Malvern Pub Explorations

Here's the plan:
Explore the pubs along the Cotswold Line, from Great Malvern, back to Oxford.
Yep, I noticed Hereford, Ledbury and Colwall also exist on this line.  But, for logistical reasons, I'm starting at Great Malvern and perhaps will get to the Hereford end of the line later.
Doing things in the right order has never been a strong-point.

So, without further ado, first stop: the luxurious spa town of Great Malvern.

Consulting the Good Beer Guide, I wanted to head just outside of Malvern's bustling, hilly centre for the first of today's planned pubs. 

Upper Wyche lies just to the south of the town, clinging on to the slopes of the Malvern Hills.

For a fine bit of exercise before the first pint of the day, we walked up past St Anne's Well and out of the trees onto the tops of the hills.
Up here is Worcestershire's highest point, from which the views were glorious...

Coming down a less walked path through the trees we emerged into Wyche Quarry.  More by luck than judgement, we'd found ourselves on the road within touching distance of the pub, ten minutes before opening time.

Wyche Inn (Wyche Road, WR14 4EQ - web)

It was great to see the door open early.

We were the first customers of the day, making our pick from the four cask ales on the bar, then taking our drinks out into the small terrace to the side.
This is the counties highest pub and, despite having a pretty busy road in the way, there were still some fantastic views from our table, looking over toward the Cotswolds.

I picked the beer I hadn't heard of: Parkway Brewing Company 'Who's a Cheeky Monkey', which was an easy-going pale ale - thoroughly enjoyable, an ideal pint for lunchtime al-fresco drinking.

Leaving the Wyche Inn, we walked back along the road, before using Google maps to guide us through side streets, past the expansive Malvern School and under the railway line.

Somewhere in these quiet residential streets was our next pub...

The Morgan (52 Clarence Road, Malvern, WR14 3EQ - web)

This is a Wye Valley Brewery pub, with a choice of HPA, Butty Bach or Bitter on the bar.  The Bitter for me, please - another great pint in top condition.
Most customers had gravitated to tables on the patio, leaving loads of space inside.

The Morgan gets extra points for having their own glasses...

Great value food in the Morgan, as well.  We were fantastically fed with a good plate of food for under a tenner which set us up for the rest of the day.  A lovely pub, with a bit of character, good Wye Valley ales and friendly staff.

We walked back into the centre of Malvern, where a little earlier we'd seen a banner advertising 'Tap Room Open'.  Ever curious, advertisements such as that necessitate investigation.

The Old Con Club (4 Church Street, Malvern - fb)

The venue used to be called Malvern Radio and has been spruced up over the past few months, given a new name, and new beers from the local Friday Beer Company.
The larger back room looked every bit the kind of venue you'd find a beer festival in - a local hall with seating on big round tables.  But, as yet, with no decorations or anything to give it any character or individuality.

The two beers on tap were by the breweries 'sister brand' Three Scientists, with the 'Hop Picker' English IPA being our choice. They also had their own bottled beers for sale, plus street food in the courtyard.
I'd have liked to have seen a fresh cask ale on offer, but then I'm a fussy bugger and never happy.

Just up the road was the opportunity to fill the water bottle from the Malvern Spring.
Dr John Wall wrote a pamphlet on the benefits of Malvern waters, and by 1763 he'd extended this to reach 163 pages.
I possibly needed more than the one bottle to notice the positive effects.

We were all set to visit the Beer Guide listed Malvern Hotel.  I'd even made the effort to not be too scruffy today, especially for them.  All to no avail, as they had a notice pinned to the door informing that they'd re-open mid-September.

So we walked on down the road, a 15-minute trek to the final pub on our list...

The Nags Head (19-21 Bank Street, Malvern, WR14 2JG - web)

Here's a pub that was stubbornly difficult to photograph...

It really shouldn't be, as it sits in a wonderful location at the beginning of the street, with the hills behind it.

There was strictly no service at the bar - I found myself ushered away for daring to dawdle trying to look at the pump clips.  A battalion of young staff whisked around the place taking orders at tables.

Look, I managed to make a bad job of photographing the interior as well...

The two gents sitting opposite grabbed my attention - "help us out, we're trying to think of the name of a famous Aussie criminal who was distantly related to my gran", one of them said.
Ned Kelly? I suggested from my encyclopedic knowledge of 1 Australian law-breaker.
"That's the one! You should be on Countdown!" 

Erm, I'm not sure that's the kind of thing which would help you on Countdown, but I think it was a compliment.

The Nags Head had a great drink selection, with a hefty number of hand pumps, real cider and craft keg lines too.  I can't remember what I picked, but whatever it was it was good.
The pub looked great too - with multiple areas and lots of character.

Checking out train times and drinking-up, it was a short and pleasant walk across Link Common to get from the pub to Malvern Link station.

Next stop: Worcester.