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Evesham to Pershore via Dumbleton and Bredon Hills Walk

Through the Vale of Evesham and over Cotswold Outliers with grand views of the Cotswolds and Malvern Hills

Long Tough Worcestershire

History

Club walks since April 2015, and a summary which goes back to Jan 2010.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sat, 06-Sep-25 Pershore to Evesham via Bredon and Dumbledon Hills (i.e. the original walk in reverse) [Malverns Trip] 15 warm and largely sunny day
Sat, 07-Aug-21 Vale of Evesham, Dumbleton and Bredon Hills, Cotswolds and Malvern Hills Views: Evesham to Pershore 3 largely sunny or cloudy with short periods of drizzle
Fri, 19-Jul-19 a Through the Vale of Evesham and up Bredon Hill with grand views of the Cotswolds and Malvern Hills: Sedgeberrow to Pershore 21 dry to mid afternoon then very wet
Thomas G
Length : up to 34.3 km (21.3 mi) [much shorter versions possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent : 532/529m
Net Walking Time: ca. 8 hours
Toughness : 8 out of 10
Take the 08.50 Paddington train (via Malvern Link and Worcester Stations), arrives Pershore 09.24.
[The 07.51 from Paddington gets in at 09.44.]
Return trains from Evesham: xx.38 plus-minus a couple of minutes, until 21.40.
This is the blurb for the walk in the other direction:

“This long walk between two elegant Worcestershire market towns on the banks of the Avon is set in the heart of the Vale of Evesham, famous for its market gardens and fruit growing and Cotswolds views. The towns are surrounded by stunning countryside and set in the shadow of Bredon Hill, a 5 km long outlier of the Cotswolds. The route passes through the Abbey Precinct in Evesham and follows the Avon to pick up a tributary, the Isbourne to follow it through the Vale of Evesham to Sedgeberrow.

You walk through pastures to Dumbleton and rise through a beautiful clump of minor hills past Dumbleton Hall, a large Country Estate and descend through woods back into the valley, heading for the impressive Bredon Hill, a 5 km long range rising above the lunch destination, Ashton under Hill.

The post-lunch ascent is of the tiered kind, revealing ever further views south along the Cotswold Escarpment down the Vale of Gloucester. On a clear day, you’ll see the Black Mountains in the Brecon Beacons and eventually, from the Iron Age hillfort site at the top of Bredon Hill, the imposing Malvern Hills range 20 km to the west. Descend through woods and pastures, pick up the Avon for a short stretch and reach Pershore, also graced with an abbey. The station though is some way beyond the far end of town.”

Walk Options :
A very short walk ends at Elmley Castle ’s pub and you can take a bus (Lines 564/565) back to Pershore (at 14.36). Should you have missed the bus, an agreeable walk route to Evesham is shown on the route map.
A Shortcut from Ashton-under-Hill to Sedgeberrow cuts 5.7 km/3.5 mi and about 100m ascent.
Bus 540 to Evesham from Ashton under Hill (14.22, 16.17, 17.17, 18.17, 19.17) or Sedgeberrow (15.08, 16.28, 17.28, 18.28, 19.28).
Lunch: The Star Inn in Ashton-under-Hill (17.2 km/10.6 mi, food served to 15.00).
Tea: Plentiful options in Pershore, Elmley Castle and Evesham. Check the webpage or the pdf for details.
For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here .
  • Joe
    Aug-25

    Anyone want to do a day trip from London to join the walk on 6 September (Saturday) from Pershore to Evesham?

  • HL
    Sep-25

    The 8.50 train is showing as cancelled on Trainline and GWR website!

  • Thomas G
    Sep-25

    Yes. Starts from Worcester due to 'staff shortages'. Next one: 9.59

  • Thomas G
    Sep-25

    Or take the 9.12 to Worcester and have a wee nosey for 40 mins

  • Thomas G
    Sep-25

    Well, well, well.

    So the train out was cancelled, and we took the next Birmingham train to Worcester to have a sightseeing 35 minutes (Cathedral, Guildhall, the Severn River, the pedestrianised main street) and got back on the next train to Pershore, where we met the walkers that had always planned a short walk.

    Of the 15 of yesterday we lost the 2 local friends of SWCees, but gained 2 late arrivals, so again 15 on a warm and largely sunny day .

    We quickly split into a main group of 11, with 2 others walking at their own, slower pace and 2 walking some self concocted version of the walk (neither of which the 11 saw again).

