Page 45 - 2022-08-01 RiDE

‘The countryside
takes us past high hedges, lush pastures and through a
dizzying cascade of twists and turns to the next
settlement of Martley. It’s a B-road gem, despite the
indecisive weather.
The B4204 forks off in Martley towards Worcester;
we’re not heading east, so instead take the B4197 south to
Knightwick. By now we’ve got ahead of the clouds, and
thankfully, the road is dry again. Villages and their
accompanying 30mph limits emasculate the route at
times, but there’s still enough between them to keep the
GSX-S and myself interested.
At Collins Green, we’re greeted by a spectacular vista
across the valley, looking down on fields and across to
some imposing peaks in the Malvern Hills. There’s a
whiff of Peak District about the area again, especially
with a bubbling brook on the other side of the road.
And then, all of a sudden, we’re at a junction with the
is a melting pot of
rural England’
P Riding away A44 – left to Worcester, right to Leominster; we take the
from Upton upon latter but it’s only the briefest of encounters with this
Severn with the trunk route before we hook a left onto an unclassified
Malvern Hills in
the background back road to Lulsley and Suckley. We’re in the heart of
rural Worcestershire: no road markings, and a
carriageway and a half at best. But that’s all part of this
route’s charm; it has everything from fast, flowing
A-roads to sections that are barely more than a track,
and everything else in between.
The further down this unclassified road we go, the
more rural and enchanting it becomes. Trees hang over
large sections of the route like a living tunnel and every
now and then, a secluded dwelling or a small farm
emerges from the undergrowth, while all the time the
Malvern Hills loom large to our left.
Once at Old Coldwall, we’re in the Malverns proper, a
12km-square area of outstanding natural beauty that’s
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