Start/Finish Coombe Hill car park, OS grid reference SO 852062 Total distance 9.4km (5.8 miles) Total ascent 443m (1450 feet) Total time 1-1.5 hours Maps Ordnance Survey Explorer 190: Malvern Hills and Bredon Hill. Or Garmin GB Discoverer 1:50K – Southern England & Wales (GPS) Summary Very short but still a fair amount of climbing and descending. A decent outing for a beginner or a fast blast for the more experienced. Leave the car park and go south on the road for 100m. Head straight up the steep grassy slope to the end of the ridge and straight over the other side down the zig-zags. Follow the bench-cut trail along the eastern flank of the hills to the quarry. Carry on past the quarry on obvious track then descend the steep zig-zags to the road. Turn left and follow road for 1km to Holy Well. Join bridleway, then double back left. At next junction switch back right and keep climbing to ridge – other trails join to right and left, keep heading up hill. Once on the ridge, head north over Perseverance Hill and descend to Wyche Cutting. At the road turn right to pass through the cutting itself, and then right onto obvious wide track heading south on the eastern flank of the hills. At fork bear left and descend on the trail you climbed earlier. At next fork bear right to continue traverse – if you descend to the road you’ve missed it. Climb steadily until final zig-zags take you on to the ridge at Black Hill. Turn left and descend along the ridge to return to your start point.by Matt_Skinner
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