COVID-19: Exercising on the Hills and Commons

Our car parks on the Malvern Hills and commons remain closed following yesterday’s announcement by the Government to extend the lockdown for a minimum of 3 weeks.

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has stayed at home and stayed local during this difficult time.  These are exceptional circumstances but the Malvern Hills and Commons will still be here and we look forward to welcoming you again when the time is right.

The Hills and Commons remain open for local people to take their daily exercise to keep physically and mentally well during this difficult time. 

Please do your bit to keep people safe and healthy and to stop the spread of the virus.  We’ve provided some further information on how you can keep yourself and others safe when exercising on the Malvern Hills and Commons in line with official Government advice.

Walking

  • Walk alone or with members of your household. Do not walk with friends, family or in any other groups.
  • Explore some of the lesser known paths and avoid the more popular areas to minimise contact with others. As a walker you have a right of access over land under our care so you have lots of opportunities to find your own space. 
  • Stay at least 2 metres away from others. Please be generous with space when passing people on paths. 
  • Be polite and considerate to others. If you’re more mobile and able to, please step aside to allow cyclists or wheelchair users through where space is limited, to make sure everyone is at a safe distance from each other
  • If walking with your dog please keep it under effective control and do not let your pet run up to other visitors. Please keep your dog on a lead near livestock as there are lambs around the countryside and it is important that you keep the sheep safe.  
  • Look out for ground-nesting bird signs and keep yourself and your dog to the paths in these areas to avoid disturbing these vulnerable birds.

Cycling

  • Cycle alone or with members of your household. Do not cycle with friends, family or in any other groups.
  • Use a bell or call out in plenty of time to alert other visitors to your approach.
  • Stay at least 2 metres away from others to keep yourself and other safe.
  • Be polite and considerate to others. You may need to stop and dismount or wait when passing other visitors in order to maintain a safe distance.
  • Please keep your speed down and consider your abilities so you don't take risks that might cause you to require assistance from an already overstretched NHS.
  • The byelaws still apply so please keep to bridleways and permissive paths (map)

Running

  • Run alone or with members of your household. Do not run with friends, family or in any other groups.
  • Explore some of the lesser known paths and avoid the more popular areas to minimise contact with others.
  • As you're more likely to be breathing hard and sweating, please take extra care to keep your distance.
  • Be polite and considerate to others. You may need to slow down or stop to keep your distance to allow others the time to move aside to maintain a safe distance of 2 metres.

Please follow these tips to keep yourself and the local community safe during this difficult time.

West Mercia Police continue their patrols around the local area and are engaging with the public to provide information and advice.

Further updates relating to how the COVID-19 virus is affecting the Malvern Hills and Commons can be found here.