- Bacchus Beginnings -
Saturday 4th June 2022 falls within the specially-extended four day Bank Holiday weekend arranged to mark Her Majesty's unparalleled longevity, and the full Foundation are therefore summoned to meet at Birmingham New Street circa 10:40am. We hit a glitch almost straight away when it transpires that our intended 10:50 Hereford connection has been cancelled, meaning we've a spare hour in Brum at our disposal. We put this to good use by visiting the Bacchus, a Nicholson's establishment hidden away deep below the Burlington Hotel. It's a mindbogglingly spectacular setting for a cheeky morning half, taking in a mishmash of world history from Egyptian friezes to medieval tapestries and even a headless suit of armour!
- The Festival Theatre -
The 11:50 train thankfully is running and proves unsurprisingly well populated with rugby and racing fans heading for Worcester. We stay aboard to Great Malvern where I've long been an admirer of the station's architecture but much of the ornate detail is screened from view by unsightly hoardings pending canopy restoration works. A steady if steep stroll into the town centre yields sightings of Malvern Council House and the Festival Theatre, the latter having been historically noted for its George Bernard Shaw productions. Walk leader Nick plots a route through Priory Park and then up Church Street, pointing out the Victorian bandstand plus a couple of bridges spanning the ornamental lake.
- Getting into the party spirit -
Indeed, Nick is very much at home amongst the town's spa-related opulence and has fond memories of walking the Malvern Hills and frequenting the area's pubs. One hostelry he hasn't previously visited is Weavers of Malvern, a newly-launched micropub based in a former hiking store. Instead of selling mountaineering attire, the unit now purveys fine ales and we appear to have gatecrashed their jubilee festivities. It is only right and proper then that we don plastic hats and wave miniature union flags whilst partaking of the free buffet. Nick and Ken seem particularly partial to patriotic cheese and pineapple chunks whereas Stephen is more reticent, mainly concerning himself with handfuls of ham sandwiches. I should of course mention the beer, in which case my Hop Shed Corgi lives up to its platinum pale billing - very good!
- Elgar looks on -
Continuing up Church Street, we reach the main A449 Bellevue Terrace from whence Edward Elgar's statue gazes appreciatively across the surroundings - the renowned composer drew much inspiration from the Malvern Hills and wider Worcestershire. The Unicorn meanwhile is said to be one of Great Malvern's oldest buildings but has perhaps a penchant for rock music these days, demonstrated when one of the regulars asks Alexa to play a Led Zeppelin track. Across the road, the Foley Arms Hotel has long been a Malvern mainstay with its refined Georgian coaching inn appearance and is named after a prominent local landowner. It is nowadays part of the Wetherspoons empire which means Stephen gets his gammon wishes granted while Nick shocks us all by eschewing beer in favour of refillable coffee, the horror!
- A Royal Presence at Malvern Link? -
Mr B Senior is almost aghast at such behaviour so Nick has to redeem himself as we proceed down the hill towards Malvern Link. Our resident royal has earmarked the Nags Head on Bank Street as one of his esteemed GBG-listed favourites but the place is absolutely heaving with a beer festival in full swing - even despite the promise of an Oasis covers band it's too busy for us to consider stopping if we won't have anywhere to sit. Ever resourceful, we rejoin the A449 and flank part of Link Common, passing the Malvern Community Hospital and a fire station. Nick's navigation skills get us safely to Malvern Link where he bestows the metallic village sign with his seal of approval on account of its reference to Morgan automotive heritage.
- Beaming in the Bakery -
A final couple of Malvern Link watering holes should conclude matters nicely and both of our selections could be classed as proper no-nonsense boozers. The Gloster Arms is a good find, tucked away in the Merton Road backstreets where we watch some of the Hungary v England Nations League football; naturally Stephen's sporting thoughts are concentrating more on test match happenings at Lords. A restorative Wye Valley HPA awaits once we get past a yapping welcoming committee, then we finish off at the Bakery Inn on Worcester Road where Mr B Senior declares our Wolves allegiances when chatting to someone in the toilets. Luckily the regulars themselves approve of Molineux's finest so we can claim our halves of Banks's Amber without fear of reprisals. This pub seems particularly lively with a whole host of characters getting stuck into their Saturday sessions, everyone thoroughly enjoying life.
- Malvern Link Station Sign -
Keeping a close eye on both the time and the cricket score, we take our Bakery leave by 6pm and relocate to Malvern Link railway station. Facilities here have improved greatly since I first took pictures of the site, hence the previously shed-like 1960s waiting rooms have been replaced by modern platform buildings done out in GWR period style complete with sawtooth canopies. The 18:13 train behaves itself for our homeward connection and we are even 'treated' to a Wolves singalong when some slightly sozzled racegoers board at Worcester. Overall consensus is that we certainly did the occasion justice with our platinum pubcrawl, leaving just the closing remarks of saying thank you to Her Majesty for her unstinting service.
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