(By Nicky Quinn)
The scene in the photograph of gridlock between Black Hill Car Park and British Camp Car Park is a problem that has become all too familiar over recent years on the Malvern Hills. Almost every Bank Holiday weekend and sometimes just a pleasant sunny Sunday is enough to find vast throngs of people descending; British Camp is always the most popular destination and is called in conservation speak, a 'honeypot' site.
A Visitor Survey undertaken in 2001 estimated that the hills receive around one and a quarter million visitors per year, and that the vast majority of these visitors arrive by car. The Conservators have over the last 5 years made efforts to encourage people to visit areas of the hills that are less used, drawing them away from overcrowded British Camp area.
Earnslaw Car Park on the Wyche Road despite comprising a large parking area and good access to some lovely walks was relatively quiet even on the busiest of days. Work went underway to promote this as a desirable spot by re-landscaping both the lower and almost totally unused upper level car parks
A new footpath with excellent access to the Worcestershire Beacon path was put in. An Easier Access Path was laid out to encourage more people of all ages and abilities to enjoy some of the lovely paths to the east of the hills. Better signage and information boards were also added. This has all worked very well and in a short space of time we have found that there has been a large increase in it's use, to the point where it is now the fourth busiest car park out of the nine the Conservators manage.
Promotion to varying degrees of other car parks has also worked well. For example there are now large signs at British Camp alerting visitors when the car park is full and indicating where they can go for other parking. This has worked well and we now see that most of the car parks are filled to capacity on our busiest days. Still though we have problems with congestion; it seems that the Hills are attracting more and more visitors and it is getting difficult to absorb so many vehicles at peak times.
The Malvern Hills Conservators policy is not to increase it's parking capacity. It is felt that the hills and their associated wildlife come under a lot of visitor pressure and to increase it further may be unsustainable. Better to encourage other types of transport to the hills. The AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) officers are very interested in encouraging visitors to explore other areas within their designation. Working in partnership with other groups, they can promote in a sustainable way walking, cycling and horse riding routes; they have put information boards at Great Malvern and Colwall rail stations to direct walkers and cyclists to points of interest; most importantly perhaps they co-ordinate the Hills Hopper bus service which is aimed at helping visitors and residents get around the AONB, minimising the impact of cars by encompassing Great Malvern and Ledbury rail stations within their 37 mile route. Bikes can also be carried on the bus for those who might feel daunted by the hills. The service is run on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays from the beginning of April until the end of October and is an excellent way to sightsee and access different parts of the hills. Why not walk one way and get the bus back?