A PROPOSAL to revive the Victorian custom of donkey rides on the Malvern Hills was on the table at a meeting of the Malvern Hills Conservators 50 years ago.

A new member of the board, Mr R R Moran, said: "I think perhaps this would lend interest and give people an opportunity to see the hills at their best."

The idea found favour with the editor of the Malvern Gazette, who wrote: "As a new-old attraction, strings of donkeys might be the means of many more people reaching the top of our hills, and they would certainly delight our children.

"There is quite a lot to be said for donkeys - they are picturesque, tractable (or usually so) and their maintenance is easy if there is grass and water to be had.

"How many people remember the Malvern Hills not only for their views and their beauty, but for the sight of donkeys wending their way to and from the summit?

"And it the unhurried progress of a donkey comes as a contrast after a motorcycle or sports car, why all the better."