Camilla Derkacz

Camilla Derkacz

Bristol

Malvern feels very sacred to me. There’s a feeling that you get here that you can’t really explain. There’s a lot of history. There are a lot of people who really care about this place and people who really fight for its heritage. And you can really see that it’s sort of blossoming.

The basis for a lot of the feelings that I have for Malvern is probably the water source. All the wells and the hills that facilitate their flow, and all the people that have been brought to this place because of the healing power of Malvern water. You see so much of that in the architecture and the plants and the trees. I like that people to visit because of the history, but also because of what the water’s providing the area.

I think that people really care here. You can see that it’s got a really good community. But there’s something deeper than that that’s hard to explain. There’s a real richness in the community here. It feels like some of the people here, well they’re at one with this place. I just feel like there’s something in the earth here. It’s very enchanted.”

Camilla Derkacz Story

I’m from Malvern Wells, which is on the south side of the hills. We moved there when I was three so it’s where I grew up. When I was born, we lived just up the road in Great Malvern in a very sweet house next to a pub, right in the town centre. My mum’s got very fond memories of me as a baby – pottering around Malvern town centre, going in all the shops and doing what you do when you have a baby, such as making sure you’ve got really nice connections and friendly faces.

I have very good memories of growing up in Malvern. It was very special. This day, May Day, is actually my fondest memory of Malvern. It’s when all the creatives get together and put on a great show. It’s really nice to be back for that.

I moved away for university. I moved to Brighton because my art teacher here at school told me that if I wanted to live somewhere a little bit more vibrant and happening, then Brighton was the next best thing. So that’s what I did. And now I live in Bristol.

I keep wanting to come back here all the time. It was a nice spontaneous idea to come back up here today. Now that I’m married there are a lot more places that we have to visit, such as my husband’s hometown. I think when you’ve got a small family, you have to dip into places. Everything is for quite a short time. And because Mum doesn’t live in Malvern anymore there’s isn’t really any reason for us to come. Mum lives in Mathon, so we just go and see them there or we go to The Barn in Ledbury which she runs. But I really want my children to spend a lot of time here now.

Malvern feels very sacred to me. There’s a feeling that you get here that you can’t really explain. There’s a lot of history. There are a lot of people who really care about this place and people who really fight for its heritage. And you can really see that it’s sort of blossoming. And I’ve got the most wonderful memories, but it also feels like it’s really moving on and enhancing what it had as well.

The basis for a lot of the feelings that I have for Malvern is probably the water source. All the wells and the hills that facilitate their flow, and all the people that have been brought to this place because of the healing power of Malvern water. You see so much of that in the architecture and the plants and the trees. I like that people to visit because of the history, but also because of what the water’s providing the area.