The hills are alive...

  Malvern, United Kingdom
Sunday, July 15, 2007

After the chaos of London and the pedestrian congestion in Oxford, I had to escape to the countryside.  I needed a place free of man-made sounds and free of people!  My pursuit led me to what may be England's best kept secret - the Malvern Hills.

The lady next to me on the train yesterday told me all about the Hills, which rise up dramatically to a height of nearly 1400 feet.  I concede that this isn't much compared to my beloved Appalachians, but when the surrounding land is about 100 feet above sea level, it's pretty impressive!  It was quite the ascent from the train station, but you suddenly find yourself staring down at the city and staring up towards rugged hills, free of the restraints of one path that you have to share with throngs of tourists.  You could always choose between well-maintained dirt trails, small meandering dirt trails, well-maintained grass trails, or small meandering grass trails.  Or you could just make your own trail!  The views stretched out towards Wales.  And you could always remember your destination, because you could always see it thanks to the lack of trees.  Walking from apex to apex, you occasionally saw mountain bikers or local hikers with dogs freely roaming about.  I got to play with a golden retriever named Bingo for a minute.  What a place for spiritual and physical refreshment! 

The train was delayed by an hour and a half, which pretty much ruined my elated mood from my spectacular day.  People say the British rail system is usually reliable, but two of my four trains thus far have experienced major delays.  But one advantage to being late is that it's at least dark now that I want to go to bed!