ONE of the best-loved pubs in the Malvern area is slightly hidden away - but is well worth going to a little effort to find.

The Chase Inn, Upper Colwall, is another local hostelry in the running for the Malvern Gazette Pub of the Year Award.

The Chase is a favourite pit-stop for hill walkers, or at least those who know how to find it, tucked away on Chase Road on the wooded western slopes of the Malvern Hills.

The pub is slightly below the road, and inside are a bar and a lounge, with beyond them a beer garden, which affords expansive views westwards across Herefordshire towards the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons of Wales.

It won the Herefordshire CAMRA Pup of the Year accolade not very long ago.

Beer drinkers will approved the two regular draught brews, Bathams Best Bitter and Courage Directors, supplemented by two guest beers, which often include offerings from the town's own Malvern Hills Brewery.

And the pub also offers food menus, with booking recommended, especially in the evenings. The menus include sandwiches and lighter meals alongside more hearty fare.

The landlord of the winning pub will receive a Malvern Gazette Pub of the Year 2018 trophy and be invited to the Houses of Parliament by MP Harriett Baldwin.

Voting is open now and closes on November 30, so use the slip in this week's Malvern Gazette to name your favourite pub and tell us why it deserves to win.

Anyone can vote, whether a member of staff or a loyal customer, but we will only accept slips cut out from the newspaper as votes, not photocopies, to avoid any ‘tactics’.

The winner will be announced in the newspaper and on our website on Friday, December 7.

Malvern Gazette editor Michael Purton said: “There are some brilliant pubs in the area and we want to highlight their hard work and high standards.”

To have your pub featured in the newspaper and online, email michael.purton@newsquest.co.uk.