Base Camp Journal - Malvern Hills
Surprisingly, the Malvern Hills CMC site had become one of Robby’s favourites after just three days there, and I quite like it myself. We have our return pencilled in for next March, as the coastal places are best left until the summer months.
A few people mentioned Malvern Hills to us over the past couple of years. It looked pleasant as a countryside retreat on the maps: Situated amongst some large fields that looked like farmlands, and a few small villages, it’s far enough from the city. I can’t say there’s much to explore in the vicinty, though.
Malvern Hills is roughly 70% of the distance between Cardiff and Birmingham, but very accessible, since we could leave the motorway just past Newport and take the A roads the rest of the way. We just needed to go from Cardiff to Abergavenny, then onto Hereford, and then a few miles east from there. The journey takes about two hours. For reasons best known to themselves - and there must be some reason beyond mere incompetence for it - the Welsh Government seems intent on making our roads congested and the public transport system as awkward as possible to use. The tailbacks on that section of the M4, caused primarily by the speed limits dropping to 50mph and people consequently struggling to change lanes, are much worse than they were a few years ago.
Just outside the village of Upton-upon-Severn, which is almost within walking distance from the destination, we passed a vast field of tents and caravans. I soon learned the village was hosting the little-known Sunshine Festival, and several famous artists - The Human League, Marc Almond, The Proclaimers, Bad Manners, etc. - were performing there.
The Malvern Hills CMC site is roughly the size of the one in Brighton. Aside from a couple of facility buildings and supply points, it’s essentially a large and mostly flat field - surrounded by a perimeter of trees, of course. It’s the only CMC site I’ve encountered where it seemed most the pitches were on grass. The layout of pitches seemed a little chaotic, but they were generously spaced out. Thankfully the ground remained firm after the hour of torrential rain we had shortly after setting everything up. As always, it’s a huge bonus when a site has a friendly atmosphere, and that was the case there.
Next to our site was another that’s affiliated with the Camping and Caravanning Club. Robby and I explored it one evening. Though the site appeared almost fully-booked, it was quiet, and as well maintained.
As for pubs within walking distance, which is always another important consideration, there’s the Swan Inn, which is just over 1km south of the site. It looks nice enough, but it’s not the kind of place one could relax for the evening because we’re always having to move tables because of the reservation system.
Worcester
Not far from Malvern Hills is the city of Worcester. It was quite lively, though not too busy for a Saturday. We didn’t really venture far from the high street, or see the places of historical interest, because we got caught in another period of torrential rain that lasted quite a while. Overall, it’s nicer than Cardiff.
Tewkesbury
Definitely a town worth visiting, if only to see the many buildings along the high street that are over 500 years old. A few are deformed by centuries of subsidence, and others had been structurally and cosmetically renovated over the years, but they kept their character as the archetypical Tudor houses: Low ceilings, dark timber beams juxtaposed with the white paint, small windows, some ornate dark wood panelling on the walls, the floors being at a slight angle, etc.
Tewkesbury has a lot of history, much of it, ostensibly, to do with the War of the Roses and the beginning of the Tudor era. To put it very simplistically, I understand the beginning of the Tudor period as a time when Britain became an empire with an economy and something resembling a more formal government, as opposed to an island that was relatively lawless, ruled by conspiracy and administrated by whichever king the aristocrats were most content with. If I had to hazard a guess, Tewkesbury was once a village that served as a waypoint along a trading route that was important during the early Tudor period and the century that preceded it.
As soon as we arrived, we visited a small volunteer-run museum. Despite the low ceilings and the tight passageways and relatively small rooms, there were two sets of stairs leading to the first floor, as if the original owner fancied that modestly-sized house a mansion. The museum has a small collection of random exhibits, the most spectacular being the miniature, highly detailed fairground that somebody local made by hand just over a century ago. There is also most the skeleton of a Roman citizen that was excavated nearby, plus a few other items that were dug up.
After that, we went from one pub to another along High Street. as it was a Sunday, every other building on the street was a pub, and we were drawn to them because they were housed in the old buildings. It was a nice change from the blandness and sterility of contemporary pubs.
The first one was The Berkely Arms. It had been there since 1495. It was a small pub with a quiet atmosphere, and it’s the one frequented by a few regulars. The front room served as the bar. A small back room a lounge.
Next we stopped at the Tudor Hotel, which, as its name suggests, has a Tudor theme going on. It has replica portraits of Henry VIII and a few of his wives, but the interior decor is quite modern. It was there that I ordered us Sunday lunch. The vegetables were prepared nicely, very much like they’re done in The Camelford Arms, in Brighton.
The last place we visited was The Black Bear, which is on the corner of the road, on the riverside. Claiming to be Gloucester’s oldest pub, the building had been constructed in 1308. The general layout appears to have been the same then as it is now, and some of the original structure is there. How many others had sat in the same corner over the centuries, looking out the same window, I wondered?
Great Malvern
At the base of the two peaks of Malvern Hills is the town of Great Malvern. Robby wanted to go there as soon as we arrived.
We happened upon a giant antiques market along the way, roughly the area of three football pitches. Among all the junk, tat, china things that I ever understood why some people collect, there were some items from the 1980s and 1990s that brought back a few memories. I picked up a relatively rare Casio watch - more of an impulse purchase, but it’s worth a lot more than what I paid for it - and a Celtic-styled lapel pin that Robby thinks would look good on my coat.
The first place we explored in Great Malvern, after stopping in a cafe, was the priory. It’s another of those impressive churches and cathedrals we encounter during our travels. The priory was founded in 1085 (just 60 years short of a millenium!). Much of what’s currently there, including a couple of the stained glass windows, dates to the 14th century.
Something we did notice, on the way into Great Malvern and outside the priory is that some of the 19th century wrought iron gas-powered lamp posts are still there and functioning, though with igniters powered by AA batteries.
The museum of local history caught our eye. This was in a small old building, which was probably once a gatehouse to the priory. Apparently my predecessors in the Royal Corps of Signals - and likely in the same regiment - tested portable radar and electronic warfare technologies near the summit of the hills, sometime during the 1940s and 1950s, and there are exhibits of that in the museum, including a primitive unit, roughly the size of the typical home radio set of the day, that incorporated valves, oscillators and spark gaps and suchlike. I guessed the outer circuit - the part with the large magnet and spark gap, was the part of the apparatus that generated the outgoing signals, and the inner circuit was what compared that with RF reflected by the target. The part with the valves was probably the analogue equivalent of a 555 timer.
Also saw a photo displayed, dated 1976, of Elizabeth II looking, with some bemusement, at a large ARPANET terminal. I couldn’t identify the hardware. Honeywell or part of a CDC mainframe setup, perhaps? ARPANET was the precursor to the Internet, and, in 1976, it would have used a routing and transmission protocol that was later delineated into the TCP/IP we all know today.
We stopped at another pub, but this time only because the outdoor area gave us a nice view of the vast expanse of land between Great Malvern and the hills in the far distance.