Worcestershire Beacon

Infobox Mountain
Name = Worcestershire Beacon
Photo = Worcestershire_Beacon.jpg
Caption = Toposcope on Worcestershire Beacon, with North Hill beyond
Elevation = 425 m (1,395 ft)
Location = Malvern Hills, England
Range =
Prominence = "c." 337 m
Parent peak = Great Rhos
Coordinates =
Topographic
OS "Landranger" 150
Type =
Age =
Easiest route =
Grid_ref_UK = SO768452
Listing = Marilyn, County Top

Worcestershire Beacon, also popularly known as Worcester Beacon, is a hill whose summit is the highest point of the Malvern Hills. The Malvern Hill range runs some 13 kilometres north-south along the Herefordshire-Worcestershire border, although Worcestershire Beacon itself lies entirely within Worcestershire.

The hill itself appears to mark the northern terminal of the ancient shire ditch and was used for at least two bronze age burials. The 'ditch' seems to have linked Midsummer Hillfort via the Herefordshire Beacon.

The hill lies within the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is managed by the Malvern Hills Conservators under the five Acts of Parliament of 1884, 1909, 1924, 1930, and 1995. Their aim is to preserve the characteristic landscape of the area and to protect it from encroachments.

On the summit is a viewfinder or toposcope, identifying the hills to be seen on a clear day; it was erected in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. The views are very extensive, including to The Wrekin and past Birmingham to Cannock Chase, as well as much of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, the Welsh borders, the Shropshire Hills and across the valleys of the Severn and Avon to the Cotswolds.

The hill is a very popular walk and has a dense network of footpaths criss-crossing it.

The name beacon comes from the use of the hill as a signalling beacon. Even in recent years it has been used for this purpose on special occasions such as the "millennium night" of December 31, 1999 when a large fire was lit for a public celebration. This was part of a national network of hill top beacons.

External links

* Computer generated summit panoramas [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas/ENG/malvern.gifWorcestershire Beacon] [http://www.viewfinderpanoramas.org/panoramas.html Index]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/features/360/malverns_06.shtml Panoramic view from BBC Hereford and Worcester]