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Made in the MALVERNS

Practical Caravan

July 2025

With hillwalking out after an injury, Susan Taylor still finds plenty to explore on the ground floor, adapting her plans for some gentler adventures

What can you do when the weather throws you not one, but two curveballs, the day before you are due to arrive in Malvern to enjoy a few days walking in the hills? First, it kindly sent some ice to help me get better acquainted with the pavement outside my house, resulting in a bashed knee and a hobble rather than a walk. Second, yet another storm threatened, making walking not so much fun in the wind and the rain.

Well, when you have your own home-on-wheels, you go on the break anyway, safe in the knowledge that you can rest your injured knee as much as you need and can shelter from the storm with all your home comforts.

I quickly realised walking in the hills would be out of the question for now. Instead, I decided to embrace some of the area's man-made attractions, rather than the natural ones. There are plenty to choose from.

But first things first. We decided to base ourselves at the Blackmore Camping and Caravanning Club Site, just outside the pretty village of Hanley Swan in the Worcestershire countryside, and a two-hour drive from home. Being the end of winter, the site was lovely and quiet, with architectural trees adding visual interest and a handy dog-walk around the perimeter.

Deciding a little more leg stretching was needed after our journey, we took ourselves off to Hanley Swan, which was an easy 20-minute walk from our pitch - even for me, with that bad knee to manage. Small but perfectly formed, this is a quintessentially English village, complete with duck pond, village green and dog-friendly pub serving meals.

We had brought a casserole from home, so didn't partake on this occasion, but we did book ourselves in for Sunday lunch a few days hence - which of course, necessitated sampling the beer while we were there.