Sar Lou Adventures

Midlands Marilyn Challenge – Triple Day – Hegdon Hill, May Hill and Cleeve Hill

Forming a tidy little triangle around the Malvern Hills, these three hills were all located within a relatively short drive of each other. Being fairly low level hills compared to many of the other Marilyns in my challenge, I’d overlooked these in favour of their bigger bolder cousins when considering which to tackle first. The route options, distance from me and weather all played their part, with these being on the very edge of the Midlands region sitting nestled close to the borders with Wales and the Cotswolds.

---

Hegdon Hill – 254m/833ft

Hegdon Hill was one I’d been putting off primarily due to the route and access. Sitting squarely in a farmer’s field common used for grazing and with few hiking routes that didn’t involve long stretches along country lane roads where I was likely to encounter traffic, this one really was going to be a last ditch choice and a case of a ‘if needs must’ bag. Combining it with other hills was the most sensible and efficient option so on the way to May Hill we took a detour to get this one in the bag. Luckily, the resident sheep were all at the other end of the field, so we were able to navigate the short walk across the boggy field to tick this one off before making a hasty (and muddy) retreat.

Most people visiting appear to be cyclists or hikers according to Komoot/Strava and from nearby Pencombe. But with dogs in tow I wasn’t prepared to risk long stretches along roads just to tick this one off the list, choosing to park close by in a layby out of the way of farm vehicles and other traffic.

May Hill – 296m/971ft

I’m sure that on a clearer day, this would have been a much nicer hike, but today was not that day. With very limited visibility and deep mud, May Hill definitely didn’t show itself off. Surrounded by forest and right on the edge of the Forest of Dean between Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, this is the hill with the unmistakable crown of pine trees on top and numerous trails you can explore. Free roaming horses grazing were a welcome site in an otherwise foggy featureless landscape. Because of that, May Hill has been added to the ‘ones to return to again’ list to really see what the area has to offer.

Cleeve Hill – 330m/1082ft

The County Top for Gloucestershire, the highest point in the Cotswold Hills and home to both Cleeve Common and an Old Tom Morris designed Golf course, Cleeve Hill was a Marilyn I was looking forward to visiting.

That was until I got home and was kindly informed that I’d visited the WRONG Cleeve Hill on Cleeve Common.

Yes, that’s right. There is, for some reason I have yet to fathom, two Cleeve Hills. Both on Cleeve Common and the Cleeve Hill Golf Course next to Cleeve Hill village.

What the hell?

The Cleeve Hill we visited, is actually the smaller of the two, despite being home to a trig point AND toposcope, sitting prominently over the surrounding common and village. The Marilyn Cleeve Hill, sits slightly south east and is 13m higher.

Now, I COULD refuse to claim it and insist on returning, walking the extra mile and climbing the extra 13m to properly ‘bag’ the Marilyn.

But I’m not going to and I’m still going to claim it. For me, my Marilyns Challenge was never about the height, or the ‘bagging’ in such a serious way that anything but tapping the right trig point or standing on the exact spot that counts as the summit. It was about being inspired to visit new places, take on hills I’d have never even known existed and to enjoy the outdoors with my pups along the way.

In that old self help cliche, ‘it was about the journey, not the destination’.

But also, I’m a grown ass adult and FUCK YOU CLEEVE HILL. That’s why.

Seriously though, why is there two hills on the same common with the same name, both named Cleeve Hill with only 13m difference in height?? That’s just stupid.