Travel review: Malvern Hills are alive with a sense of wonder

I have beautiful views and picture postcard villages on my doorstep, living in Shropshire, so I didn't expect Malvern to make such a big impression on me.

The Victorian spa town and its surrounding villages offer the perfect location for a mini break, or even longer if you can spare the time, with breathtaking views, historical sights, including an Iron Age hill fort, a thriving high street or two packed with independent shops and restaurants and good public transport.

Despite the rural setting, everything is so accessible. We stayed at Colwall Park Hotel in the sleepy village of Colwall which has footpaths from the hotel's gardens straight onto the famous hills.

You can walk and cycle for miles, plus there are plenty of car parks for those who want to enjoy the views at a less strenuous pace.

My sister and I fell into the latter category. We arrived on one of the hottest days of the year, so a hike up the hill was out of the question, we decided. Instead, we enjoyed one of the hotel's cream teas in the sunshine before letting the train take the strain and visiting Great Malvern town, just one stop away.

It was lovely to be able to park the car and use public transport for a change. Colwall station is directly behind the hotel and regular trains run to Hereford or Worcester and on to Birmingham.

As we let our cream tea of scones with clotted cream and jam, fresh passion fruit, Bakewell tart and fruit cake go down, we studied our walking route from the attractive Victorian train station to the centre of town, thoughtfully provided by hotel staff.

Malvern's famous residents and visitors are too numerous to mention here but they do include Charles Darwin, Edward Elgar and George Bernard Shaw, a founder of the Malvern Festival.

Great Malvern town is very hilly, but everything is within walking distance. Even the Malvern Hills are directly accessible "via 99 steps through Rose Bank Gardens".

We decided to take the guide book's word for it.

Having reached Bellevue Terrace at the top of the town we were ready for some retail therapy and enjoyed a happy couple of hours shopping before catching the train back, thankfully this time it was downhill all the way to the station.

The hotel can cater for all occasions, from walkers to wedding parties and even has a warm welcome for well-behaved dogs with their own washing area outside in order to make sure all paws are clean. I understand dogs are allowed in the bar area but not the restaurant, where we enjoyed our evening meal.

The hotel offers what I call a "short" menu; four or five each of starters and mains. This means the chef can specialise in and perfect the dishes, selecting the best ingredients and cooking everything fresh.

Our choices included starters of goat's cheese and beetroot, asparagus with Parma ham, poached egg and béarnaise sauce and scallops with cauliflower puree and curry sauce.

Main courses included sage gnocchi, fish pie deconstructed and beef in a red wine jus.

The cheese board was a delicious challenge in itself. Diners can customise their own from a selection of English cheeses all purchased locally.

After a decent night's sleep and full breakfast I was back in the driving seat for a mere 10 minutes before being taken for a spin in a fabulous Morgan 3 Wheeler.

We were visiting the British sports car manufacturer's factory and visitor centre at Malvern Link.

Guided tours of the Morgan Motor Company's headquarters can be booked through the hotel, costing £20 per person, and include a walk around the factory where skilled craftsmen and women make the iconic cars by hand using methods which have hardly changed over the last 100 years.

It's still a uniquely personal service. Each vehicle has a buyer when it goes into production who can specify finishes and colours and either visit to see their car being built or ask for photographs to be taken.

Colwall Park Hotel has also teamed up with the Morgan Motor Company to hire your own classic sports car either for the day or for a long weekend.

I can feel a scene from Downton Abbey coming on...

By Karen Knowles