Less than an hour from Knowle along the M42, M5 and A449, Malvern is a town forever overshadowed by the hills that tower above it and bear its name. Many who visit it are on their way up to and down from the footpaths and viewpoints of the rolling ridges above.

Its heart is the ancient and historic abbey, but from the remnants of an early coaching inn on the Hereford Road to the magnificent building used to house scientists from the nearby Malvern Hills Air Defence Research & Development Establishment (instrumental in a host of advances such as radar and liquid crystal displays), there was is much to see in the town itself.

In its heyday as a spa town, it was a magnet for the rich and famous and recollections abound. There is the Unicorn, the inn where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien gathered literary friends with regularity. In Priory Park stands a tree celebrating George Bernard Shaw and the Drama Festivals at which he premiered a number of plays in the 1930s.

Then there is the small garden in the heart of town where a statue of Sir Edward Elgar looks down beside the Enigma Fountain, recalling the inspiration he took whilst living here and taking delight in the adjacent hills. Musical inspiration is also recalled in the memorial to the soprano Jenny Lind who lived her final years at Wynd’s Point, above the town.

From the 1840s to the 1890s a host of doctors vied to subject people to torturous health farm style regimes. The ‘water cure’ was based around the properties of the pure aqua that springs around the town from the granite hills.

Those who came to take the waters included Charles Dickens, Florence Nightingale, Lord Alfred and Samuel Wilberforce, to name but a few. The cure has gone but the water remains and the discovery Trail list no less than 88 springs, wells and drinking fountains in the town and the hills above.

The Priory (pictured above, beyond the Abbey Hotel) was originally a Norman monastery, dating from 1085, but was extensively extended in the 15th century, before being rescued from demolition in Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries to become a Parish Church. Its many fascinating details are easy to miss, including those in an eclectic mix of stained glass windows and a host of remarkably well kept locally made tiles from medieval times.

Another reason for a visit to Malvern is its theatre, which stages high quality productions today as it did in times past. It a splendid and comfortable space which seems to be a ‘must include’ for the schedules of companies touring with today’s finest new plays.

A morning in town followed by a matinee is a delightful way to spend a day in the footsteps of so many giants of the past, especially if combined with a pre or post theatre visit to The Fig.