Clent Hills - View

View

The hills rise to a height of 316 metres (1,037 ft) on Walton Hill, with views over the Malvern Hills, Kinver Edge, The Wrekin, Wenlock Edge, Shatterford Hill, Clee Hills and back round to Kidderminster, Stourbridge, Dudley, Halesowen and Turners Hill. On a clear day you can even see as far as the Black Mountains of Wales, the Cotswolds, the Peak District and Charnwood Forest. A toposcope indicates the mountains visible. Landmarks visible from the hills include Dudley Castle, the large Droitwich AM transmitters near Bromsgrove, the large silos on the British Sugar Corporation land in Kidderminster, Ironbridge Power Station, near Telford and the nearby Wychbury Obelisk. It is because of this that the hills are very popular with hillwalking visitors and local ramblers groups. The hills are criss-crossed with many public footpaths. A popular means of access to Clent Hill is from Nimmings car park, off Hagley Wood Lane. From this an easy access walk route leads to the ridge. Another popular access is from the public car park on Adams Hill. Adams Hill is not a separate hill, but the name for the hamlet (part of the parish of Clent) and the slope that form the south west flank of Clent Hill.

In 2009 Cooper Partnership (a firm of Chartered Landscape Architects) were commissioned to "identify and assess a selection of key views to and from the Malvern Hills" by the Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership. Coopers identified 50 key views from vantage points some on the Malvern Hills and others from other vantage points looking at the Malverns. At 36 kilometres (22 mi) the view from the Clent Hills was the most distant. They rated importance of the view as special and the sensitivity as high and wrote that the Clent Hills had "many pedestrian and equestrian users" and in " lovely environment of countryside pursuits" the vista contained a:

180 degree panoramic view towards the south-west from elevated viewpoint on SW facing slope of Clent Hills, affording long distance views. Malvern Hills seen to the left of view in the context of other hill ranges seen to the centre and right of view. Generally hilly foreground with scattered settlements on lower lying land. Urban areas of Kidderminster and Stourbridge seen in centre mid-ground. night-time: scattered light sources. The distinctive outline of the Malvern Hill peaks is seen on the distant skyline as a back-drop to the view in the left of view, and appears further in distance to the other hill ranges seen to the centre/right distance. Far-fetching views of hill ranges, including that of Malvern Hills is impressive, across a generally rural setting. ... The view of wide range of hills is impressive. —Cooper Partnership.