The way points of this bicycle route:
Start at the Market House - a good meeting point too. Coffee and cake at the Market House Café if your into that sort of thing. There's still a Tuesday Market and a really good Saturday Market. Sat Market highlight for me has to be the genuine French bakery with great pain au chocolat and tasty tarts.
'Cafe Sez' on the left. If you can brave walking through the ladies fashion in your cycling clobber, there's a friendly coffee waiting.
'Ceci Paulo' - warren of all things good and tasty and unrelated to cycling. The café upstairs does a fantastic breakfast and lunch, though you will feel a bit out of place wearing cycling gear in here, if you're ever predisposed to such feelings.
Continue along the A449.
Turn right onto the A438, signposted to Eastnor Castle.
Eastnor Castle has extensive grounds, (the annual Mountain Mayhem 24hr MB challenge is hosted here) and various family attractions within the immediate castle grounds throughout the summer months. Continue on the A438.
Top of the hill!
Turn left along Gloucester Road.
The Robin Hood Inn. Never stopped here, but garden bar looks ok. They have a caravan site too: www.eatingpubs.co.uk/pubs/robinhoodcastlemorton
Turn left here (on the A4104) to return to Ledbury via a shorter route, (roughly 25km/15 mile round trip) though the road does get significantly steeper passing through Little Malvern. Continue Straight on to stay on this route.
A duck pond with... ducks! And geese. Turn Right and Immediate Left. (Straight on.)
Not stayed here, but it looks like quite a good campsite.
Almost halfway. Turn Left towards Great Malvern.
Take you pick of roads up to Wells Road - some are shadier than others. Just keep going uphill and you can't get too lost. If you're into visiting quaint old railway stations, go up Avenue Road, (second exit) and keep your eye out for signs to the station. Otherwise, take the third exit up Barnards Green Road.
Stop for a slurp of refreshing Malvern Spring water under the oak at the top of the steps.
Traffic parked along the east side of the road means you'll probably hold up a few cars. It's only here that I've ever had any abuse from passing motorists - and I'd say I was a considerate cyclist. Turn Left along the A449.
Caution: Oncoming traffic around the blind bend. There's a hatch-out area in the middle of the road to pause on for the right turn up Wyche Road.
Great views to the east if it's not too hazy.
Mr Whippy ice cream van here most weekends during summer. Resist the temptation and wait for 'The Kettle Sings' cafe just along the road...
Good view out to the west from a grassy knoll. Start down Chase Road, then bear immediate Left onto Jubilee Drive.
This is the roughest stretch of road along the route. Maybe for the Queen's next jubilee they'll resurface it! Still, there's a 6 inch wide strip running along the middle of the road that won't rattle your backside too much!
OK, if you stopped for an ice cream, too bad. You really have to stop at The Kettle Sings - the must-stop-cafe of the Malvern Hills. Illy Coffee, a good range of cakes, cyclist and walker friendly - especially if you leave your dirty shoes outside. Indoor and outdoor tables, with great views of rolling Herefordshire country side.
Another refreshing Malvern Spring.
Malvern Hills Hotel & Restaurants: [www.malvernhillshotel.co.uk]. Another ice cream stand; 'Just Rachel' traditionally made, award winning ice cream: [www.justrachel.com] If you stop here as well, welcome to gastrobiking 'Olde England' style. (For doing it in laid-back, Anglo-French style, in the Vercour region of France, visit our friends at www.gastrobiking.com)
Iron Age Fort site beyond the carpark opposite, (allow about an hour to walk around the entire site). Turn Right onto the A449.
The only other place on this route you might feel a bit vulnerable regarding traffic. Not had any problem with angry motorists though.
Now clear of the bends and close in traffic. Start to open the taps for the fastest hill on the route...if you didn't stop for icecream!
Start Braking! If you miss the turn, no worries, there's another pub, (The Wellington Inn) to take a well earned break in, 200m further on the A449, on left.
Continue along the A449 if you're in a hurry to get back to Ledbury, (it's a reasonably safe A road from here to Ledbury). Otherwise turn right, towards Colwall, turn to go along the quieter lanes.
Mind the gravel on this intersection. Turn Left and go under the railway bridge.
More gravel. Turn Left.
Turn left towards Ledbury.
No Boulangerie, No Wine, No Beer, No Food. What kind of France is this! Continue straight on.
Turn right here to go past Ledbury Tesco if you need such a visit, or continue straight on to go directly to another café or pub in Ledbury high street.
A short fast descent. Ignore Google Maps depiction of the railway line - it runs in a tunnel.
Continue straight over Cut Throat Lane. Caution: Cut Throat Lane has right of way.
Loose gravel on this bend.
More loose gravel. Turn right onto the A449 to Ledbury.
There's a hard-to-see pot hole due to a sunken water supply stop cock - somewhere around here +/- 50m and 1m from the kerb.
"The Feathers" garden bar. A good afternoon-sun-trap with plenty of wall space to lean bikes on. Or maybe try the Horseshoe Inn a bit further up the road...
The Horseshoe Inn. Limited places to chain bikes to out the front, but it has a sunny secluded garden bar up the back.
Welcome to Bikely, take a step by step tour of this path:
Press Start Tour - then use the navigation buttons below to move along the path.
Tagged with: Recreational, Training, Onroad, Smooth, Intermediate, Low traffic, Safe, Urban, Rural, Scenic, Touring
