I was delighted that the autumn Chilterns Walking Festival could go ahead. Guided walks are exempt from the rule of 6, provided safety measures in place. The walk I had originally planned for the May festival includes sites associated with … Continue reading A Walk in John Hampden Country
What’s the secret of the old, empty barn? You might find out on this special event on Saturday 17 October… Continue reading The secret of the old, empty barn…
If you’ve ever wondered why local tracks, roads and waterways go where they do, now’s your chance to find out… As part of the month-long Chilterns Celebration events in October, Sam Johansen of the Chilterns Conservation Board is leading a … Continue reading Sunken routes to the past
Last year we reported on the start of a major local project Chalk, Cherries and Chairs. This aims to connect local people to the wildlife and cultural heritage of the Central Chilterns. The scheme operates under three themes – wildlife, … Continue reading A Chilterns celebration
Those lovely people at Wanderlust magazine have published a list of 30 “Secret Britain” locations – places you may not know which are well worth a visit. They include three suggestions from our Chilterns and Thames Valley research: Yoesden nature … Continue reading Secret Britain
How many local businesses and visitor attractions will survive the current crisis? As the UK goes through multiple phases in relaxing its lockdown, opportunities are slowly opening up to re-visit some favourite places. One example is Stonor Park, just outside … Continue reading A slow escape: Stonor out of lockdown
If you’re one of those people who laments the lack of variety in British high streets these days, a display in the newly re-opened North Hertfordshire Museum may interest you. It’s a reconstruction of part of Parks and Llewelyn, a … Continue reading Blood, bone and a snappy opening
You don’t tend to come across the phrase ‘licence to crenellate’ too much these days. I found it in the Buckinghamshire volume of Nikolaus Pevsner’s Buildings of England (1960). Pevsner uses the phrase in his description of Boarstall Tower – … Continue reading Boarstall Tower: a frank and Ernest history
A while ago, we wrote about the extraordinary Whipsnade Tree Cathedral – the embodiment of one man’s wish to commemorate friends who died in World War I, and to give others a place to reflect, a place of faith, hope … Continue reading An act of remembrance
Not a real polecat, I should say at the outset; you can sometimes glimpse polecats in parts of the Chilterns, and our friend Tony Marshall of Prestwood Nature tells us they are now breeding regularly. But in this case I’m … Continue reading Polecat returns: sorry, no (live) sheep
