Bare facts of a hilly hike

The tops of the Malvern Hills are still relatively bare, carpeted mainly by acid grassland. Lower down, however, the Hills have plenty of woodland, which looks particularly lovely in autumn. It contributes greatly to the appeal of this beautiful walk.

However, few people would want to see the Hills completely covered by trees.

To prevent this happening, small herds of sheep and cattle have recently been reintroduced to the Malverns, in the hope that controlled grazing can prevent further encroachment of the scrub which has spread rapidly since the commoners were forced by the huge increase in speeding traffic to remove free-ranging stock from the Hills.

You might encounter sheep on this walk, as they are currently grazing in this area, so please heed the notices requesting you to keep dogs under close control.

It's worth spending some time in the Charlie Ballard Nature Reserve next to Colwall Station. It's a lovely, peaceful site with woodland, two ponds (complete with ducks) and a stream, all maintained by volunteers.

It was donated to the parish council in 1992 by Freda Ballard in memory of her father. It's in an appropriate setting, given that the Colwall engineer Stephen Ballard played a major role in the building of the railway over 150 years ago.

n PLEASE NOTE: This walk has been carefully checked and the directions are believed to be accurate at the time of publication. No responsibility is accepted by either the author or publisher for errors or omissions, or for any loss, accident or injury, however caused.

FACTFILE

Start: Colwall Station, grid ref SO756424.

Length: 61/2 miles/10.5km.

Maps: OS Explorer 190, OS Landranger 150, Harvey Malvern Hills Superwalker.

Terrain: Woodland, pasture and part of the Malvern Hills, but with only the gentlest of slopes.

Footpaths: Excellent, with only one exception, but even this shouldn't prove a problem.

Stiles: 15.

Parking: Colwall (alternative car parks/starting points include Gardiner's Quarry near Perrycroft and Beacon Road at the Wyche).

Public transport: Central Trains/Great Western daily; Rail Enquiries 08457 484950. Also possible by bus; details from Herefordshire Council 01432 260211 or www.herefordbus.info

Refreshments: Fair choice in Colwall, and the Wyche Inn at the Wyche.

DIRECTIONS

n Cross the railway footbridge and turn left past the Charlie Ballard Nature Reserve. Pass through a gate into a field. Go diagonally right across the field and then continue along the right-hand edges of two more fields. Turn left in the fourth field, leave it at the corner and follow a trodden path across a large field to the far left corner.

Continue along the edge of another field then join a track until a stile on the left allows a return to fields. Turn right to follow a well-trodden path to a lane.

Turn left and walk through Evendine. After 300m turn left on the driveway to Spindrift. Leave the driveway at a stile on the right, just after you cross a brook. Keep close to the left-hand edge of a field as you walk towards Hawketts Coppice.

Enter the wood and go straight on. The path is clear at first but soon becomes indistinct. You will cross a brook, after which you'll be walking along a ridge between parallel gullies. The one on the left holds a brook, while the one on the right is normally dry.

Some guidance is provided by yellow sticky tape placed at intervals on tree trunks and branches, but don't miss the point at which the path turns left, soon passing a discarded tractor wheel.

The brook is still on your left and before long there are conifers on your right. After passing through a patch of bracken the path bears right, still between the brook and the conifers. You'll soon reach a junction where you turn left, stepping over a broken stile to reach another junction.

From this point, the path is clear. Turn right over a footbridge then leave the coppice, going diagonally across a field. Cross a stile by Coachman's Cottage and proceed to the road (B4232). Turn left on the verge.

Pass Bothy Cottage and Garden Cottage. When you reach Perrycroft, cross the road to a narrow path on to the Malvern Hills, just to the left of a clump of silver birches. Follow it up through bracken to meet a wide path.

Turn right, then keep left at a junction by a bench and climb to a stone route indicator. Turn left. When you reach a wooden bench, turn sharp right on a path which climbs to the ridge, where there is another bench.

Go straight across the ridge and then left on a path on the Worcestershire side of the hills, below the ridge. It descends very gradually into woodland. Go left at the first junction, then fork right at the next. Turn left at another, then right at the next, and finally left on a path which leads to the Wyche.

Turn left through the cutting then cut through Grundy's Meadow at the bottom of Beacon Road to join West Malvern Road. Walk along the roadside footway for about 400m until you can cross to a footpath.

Descend rather steeply through a wood and a field. Go straight on over a patch of grass then turn right on a track which descends beside a brook to meet another track (Brockhill Road). Turn left.

After 800m join a footpath on the left, opposite a corrugated-iron shed. Walk through woodland to a junction and turn right. Continue in the same direction through the grounds of a school then turn left at a junction by some greenhouses.

Walk to the road (B4218) and cross to Broadwood Drive. At the end of the drive turn right on a footpath which crosses a field. Go straight on at a junction, following the hedge on your right until a stile gives access to a well-trodden path leading directly to Colwall Station.