hard’ ones on our schedule and one of the penultimate on our last day.”
