Hay on Wye didn’t do anything for me but on the other hand Great Malvern was well, great. Despite the fact that it was wet and we couldn’t even see the hills for the low cloud which enveloped them it still had a lovely atmosphere and friendly people in the shops. I took some photos but you can see more images here.

Obviously I’d heard about the Malvern hills before but it was a surprise to me that the whole town is built on hills. To me, it has the feeling of a seaside place because of that, but instead of looking out to the sea, it’s glimpses of multi-hued fields far below which can be seen between buildings. Unfortunately because of the weather we didn’t get a very clear view but on a good day it must look fab. But this is one of the streets in the town.

There are quite a lot of good bookshops around, I think the Amnesty International one was my favourite but the second hand bookshop which is right next to the priory gates is good too. Yes, I did buy books in them! I’m not at all into organised religion but I do like the Great Malvern Priory site, where dogs are invited to bring along their well-behaved humans! In the photo below you can see the priory and various different architectural styles.

Great Malvern Priory, which has fearless grey squirrels running around its grounds.

This is the public library and for some reason it doesn’t look nearly as imposing in this photo as it does in reality. I wish it were my public library. It’s another Andrew Carnegie one, he donated £5,000 to it.

This stone bridge is part of a small park which we had to walk through to get to the town from the car park, it’s a very pretty rural area with ducks scattered around it.

This is a wooden bridge in the same area. I would definitely go back to Great Malvern, hoping for better weather next time. I’ve always thought of it as a place that people retire to but really you have to be fit as there are hills and steps everywhere, no need to join a gym if you’re living there, just doing your shopping would keep you fit. It’s all very genteel and sort of – step back in time-ish, and often that’s just what I need. Evee, if I were you I’d be visiting my cousins an awful lot!