Malvern Hills in June, looking north.

June vegetation, shortly after sunrise.

Malvern Hills AONB is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the English counties of Worcestershire and Herefordshire. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1067 KB) Malvern Hills, looking north. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1067 KB) Malvern Hills, looking north. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1494 KB) Malvern Hills, a detail shortly after sunrise. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1494 KB) Malvern Hills, a detail shortly after sunrise. ... Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is a United Kingdom. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK... Worcestershire (pronounced ; abbreviated Worcs) is a county located in the West Midlands region of central England. ... Herefordshire is a traditional and ceremonial county and unitary district in the West Midlands region of England in the United Kingdom. ...

Geography

The Malvern Hills are a famous beauty spot, with scenic views over both Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The Hills run north/south for about 13 km and overlook the River Severn valley to the East, with the Cotswolds beyond. The highest point of the hills is the Worcestershire Beacon at 425 metres. The hills are famous for their natural mineral springs and wells, and were resposible for the devopment of Great Malvern as a spa in the early 19th century. A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... The Severn bridges crossing near the mouth of the River Severn The River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren) is the longest British river, at 354 kilometres (219 miles) long; it rises at an altitude of 610 metres on Plynlimon near Llanidloes, in the Cambrian Mountains, Mid Wales, and it passes through... The Cotswolds are a range of hills in central England, sometimes called the heart of England, a hilly area reaching over 300 m or 1000 feet. ... Worcestershire Beacon is a hill whose summit is the highest point of the Malvern Hills, a range of hills running some 13 kilometres north-south along the Herefordshire-Worcestershire border, though Worcestershire Beacon itself lies entirely within Worcestershire. ... Great Malvern is a town in Worcestershire, England positioned at the foot of, and partly on the sides of, the Malvern Hills. ... See also spa SPA can refer to: Saudi Press Agency School of Planning and architecture is Indias premier Architecture and city-planning institutions. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

There are two passes through the hills, the Wyche cutting (Wyche means salt) and the A449 road just north of Herefordshire Beacon. The Herefordshire Beacon is also known as the British Camp, as the remains of an iron age hill fort can be found at the summit. The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. ... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... The term hill fort is commonly used by archeologists to describe fortified enclosures located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. ...

The Malvern hills are made of some of the most ancient rock in England, some igneous rock being pre-Cambrian (over 600 million years old). The Precambrian or Cryptozoic is the period of the geologic timescale from the formation of Earth around 4500 million years before the present (BP) to the evolution of abundant macroscopic hard-shelled fossils, which marked the beginning of the Cambrian, some 542 million years BP. Remarkably little is known about...

There is a cave near the ridge of the hills called Clutter's Cave (or Giant's Cave or Waum's Cave, after the spring that once lay beneath it).

The Hills

Here is a list of the hills in their order from north to south:-

• North Hill
• Sugar Loaf
• Worcestershire Beacon
• Perserverance Hill
• Pinnacle Hill
• Black Hill
• Wynds Point
• Herefordshire Beacon
• Millenium Hill
• Broad Down
• Hangmans Hill
• Swinyard Hill
• Midsummer Hill
• Raggedstone Hill

A good panorama of the length of the hills can be seen from the M5 Motorway, particulary between Junction 7 Worcester (south) and Junction 9 Tewkesbury . Worcestershire Beacon is a hill whose summit is the highest point of the Malvern Hills, a range of hills running some 13 kilometres north-south along the Herefordshire-Worcestershire border, though Worcestershire Beacon itself lies entirely within Worcestershire. ... The term panorama originally referred to panoramic painting, but today means any high aspect ratio or wide screen image or film format, especially suitable for landscapes, where a lot of scenery can be taken in at a glance. ... This article concerns the M5 motorway in England. ... The city of Worcester (pronounced ) is a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England; the river Severn runs through the middle, with the citys large Worcester Cathedral overlooking the river. ... Location within the British Isles Tewkesbury War Memorial Tewkesbury is a historic town in Gloucestershire, England. ...

History

The Iron Age fortress at the top of the Herefordshire Beacon known as British Camp is composed of extensive ramparts that have been compared to a giant wedding cake. Recent research at nearby Midsummer Hill has shown that the fortress was occupied permanently by up to 4000 people for four to five hundred years. Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ...

The coming of the Romans ended the period of occupation of British Camp, but folklore states that the ancient British chieftain Caractacus made his last stand here. This is unlikely, according to the description of the Roman historian Tacitus. The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... Caratacus (also spelled Caractacus) was a historical British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (ca. ...

The name Malvern is probably derived from the Gaelic moel bryn or "bare hill." Gaelic as an adjective means pertaining to the Gaels, whether to their language or their culture. ...

The Normans built a fortress on top of the Iron Age camp. The Shire Ditch, which dates from the 13th century, runs north and south along the ridge of the hills.

Traditionally the line down the spine of the hills has formed the county boundary between Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Malvern Hills in cultural life

The Malvern Hills were the inspiration and setting for the famous 14th Century poem The Visions of Piers Plowman by William Langland. This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... Page from a 14th century Psalter, showing drolleries on the right margin and a plowman at the bottom. ... Langlands Dreamer: from an illuminated initial in a Piers Plowman manuscript held at Corpus Christi College, Oxford William Langland is the conjectured author of the 14th-century English dream-vision Piers Plowman. ...

English composer Edward Elgar, who was from the area, often walked, cycled, and reportedly flew kites on these hills. He wrote a cantata in 1898 entitled Caractacus, which employs the popular legend of his last stand at British Camp. Sir Edward Elgar Sir Edward Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO (2 June 1857 â€“ 23 February 1934) was an English composer. ... Cantata (Italian for a song or story set to music), a vocal composition accompanied by instruments and generally containing more than one movement. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Caratacus (also spelled Caractacus) was a historical British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest. ...

The poet W.H. Auden taught for three years at the Downs School, Colwall, in the Malvern Hills. He spent three years at the school in the 1930s and wrote some of his finest early love poems there, including: This Lunar Beauty; Let Your Sleeping Head; My Love, Fish in the Unruffled Lakes; and Out on the Lawn I Lie in Bed. He also wrote a long poem about the hills and their views, called simply The Malverns. Christopher Isherwood and W.H. Auden, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Wystan Hugh Auden (February 21, 1907–September 29, 1973) was an English poet. ... The Downs School, at Colwall, near Great Malvern, on the western slopes of the Malvern Hills in England. ... Colwall is a beautiful rural Herefordshire village nestling into the side of the Malvern Hills. ... // Events and trends A public speech by Benito Mussolini, founder of the Fascist movement The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the global depression. ...

See also

• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England
• Malvern Hills District Council

An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England (AONB) is an area in England specially designated by the Countryside Agency. ... Malvern Hills is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. ...

External links

• Malvern Hills AONB Website
• The Malvern Hills at BBC Hereford & Worcester
• Malvern Hills Trail