On an earlier visit to The 3 Counties Show we had driven through Malvern and thought that it would be a nice place to visit so we combined a trip to Slimbridge with a night in Malvern at The Abbey Hotel.
After a light breakfast at Gloucester Services and a slight detour courtesy of the satnav we arrived at Slimbridge mid-morning. This was our second visit and it didn't disappoint, particular highlights being a kingfisher, cranes, otters and a pelican. I have set up a new Slimbridge Gallery.
Mid-afternoon we set off for Malvern and booked into The Abbey Hotel which turned out to be right in the centre of the town. The very helpful hotel receptionist provided us with a map of the town and also recommended the local Wetherspoons (for the view from the terrace, not the cheap drinks!). He wasn't wrong - the sun was out and the view was excellent so we stayed a little longer than we should have before returning to the hotel where we had booked into the restaurant for dinner, which was very good.
Day 2 started with a first class breakfast in the hotel restaurant. We had planned to do some walking and, by chance, I had downloaded the Malvern Walks App, free and very good. For a gentle start we did the Malvern Town walk, 1.2 miles and Easy. The app was easy to use and informative. We finished the walk with a coffee and a shared slice of carrot cake in Abbey Road Coffee, a quirky Beatles (and more specifically Abbey Road) themed coffee shop.
For a "proper" walk I selected Around Worcester Beacon, 3 Miles and Moderate according to the app - sounded ok to me. The app gave excellent directions but "moderate" actually meant that there were some steep ascents with Mrs. M did not really appreciate (especially as she hadn't packed her walking poles).
A refreshment stop at the very pleasant Swan Inn at Newland and we returned home, a successful trip
I have set up a new Slimbridge Gallery.