Call Me Back Again

Sunday 7 January 2024

With the festivities over, and with the weather at last turning from wet and wild to cold and bright, I have been tempted back outdoors over the last few days to recover some walking fitness. My walks have included a trip to the Malverns with Rachel, and I thought I would share some of our photos. So a very Happy New Year and best wishes for 2024: let us all enjoy some excursions and exertions in our wonderful countryside as we hope for a more peaceful year in our ever-maddening world!

Those who have followed this Blog through my LETJOG Peaks adventure last spring and summer may recall that my ascent of the Worcestershire Beacon, the county’s summit, was rather wet, misty and lacking in views. The full account of my ramble in this fine area is set out in my earlier Blog ‘Purple Sky’ from 8 August 2023, in which I vowed to return to the Malverns when the conditions were right for some more impressive vistas. Well that day arrived a little sooner than I might have expected, as Great Malvern called me back again for a three-day break with Rachel to mark my early January birthday.

My earlier Blog gives a little of the area’s history as a centre for hydrotherapy, and it has been great to return so soon to explore the town centre further, and to walk in these hills again – this time with some views! Certainly today was cold and windy, but wrapped up warm we had some memorable moments, as I hope that these photos show.

Our walking day was not quite finished. Taking advantage of the clear conditions we drove the few miles to the car park on the A449 as it crosses the col over the south of the Malvern range. There we took a short stroll on the Three Choirs Way, along the crest of the ridge to Millennium Hill and up the Herefordshire Beacon for some more views.

Back at the Abbey Hotel, showered and warm, we reflected on a wonderful day in these remarkable hills, and in my case upon some unfinished business having traversed the length of the ridge last summer without being able to enjoy any views. In my summary Blog ‘Every One’s A Winner’ of 25 September last, at the conclusion of my LETJOG Peaks challenge, I included this walk within my ‘Top Ten’ notwithstanding the misty conditions that I endured. Tonight I can reaffirm this ranking; a peak, a town, and a walk, not to be missed!

The song ‘Call Me Back Again’, from which I have borrowed today’s Blog heading, is a composition credited to Paul and Linda McCartney from 1974, first released the following year on Wings’ fourth studio album ‘Venus and Mars’. Wings were formed in 1971 and were fronted by the McCartneys alongside ex-Moody Blue vocalist and guitarist Denny Laine. The band endured for a decade with this trio at its core and enjoyed considerable commercial success, culminating perhaps with their hit ‘Mull of Kintyre’ (on which Laine has a co-writing credit), that became one of the highest selling singles of all time over Christmas 1977. Laine was born in Tyseley, Birmingham around three dozen miles to the north-east of the Malvern Hills, coming to prominence with the Moody Blues through their 1964 cover of ‘Go Now’: sadly he passed away in Florida last month, aged 79, following complications after contracting covid in 2022.