    A diversion was needed in the Avon Meadows due to a rotten boardwalk, and then - upon prompting of a proper SWC stalwart - we went into Pershore Abbey, which was rather brilliant.

    We were intrigued by sheep nibbling on what looked like cabbage, had a break in Great Comberton for food, drink, stretches and Tai Chi, then ascended the one big climb of the day onto Bredon Hill, where we had brilliant views, out to Sugarloaf and the Beacons, Birmingham's skyline, and the Severn Plain in-between.

    We got to the Star Inn minutes after the kitchen had closed, so nuts and crisps were had all round.

    Some punters had set out to finish here and take the bus, but the walk poster's call for 'walkers' to get ready to move on, and 'tourists' to stay, encouraged them to also walk on. No one wants to be a 'tourist', it seems...

    We then had a forageing extravaganza along a lane with apple, pear, plum, sloe and dansom trees with berries as well. And then the leader spotted a sheep in distress, which had entangled 2 of her legs in a wire fence, in a way that didn't look easy to resolve.

    The SWC A&E team sprung into action and (I spare you the details) half an hour later the sheep was freed and limping away.

    Onwards and upwards the Dumbledon Hills, which is a rather lovely stretch. The churchyard has the grave of Patrick Leigh Fermor and the front group then landed into the tail end of the village fete in Dumbleton where we snaffled the last of the cake (we were ravenous by then).

    On to Sedgeberrow for the 18.28 bus. 26 km of the walk for this group, plus 3 to 4 km in Worcester. A rather full day for most.

    Dinner at Casa on Evesham's main street. On the 21.40 back to Malvern.

    Seen: loads of pheasants and some partridges, highland cows, buzzards

  • Thomas G
    Sep-25

    Addendum/correction: the Worcester dweller got the posted train, as that's where it started from, not knowing no one else was on it, started alone, was caught by the group on the far fringe side Pershore and then did the whole route, all 34 km of it. 21.40 train for her and about half the group, the others taking the last train home, at 22.40. Longest group dinner ever?

  • Sandy
    Sep-25

    In fact, the four who had already been left behind by the group before the meadows stuck together all day - there was no concocting of alternatives. Admittedly we didn’t follow the route through Pershore religiously and progress was slow - and we stopped for two to buy lunch at an excellent-looking bakery.

    Some were very tired after yesterday and we stopped for picnic lunch less than half way up Bredon Hill at about 1.30. We got to Ashton 10 minutes before the 1617 bus. Two found a beer festival at the Red Lion in Evesham, the others back to Malvern for home cooked dinner.

Thomas G
Length: 34.4 km (21.4 mi) [shorter versions possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 589/592m; Net Walking Time: ca. 8 hours
Toughness: 8 out of 10
Take the 08.50 Great Malvern train from Paddington (Slough 09.05, Reading 09.20), arrives Evesham 10.36.
Return trains from Pershore: 17.31, 18.18, 19.31, 20.27, 21.27.
“This long walk between two elegant Worcestershire market towns on the banks of the Avon is set in the heart of the Vale of Evesham, famous for its market gardens and fruit growing and Cotswolds views. The towns are surrounded by stunning countryside and set in the shadow of Bredon Hill, a 5 km long outlier of the Cotswolds. The route passes through the Abbey Precinct in Evesham and follows the Avon to pick up a tributary, the Isbourne to follow it through the Vale of Evesham to Sedgeberrow.
You walk through pastures to Dumbleton and rise through a beautiful clump of minor hills past Dumbleton Hall, a large Country Estate and descend through woods back into the valley, heading for the impressive Bredon Hill, a 5 km long range rising above the lunch destination, Ashton under Hill.
The post-lunch ascent is of the tiered kind, revealing ever further views south along the Cotswold Escarpment down the Vale of Gloucester. On a clear day, you’ll see the Black Mountains in the Brecon Beacons and eventually, from the Iron Age hillfort site at the top of Bredon Hill, the imposing Malvern Hills range 20 km to the west. Descend through woods and pastures, pick up the Avon for a short stretch and reach Pershore, also graced with an abbey. The station though is some way beyond the far end of town.

Various options to shorten the walk – either by bus, by a shortcut or an alternative ending or a combination of those – are described.”

