From British Camp to Swinyard Hill

Dawn on Thursday saw us breaking our fast up on the Malvern Hills again, this time at the mighty iron-age hill fort named British Camp.

Just us and the ravens

It was far less cloudy than our previous walk here, a couple of weeks earlier, and with the added delight of patches of dragon's breath tracing the course of the Severn.  

Which made up for the short but brutal climb to the top of the hill, which is known as Herefordshire Beacon.

You really wouldn't want to be an invader staggering up here with arrows raining on your head. 

Luckily, we didn't have to contend with the ancient British chieftain, Caractacus, who, According to Lore, made his Last Stand there. All we had to do was admire the view, here looking south ...

... and south-west ... 

... and north-west. 

You can't move anywhere on the Malverns without there being some upping and downing. 

This is the view north from the more southerly part of the Camp. 

Looking along Shire Ditch (Red Earl's Dyke), which might date from 1287 and have something to do with a boundary dispute, or might be a prehistoric trackway, or anything really.

Then we were off southward over Millennium Hill and Hangman's Hill. (I don't know what the former prominence was called last century; maybe it didn't have a name.)

Whitethorn with mistletoe

We had a second helping of breakfast on Hangman's Hill. I had to decline the coffee ...

... while Ted had a good scratch and a roll.

Eventually we reached the fenced-off quarry on Swinyard Hill with its still misty views over to the Cotswolds.

Time to descend and head north again around the flanks of the hills.

Part of the quarry face

On the side of Hangman's Hill is Giant's Cave, also known as Clutter's Cave. 

There was still a bit of climbing to do, but we'd done the worst of it. 

The remainder of our route took us around the eastern flank of the Camp ...

... with vertiginous views showing what a prodigious feat of engineering it is.