A Tribute to the Chilterns

The Chilterns offers the perfect bit of countryside for Londoners. It is about 30 miles from London to my favourite bit of the Chilterns and you can reach it very quickly and relatively inexpensively from the toy-town miniature Marylebone station. A station I did not know existed until relatively recently such is the labyrinth that is London.

It contains a lot of beech woodland on the higher ground that can be a delicious lime green in early summer and more than a little creepy in the winter when the skeletal shape of these trees is revealed. In fact, so creepy is it that it is thought that it was the basis for The Wild Wood in Wind in The Willows because the Chilterns are not that far from the stretch of river around Marlow that it is thought Kenneth Graham used as the basis of the book….

The relative wildness of the Chilterns is brought about by the fact that it was densely wooded and at a slight elevation. Therefore in previous centuries it was a haunt of highwaymen looking to relieve wealthy people of the valuables. This wildness has stayed with it as some parts still retain the interlocking mixture of commons and woods that the normal people of this area campaigned so hard to preserve.

Intertwined with this is the abundance of chalk grassland that has been relatively well managed allowing a mix of wild flowers and native fauna to intermingle with the long grass. As a result of this when the red kite was re-introduced into this area a few decades ago it has thrived because of the abundance of small mammals in this grassland. This was brought home to me on a summer walk when I walked through one of the unspoilt valleys near Saunderton station to see up to 10 red kites soaring in the cloudless sky. As I had just eaten some wild white currants whilst browsing off some bushes planted by a kindly Chilternaise I was naturally feeling extremely happy on that cloudless day in July. If only walks in the English countryside were always as enjoyable.

There is also a good deal of traditional farming in the Chilterns- both arable and livestock and this adds to its appeal despite the encroachments of the car and town. But perhaps the most interesting thing about the beech woods of the Chilterns is that its major commercial centre, High Wycombe started as a centre of furniture making which was thriving until relatively recently.

So all I can say is- next time you are thinking of going to the seaside in those special days of high summer why not try a trip to the Chilterns instead? If you plan your trip carefully you will not be disappointed I promise!