The Hills run north/south for about 13 km (eight miles), in between Great Malvern and the village of Colwall, and overlook the River Severn valley to the east, with the Cotswolds beyond. There are two passes through the hills, the Wyche cutting and the A449 road just north of Herefordshire Beacon.
The Malvern Hills are made of some of the most ancient rock in England, mostly igneous and metamorphic rocks from the late pre-Cambrian, around 600 million years old. With many rounded grassy summits, rising above the surrounding countryside, the Malvern Hills have a clean and uncluttered silhouette. It is the suddenness of its steep slopes, rising dramatically from the low lying Severn Plain that exaggerates the height, for only in the northern summits of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill does the ridge exceed 1,400 feet above sea level.
At the highest point of the hills is the Worcestershire Beacon at 425 metres (1395 ft) above sea level (OS Grid reference SO768452). It was probably the pure water of the Malvern Hills springs that first attracted the Iron Age builders to The British Camp at Herefordshire Beacon. Hundreds of years later, the founders of Malvern's two medieval priories discovered the waters. Finally in the 19th century it was certainly those waters that made Malvern a 19th-century spa, with the elegance of a place of culture
The hills are now famous for their natural mineral springs and wells, and they also provide some of England's grandest views, eastwards towards the Cotswolds, northwards to Shropshire and westward to the misty mountains of Wales.
The northern end of the Malvern Hills is the site of the seven places bearing the general name of Malvern. In historical terms, all are relatively modem developments except the two respectively distinguished as Great and Little. Great Malvern, or Malvern proper, surpasses the others in size and importance. An extension northward forms North Malvern. Immediately below North Malvern is Malvern LInk, and adjoining the former on its western side is West Malvern. South of the town is the district of Malvern Wells, the site of the Holy Well that first made Malvern famous. Beyond the Wells is Little Malvern, and between this and Great Malvern is the district known as the Wyche.
The Malvern Hills are made of some of the most ancient rock in England, mostly igneous and metamorphic rocks from the late pre-Cambrian, around 600 million years old. With many rounded grassy summits, rising above the surrounding countryside, the Malvern Hills have a clean and uncluttered silhouette. It is the suddenness of its steep slopes, rising dramatically from the low lying Severn Plain that exaggerates the height, for only in the northern summits of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill does the ridge exceed 1,400 feet above sea level.
At the highest point of the hills is the Worcestershire Beacon at 425 metres (1395 ft) above sea level (OS Grid reference SO768452). It was probably the pure water of the Malvern Hills springs that first attracted the Iron Age builders to The British Camp at Herefordshire Beacon. Hundreds of years later, the founders of Malvern's two medieval priories discovered the waters. Finally in the 19th century it was certainly those waters that made Malvern a 19th-century spa, with the elegance of a place of culture
The hills are now famous for their natural mineral springs and wells, and they also provide some of England's grandest views, eastwards towards the Cotswolds, northwards to Shropshire and westward to the misty mountains of Wales.
The northern end of the Malvern Hills is the site of the seven places bearing the general name of Malvern. In historical terms, all are relatively modem developments except the two respectively distinguished as Great and Little. Great Malvern, or Malvern proper, surpasses the others in size and importance. An extension northward forms North Malvern. Immediately below North Malvern is Malvern LInk, and adjoining the former on its western side is West Malvern. South of the town is the district of Malvern Wells, the site of the Holy Well that first made Malvern famous. Beyond the Wells is Little Malvern, and between this and Great Malvern is the district known as the Wyche.
