The Worcestershire Way is a waymarked

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents excep ...

within the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, England. It runs from

Bewdley Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the River Sev ...

Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the spa town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the eastern flanks of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, and i ...

History

When launched back in 1989 the Worcestershire Way was long and ran partly into

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

. The route and its length were modified in 2004 and it now runs wholly within Worcestershire.

The route

The Worcestershire Way begins in the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

town of

. The official start/end point can be found as a finger post and information board at the side of the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

, next to Dog Lane car park. The route then runs south to

Ribbesford Ribbesford is a village and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 237. History Ribbesford was in the lower division of Doddingtree Hundred.''Worcestershire Family Histor ...

and

Heightington Heightington is a small village in Worcestershire, England. It lies a little to the south-west of Bewdley Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the Rive ...

before passing through woodland on narrow winding lanes down to

Abberley Abberley is a village and civil parish in north west Worcestershire, England. It is situated on the northern slopes of Abberley Hill, which is tall, between the River Severn and River Teme. The village had a population of 830 in 2001. Locati ...

Hill. From Abberley Hill the route goes south and up the steep Walsgrove Hill with views over the

Teme The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of ...

Valley before continuing south to Ankerdine Hill and the Suckley Hills. From the Suckely Hills the Worcestershire Way heads south-east towards the

Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit affo ...

. The route over the northern Malvern Hills is way-marked with stone direction markers which can be difficult to find. The route circles North Hill before making its final descent past St. Ann's Well and finishing in

. The official start/end point can be found as an information board opposite the Post Office on Abbey Road.

Places of interest

The Worcestershire Way passes numerous places of interest, including St Leonard's church in

Abberley Clock Tower Abberley Clock Tower is a prominent, distinctive clock tower in Abberley, Worcestershire, England. Built by James Piers St Aubyn around 1883 for Abberley Hall it is now part of Abberley Hall School. It is a Grade II* listed building In th ...

, Birchwood Common (where Sir

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

composed much of his music), the

' and St. Ann's Well.

Circular walks

Official circular walks along the Worcestershire Way include:
Ribbesford Circular Trail
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The Abberley Circular Walk
br
The Martley Circular Walk
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Walks on the Northern Malvern Hills

Connecting trails

The Way links with the

North Worcestershire Path The North Worcestershire Path is a waymarked long-distance trail within the historic county of Worcestershire in England. It runs from Bewdley to Major's Green, Birmingham. The route The North Worcestershire Path begins at the Georgian town ...

in the north — which in turn links to the Staffordshire Way. It also overlaps with the

Geopark Way The Geopark Way is a waymarked long-distance trail located within the counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, England. It runs from Bridgnorth to Gloucester. Connecting trails The Geopark Way links with th ...

at several points and meets with the Three Choirs Way at

Knightwick Knightwick is a small village and civil parish (with Doddenham) in the Malvern Hills district in the county of Worcestershire, England. History Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Knightwick Parish ceased to be responsible for maintainin ...

External links

Info from the Ramblers AssociationWorcestershire Way - LDWA Long Distance PathsOff-site Waymarked Circular WalksPhotos of the Worcestershire Way on geograph.org.ukAbberley and Malvern Hills Geopark

References

{{Transport in Worcestershire Long-distance footpaths in England Footpaths in Worcestershire County-themed walking routes in the United Kingdom