Elgar died in 1934, shortly before OS started the retriangulation of Britain, so he would never have seen the triangulation pillar on the Worcestershire Beacon. However, the hills are a conservation area, protected by an 1884 Act of parliament, so if he walked the hills today he would probably find little else has changed.
The Malverns are a granite range of hills in the Midlands forming a ridgeline between the counties of Hereford and Worcestershire. The ridgeline runs North/South for approximately seven miles and at just ¾ mile at its widest point it is very easy to navigate making it an ideal area for those new to map reading.
The triangulation pillar marks the highest point of the Malvern Hills on the top of the Worcestershire Beacon, which can be accessed from the multiple car parks around the hills. If you don’t drive, the hills are served by three stations at Malvern Link, Great Malvern and Colwall. With so many options I would encourage you to grab a map and plan a suitable walk around your travel. For example, if you arrive by train you could alight at Colwall, walk up onto the Hills and then head north along the ridgeline passing the trig pillar and the stunning 360 degrees from the Worcestershire Beacon, before heading down into Malvern where you can enjoy the shops and cafés before boarding the train home.
For my walk I chose to start from Gardiners Car park on the western side of the hills (SO 766 420) and headed up the steep zigzag path, to the right of the ticket machine, towards the top of the ridge line. There is a shallower gradient path to the left if you think this may be too steep for you. At the top of the zigzag path turn left onto the main ridge path, its from here that you can start to admire the views over Herefordshire to the west. Follow the path to the north along the side of Pinnacle Hill and up onto Jubilee Hill, offering views across Worcestershire to the east.