This one of the most beautiful spots in the area. It is cared for by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. In the spring time the woods are full of bluebells and there is a meadow going down to the river which during the summer is full of wild flowers including some rare orchids. I have seen kingfishers, various species of butterfly and the birdsong - if you heard it in a film you would think the special effects overdone! My family have visited this spot over the last 10 years and whatever time of year it is always beautiful. When the children were small I would describe our days there as Enid Blyton Days. Not many people go there so it is a real haven of peace and quiet

The Knapp House, Bridges Stone, Alfrick, Worcester, WR6 5HR
www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk/index.php?section=learning:schools:knapp

Google map: bit.ly/bIqEw3

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Ever enjoyed the poem 'the road not taken' by Robert Frost? This walk allows you to make that life choice in wonderful Worcestershire countryside. This is a great walk for the less agile who enjoy a gentler challenge. Take the road from Malvern south and west to Eastnor Castle. Pass by the Eastnor estate until you come to Hollybush Hill, one of the gentler hills in the Malvern range as they die back into the fields and woods at the southern end. This walk takes you up Ragged Stone Hill, on the other side of the road to Hollybush. Park in the Hollybush car park and cross or park on the other side in the layby before the path leaves the road.
The path gently climbs through a wooded belt - look out for the fly agaric and other fungi under the trees. You will come to a clear split in the 'road' - left will take you up to the top of the hill for lovely views of countryside ravishing in its colour and form at this time of the year. Carry straight on under oak and chestnut until you arrive at the small picturesque hamlet of Broad-leaved Oak: scattered cottages and houses hidden in the heart of the Malvern Hills. Walk a hundred yards to the left and then take another path to the left that skirts the bottom of the hill until you meet the original road. Take the left back to your car at the layby or the carpark at the foot of Hollybush. Paths radiate away if you want a longer ramble - go to the Gullet Quarry, Golden valley or back to the Eastnor estate to view the 19thC castle, deer park and obelisk monument that dominates thew western slopes of the hills. It's all good and never more so than in October.

The A438 from Eastnor to Tewkesbury - before the hamlet of Hollybush.
Google map: bit.ly/bqQtLR

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