The common

The old saying goes ‘Never judge a book by its cover’, but I’ll admit I’m occasionally guilty of that. The Malvern Common sits between the township of Great Malvern and the suburb of Malvern Wells, in an area called the Lower Wych. It’s a big tract of open land, that’s hugely popular with dog owners and I drive/walk past it on an almost daily basis. I’ve avoided heading to the common for months because it always looks so busy and generally I prefer solitude on my walks, but the other day I decided to go and explore it for myself.

I was pleasantly surprised…

As the common is so open you get great views from its top down over the Severn Valley and over towards the Cotswolds.  It was showering the day I visited and the grey skies and sparse vegetation reminded me a little of the moors in the Peak District Adam and I visited a few months ago.

There are some wooden seats along the top of the common, so you can sit and admire the view.  The one I chose to plonk myself down on happened to be dedicated to composer Edward Elgar, who lived in the Malvern/Worcester area.

I walked around the perimeter of the common, skirting the grounds of Malvern College, where I attended a wedding last month.

The common is a lot more vegetated in its northern most reaches and there are dozens of pine trees growing.  I think they’re blue spruce – which I remember seeing at Christmas. It got me wondering if these are Christmas trees discarded from many years ago?

Much of the common is covered in low growing ferns. From a distance they don’t look anything special but up close it’s almost like being in a maze.  I imagine the low, dense cover is a favourite hiding spot for rabbits and possibly even badgers.

I knew there was a pond on the common and I was determined to find it. I found the stream that fills the pond and followed it uphill, crossing tiny bridges and past big patches of blackberries until I came across the water.

It looked chilly, but I imagine it must be welcome relief for dogs hot from their walks on sunny days.

I’m really glad I finally took the time to walk around the common. It was a lovely, easy walk and it feels like a nice place to leave my little ‘ramblings’ series for a while.  I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my outside adventures as much as I’ve enjoyed writing about them. I look forward to sharing more walks with you soon.