Malvern Hills

Malvern Hills, range of hills in western central England, stretching about 12 km (7.4 mi) north to south along the border of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The Herefordshire Beacon reaches a height of 340 m (1,114 ft), the Worcestershire Beacon 425 m (1,395 ft), and (also on the Worcestershire side), the North Hill 398 m (1,307 ft). The Malvern Hills are mostly heathland on a ridge of granite, quarried in places for building stone. Remains of an ancient British camp have been found on Herefordshire Beacon and the range's name derives from the Celtic moel bryn, “bare hill”. The hills were the setting of the 14th-century poem Piers Plowman by William Langland, and in the late 19th century were the birthplace and continual inspiration of the composer Edward Elgar.