The Elgar Enigma series celebrates the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth, the countryside that so inspired him and his first widely recognised work, Variations on an Original Theme, more commonly known as The Enigma Variations.
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Variation XII (Andante) B.G.N. was dedicated to Basil G. Nevinson. In Elgar's younger days, Nevinson was a cellist in the same trio as the pianist H.D. Steuart-Powell (Variation II) with Elgar as violinist. The Variation is written with a beautiful solo passage for the cello.
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Basil G. Nevinson
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Queenhill Church
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Elgar bicycled everywhere; it is said that he had riden along every road around the Malverns. Longdon Marsh and Queenhill Church were places he would come to often and he composed the climax to "The Apostles" while sheltering under the porch to the church. Although it is well hidden, the M50 has destroyed the solitude of the area that Elgar enjoyed; you will get a view from above and below on this walk.
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The cache itself is a multicache that starts at the church. Here you will find a small container with coords for the final part. There is a path marked to the north which no longer exists so you will need to cross over the M50 on the bridge and take the footpath across the field. Please note that this field normally contains cows who will no doubt show an interest in you and also in the winter a lot of this field will be flooded. Keep to the high ground on the left and follow the fence to the gate. The cache is hidden in a spooky wood.
The road that leads up to the church has a sign saying authorised visitors only. The church does have a carpark so we will leave it to you to decide but parking coords are for an area at the start of this road which leaves a pleasant walk to the church.