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Discover Your Chilterns Treasure
This Chilterns Discovery Day is your invitation to explore and uncover your own Chilterns treasures. You might discover a new favourite walk followed by a pub lunch, enjoy an ice cream in the woods, pause to listen to skylarks overhead, or feel grateful that village stocks are no longer in use. Along the way, you could encounter Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox, uncover sharks and shells or even come face to face with some friendly animals.
This section is where you can dive in deeper and read some of the features written throughout the Chilterns year. Subscribe to our newsletter below and receive your seasonal inspiration.
Ashridge Boundary Trail
Less a barrier, more a linear space where meadows merge with woodland, forest with chalk ridge through which wildlife passes, impervious to this administrative boundary. Ringshall cottages By far the most challenging walking route, the 19-mile Ashridge Boundary Trail follows the estate boundary as best it can; weaving around livestock, two golf courses, farms and hamlets whilst missing out obvious landmarks such as the Pitstone Windmill. Visible from the Northern loop where t
Mary Tebje
4 min read
Swan Uppping
England is full of quaint customs, some funny and others frankly bizarre. This annual census is both quaint and oddly bizarre. It’s all a bit stressful! The origin of some customs have been lost or re-imagined to suit modern tastes and bank holiday dates. Swan Upping is neither. Firmly routed in the 12th century, this annual swan census is necessary for conservation of mute swans and acts as a gentle reminder of who owns them. "The resident swans can form lifelong partnershi
Mary Tebje
3 min read
Natural History Museum Tring
The Natural History Museum in Tring’ is a place that has endured and still delights generations of local families. The historic market town of Tring is a busy commuter town within easy reach of London and the M25. Located on the original Roman Akeman Street, the Natural History Museum (NHM) Tring is in auspicious company. Built in 1889 to house one of the finest zoological collections in private hands, this in a museum frozen in time. The town itself has many connections with
Mary Tebje
3 min read
The Grand Dame of Ewelme
How many villages can boast a “Grande Dame” who was not only a rare recipient of the Order of the Garter, but because she and her husband gave Ewelme its church and new superior grammar school? Tucked away in the folds of the South Oxfordshire Chilterns, a small village of just over 1,000 residents has so many wonderful stories, I really don’t know where to start. On the Swyncombe road about a mile outside the village of Ewelme is where I stopped to take a deep breath and fam
Mary Tebje
3 min read
V is for Villages
In spite of urban sprawl and HS2, many villages retain their charm and identity. As you travel from south west to north east, you will notice a change of character and local distinctiveness in each. Not a town, never a hamlet, what defines a village? You can blink and miss them for sure, coming upon them as you ease your way around a tight corner with wall-to-wall hedgerow, a village sign most likely, so best be prepared. They are remnants of settlements in what would have be
Mary Tebje
5 min read
T is for Trees
A squirrel could once cross England from the Severn in the west to the Wash in the east without touching the ground. Could a squirrel cross the Chilterns by tree alone? This week is the turn of the letter T for Trees on our A to Z journey of Chilterns discovery. It was a toss up between Trails or Trees, and trees won because of the beautiful beechwoods that our region is famous for. Located in the space between the London and Oxford, amongst busy towns, suburban Metroland, me
Mary Tebje
3 min read
Q is for Quirky
Why should you want to explore the quintessential quirky, uncrowded, rolling green English countryside of the Chilterns, with pretty villages, local pubs and tasty restaurants? That question may well have all answers you need. In 1928, Mrs Callingham made a short but moving speech which suggested that either the indoor model railway went, or she did. The model railway moved outdoors, and the rest as they say, is history. I have spent almost six years capturing local moods, th
Mary Tebje
5 min read
The Hambleden Valley
Those far-reaching views across rolling green countryside dotted with little villages clustered around a church or village green, beech wood domes and soaring red kites are such a cliché. Out of the winter gloom and mud grows so much May colour offset by the vivid greens, bright buttercup fields and copper beeches dotted across the landscape. For those of you with a low rain tolerance, it is why the countryside looks as it does: lush and fertile. The lambs are teenagers now a
Mary Tebje
2 min read
The Sleeping Girl of Turville
You’ll be familiar with the location but not the folklore. Five miles north of the genteel market town of Marlow, at the end of pretty country lanes, you may recognise the location of this Chilterns hamlet. Turville has enjoyed a starring role in many popular films and mini-series. In 1871 it was the scene of probable deception. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Goodnight Mr Tom, Calendar Girls, Killing Eve and possibly the most watched TV series, the Vicar of Dibley are just some of
Mary Tebje
2 min read
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