Walk Options:

Start the walk directions with or w/o a brief tour through Evesham’s very pleasant town centre and take the 540 Bus to Sedgeberrow at 10.48 from the bus station or at 10.49 from the Police Station a little further along.
Bus 540 from Evesham (hourly from Bus Station or Leisure Centre/Avon Bridge) also continues to Ashton under Hill, the lunch destination. So, you could have a leisurely stroll through Evesham, follow the walk route to the Avon Bridge and take the bus from there.
A Shortcut from Sedgeberrow to Ashton-under-Hill cuts 5.7 km/3.5 mi and 111m ascent.
An Alternative Ending at Elmley Castle’s pub and then a bus (Lines 564/565) from there to Pershore or Evesham cuts 8.4 km/5.2 mi and 72m ascent (Mon-Sat; last to Pershore at 15.05, to Evesham at 16.14). Should you have missed the last bus, an agreeable walk route to Evesham is shown on the route map.
There are also several bus lines from the centre of Pershore to the outlying train station (cuts 3.2 km; last at 17.50).
Lunch: The Star Inn in Ashton-under-Hill (17.1 km/10.6 mi, food served to 15.00).
Tea: Plentyful options in Pershore, Elmley Castle and Evesham. Check the webpage or the pdf for details.
For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here.
  • Thomas G
    Aug-21

    A busy extra-long train, ferrying punters to the Wilderness Festival in Charlbury, also had 3 SWC folk on it. All opted for walking the stretch to Sedgeberrow, rather than taking the bus, while keeping the shortcut option open. The forecast had kind of improved over night, so we had some hope of largely agreeable weather. Upon entering the Abbey precinct in Evesham we encountered a mob of hundreds by the Memorial to Simon de Montford,and plenty of riders, knights and peasants in medieval garb. Turned out a Medieval Festival was on, incl. a later reenactment of the Battle of Evesham, where our man de Montfort was slayn.

    Pictures taken, booklet bought, on we marched. When the shortcut turnoff came along in Sedgeberrow, all of us decided to walk the real scenic bits, the hills, and then opt for the alt. ending in Elmley Castle.

    So, there was enough time to wait out the two short rain showers of the day under mature trees and for a proper pub lunch. The day had started largely sunny,then it mostly cloudy with some breaks, but it also included some drizzle, and those two showers. Not, thankfully, when we were atop Bredon Hill, so we did get those Malvern Hills views,

    Finding an available taxi from the brilliant pub in Elmley Castle back to Evesham was hard work, but we were able to catch the 19.39 with seconds to spare.

    We saw a muntjac and a rainbow, and the weather was largely sunny or cloudy with short periods of drizzle

Thomas G
Length: 28.3 km (17.6 mi) [shorter and longer versions possible, see below]
Ascent/Descent: 530/532m; Net Walking Time: ca. 6 ½ hours
Toughness: 8 out of 10
Take the 09.21 Worcester Foregate Street train from Paddington (Slough 09.37, Reading 09.52), arrives Evesham 11.12. Then start the walk directions with a tour through Evesham’s very pleasant town centre and take the 540 Bus to Sedgeberrow at 11.49 from the bridge over the Avon. If the train is running late, skip the tour through Evesham and take the bus from the town centre at 11.48.
For details of where the bus stops are, follow the walk directions.
Return trains from Pershore: 17.47, 18.59, 20.16, 21.16.
Or stay in the area for Saturday’s and/or Sunday’s walks. Convenient accommodation is available along the train line in Evesham, Pershore, Worcester, Great Malvern, Colwall, Ledbury and Hereford. Train ticket costs to all those destinations from Pershore are fixed and below £10.00.
“This long walk between two elegant Worcestershire market towns on the banks of the Avon is set in the heart of the Vale of Evesham, famous for its market gardens and fruit growing and Cotswolds views. The towns are surrounded by stunning countryside and set in the shadow of Bredon Hill, a 5 km long outlier of the Cotswolds. The route passes through the Abbey Precinct in Evesham and follows the Avon to pick up a tributary, the Isbourne to follow it through the Vale of Evesham to Sedgeberrow.
You walk through pastures to Dumbleton and rise through a beautiful clump of minor hills past Dumbleton Hall, a large Country Estate and descend through woods back into the valley, heading for the impressive Bredon Hill, a 5 km long range rising above the lunch destination, Ashton under Hill.
The post-lunch ascent is of the tiered kind, revealing ever further views south along the Cotswold Escarpment down the Vale of Gloucester. On a clear day, you’ll see the Black Mountains in the Brecon Beacons and eventually, from the Iron Age hillfort site at the top of Bredon Hill, the imposing Malvern Hills range 20 km to the west. Descend through woods and pastures, pick up the Avon for a short stretch and reach Pershore, also graced with an abbey. The station though is some way beyond the far end of town.
Various options to shorten the walk – either by bus, by a shortcut or an alternative ending or a combination of those – are described.”
Walk Options:
Bus 540 from Evesham (Bus Station or Leisure Centre/Avon Bridge) to Sedgeberrow also continues to Ashton under Hill, the lunch destination.
A Shortcut from Sedgeberrow to Ashton-under-Hill cuts 5.7 km/3.5 mi and 111m ascent.
An Alternative Ending at Elmley Castle’s pub and then a bus (Lines 564/565) from there to Pershore or Evesham cuts 8.4 km/5.2 mi and 72m ascent (Mon-Sat; last to Pershore at 15.05, to Evesham at 16.14). Should you have missed the last bus, an agreeable walk route to Evesham is shown on the route map.
There are also several bus lines from the centre of Pershore to the outlying train station (cuts 3.2 km/2.0 mi; last at 17.50).
For a longer Walk , walk the full walk from Evesham w/o the bus to Sedgeberrow, but take an earlier train to get to the pub on time…
Lunch: The Star Inn in Ashton-under-Hill (11.4 km/7.1 mi, food served to 15.00).
Tea: Plentyful options in Pershore, Elmley Castle and Evesham. Check the webpage or the pdf for details.
For walk directions, map, height profile , photos and gpx/kml files click here.
  • PeteG
    May-19

