Malvern (Worcestershire, UK)

Malvern (Worcestershire, England) was my home town. After a period of staying away I've now found a great bunch of friends there and still visit the old haunt regularly, especially when cool gigs are happening. Worcester, Cheltenham, Hereford and Birmingham are all easily drivable and I've even been as far afield as Banbury when a Strawbs gig was on there.

Cool places to visit

The coolest café in town is St Ann's Well (right) - and not just because it's run by good friends of mine! You will find this a short walk up the hills, directly above Great Malvern town centre. From Belle Vue Terrace, you can either head up the 99 steps or take the gentler and more scenic climb through the Rose Bank Gardens. At the top, turn right for a few yards, cross over the road and follow the signed pathway up the hill. You can either take the metalled way or zig-zag up the adjoining footpath if, like me, you prefer the easier climb. It's open daily from Easter to September, weekends only in the winter. The highlight of a marvellously extensive selection is their cakes, and I can definitely recommend the sticky toffee pudding, served hot with syrup and cream. But don't ask for it 'à la Luttrell' unless you like the idea of a Mars bar in the mix too! :)

Cool bands hosted here...

I took several sets of photos of Spiralize, whose colourful performances combined flowing energy with wonderfully sesnuous singing and playing. A great friendly bunch too! They're, sadly, no more, so I keep the pages as a tribute and so others can enjoy seeing how they were.

I also run the official website of Malvern band Headhunters (right), an incredible dance sound on authentic instruments. Includes photos of a great night headlining the Avalon stage at Glasters! Related band Suns of Arqa also have many connections with Malvern.

Malvern gig photos

It has been a privilege to have taken photos of a handful of Malvern gigs:

Brazilian celtic rockers Ashtar headlined the first ever rock gig on the Priory Park bandstand on 27/5/05 (right) after I had recommended them to organisers Floating Lotus. Mother earth blessed us with weather we could not have dreamed of - the hottest May day since 1953 - and a great time was had by all.
Ashtar returned to play a great gig at Malvern Youth Centre on 29/7/06.
Kington band Mermaid Kiss were well receieved at the Great Malvern ("Con") Club on 24/4/04.
Sprialize played a great gig at the Grove in May 1999.

Other bands from Malvern

Flatworld are a lively Malvern folk band who play songs that combine French and East European styles.
The Celluloid Band continue to push musical boundaries with their own unique sound.

Railway signals

I have now added a page of Malvern Wells signal photos to the Railway Signalling section of this site.

My grandfather was the stationmaster at Malvern Wells for a number of years including the whole of World War II. The station there closed in the Beeching rationalisation of the 1960s, as the other two stations at Malvern Link and Great Malvern are better placed to serve most of the town. But the signal box still remains at Malvern Wells because this is where the double-track line from Worcester singles before going through the Colwall and Ledbury tunnels.

The railway line runs alongside the Wells Common on its approach to Malvern Wells from Great Malvern. This is another very pleasant place to go for an afternoon or evening stroll, though the side of the railway line is now pretty overgrown compared to how it was when I was a kid.

Nearby Worcester now has one of the best remaining collections of lower-quadrant signals too.

Other Malvern sites

Floating Lotus organise gigs and other events in Malvern.

Malvern Fringe also organise cool entertainment in and around the town.

Hills Arts has a great listing of all kinds of arts in the Malvern area, particularly music, song, dance and healing.

West Malvern Session is a site devoted to the folk sessions held in West Malvern Village Hall.

Malvern Theatres run the Winter Gardens, theatre, cinema and arts complex in the town.

Two excellent music venues in nearby Worcester are Huntingdon Hall - a converted church that has retained almost all of its original decor - and The Marrs Bar, which caters for local and alternative bands.

For those like me that love plants and flowers, the Royal Horticultural Society runs annual Spring and Autumn Gardening Shows at the Three Counties Showground near Malvern. I had a good day at the spring show 2002, managed to get one of my favourite candelabra Primulas.
A local organisation that hosts Malvern sites is malvern-net.com.
This is Malvern is a useful compendium of news, events and services in Malvern. It's run by Newsquest Media Group, who also publish Malvern's local (weekly) newspaper, the Malvern Gazette.
I have now handed over the Malvern Museum website to others with more time to do it full justice.
An interesting independent page is maintained by the Knowhere Guide.
Relevant local authority sites are the Malvern Hills District Council, Worcestershire County Council and Herefordshire Council. Other useful sites are