    An alternative accommodation site....

    https://www.visitthemalverns.org/accommodation/the-abbey/

    https://www.visitthemalverns.org/accommodation/grassendale-house/

  • Chris L
    Jun-19

    I imagine that those doing the full weekend of walks will be staying in various places in the Malvern area. Could we identify where we'll be staying to see whether it's practical to meet for an evening meal on the Friday or Saturday evenings? Lindsey and I will be in a B&B in Malvern Link, within reach of Great Malvern.

  • Thomas G
    Jun-19

    Fair comment. Difficult to book something up before we know how many people turn up though. Am staying in Great Malvern myself and there are a good variety of establishments available for a group meal and/or drink in the heart of Gt. M., at the end of the walk route (but 10 mins from the station down the hill), from a gigantic Wetherspoon or The Mount Pleasant Hotel to a couple of small pubs, a wine/cider dealer/bar and some restaurants (incl. a large ASK Italian). Although the best beer pub is near the station...

  • Walker
    Jun-19

    I am staying in Great Malvern, though I won’t be on the Friday walk due to other commitments. I hope to join the group for dinner, though.

  • Thomas G
    Jul-19

    Due to a change of plan for one walker, a cheap Advance ticket for the 09.21 train is available (£15.00). You would have to get a return ticket for the evening yourself (£27.70 with Railcard). If interested, send an email to me (if you have my address) or to saturdaywalkersatyahoodotcodotuk

  • Thomas G
    Jul-19

    Due to a change of plan for one walker, a couple of cheap Advance tickets for the 19.12 return train on Sunday are available (£20.00 for two). They are only valid though with a Two Together-Card and for two people travelling together! If interested, send an email to me (if you have my address) or to saturdaywalkersatyahoodotcodotuk

  • Thomas G
    Jul-19

    2 took the 8.21, 3 had driven up the day before, 14 off the 9.21, 2 off the 10.21. The 2 early starter and 1 of the car drivers walked the full Monty, 34km walk, the rest took the bus to Sedgeberrow as posted after the initial walk through Evesham. The late starters walked at length through Evesham and took the second bus all the way to the lunch pub. 5 of the Sedgeberrow buses walked the shortcut and were never seen again. 1 of us had come up just for the day, all others are staying on.

    There had been a long heavy downpour while we were still on the train (but which hit the early starters) then it stayed dry to about 4, which meant fine views to The Cotswolds and surrounding smaller hills and into the Vale.

    Then the heavens opened and never really shut (it's still raining as I write this). So, no Malvern views. One diversion was needed early on due to an unspotable path through a rape oilseed field, else it was mostly good walking.

    The majority of my subgroup then raced through Pershore along the main road to catch the 19.22 to Malvern, only the walk author and one of the car drivers followed the route as prescribed through the Avon Meadows (and then new housing estates).

    21 dry to mid afternoon then very wet