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Slow Travel: The Chilterns and Thames Valley

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Category: Things to Do

Children, Things to Do, TraditionLeave a comment

When Harry met Crow-ie: the scarecrows return

August 21, 2022August 21, 2022 slowchilterns

On the north-eastern edge of the Chilterns, seven miles north of St Albans in the ancient village of Flamstead, a bizarre annual celebration has resumed after a four year hiatus. The Flamstead Scarecrow Festival first ran in 2002 and now … Continue reading When Harry met Crow-ie: the scarecrows return

history, TraditionLeave a comment

The ‘most bonkers estate in Britain’?

September 12, 2021 slowchilterns

It’s a bold claim, by no less an authority than Country Life magazine (which must have profiled some eccentric estates in its time). The comment relates to Fawley Hill, near Henley-on-Thames. You can see why the esteemed magazine on country … Continue reading The ‘most bonkers estate in Britain’?

Eating, Tradition1 Comment

World go local

December 24, 2020 slowchilterns

First: Merry Christmas! Or, at least, as merry a Christmas as circumstances will allow. Our thoughts go, in particular, to everyone who’s alone and doesn’t want to be, and/or those who have lost loved ones and friends in 2020. The … Continue reading World go local

Eating, Tradition1 Comment

Old business, new cafe: bear with us

August 1, 2020September 21, 2020 slowchilterns

Hildreth’s in Prestwood isn’t quite as old as the dinosaurs, even though a model tyrannosaurus rex used to adorn the entrance to the garden centre. These days it’s reproductions of a boar, a couple of chickens and a bear whose … Continue reading Old business, new cafe: bear with us

Children, Nature, WalksLeave a comment

This weekend: open spaces to enjoy

March 20, 2020September 20, 2020 slowchilterns

As we all try to follow the official instructions and/or guidance about social distancing, it’s great news that some of the open spaces that the National Trust and English Heritage manage will remain open for the public to enjoy. Our … Continue reading This weekend: open spaces to enjoy

Children, Eating1 Comment

Something old, new… or refilled

February 15, 2020September 20, 2020 slowchilterns

Can local people help to revive their high street while addressing the implications of the world climate emergency? A new cafĂ© in the central Chilterns village of Prestwood is giving it a try. The Pantry at No 51, which opened … Continue reading Something old, new… or refilled

Children, Eating, Tradition, Walks1 Comment

The Hermit is back

January 3, 2020September 20, 2020 slowchilterns

A little piece of history has returned to the hamlet of Ford in the Vale of Aylesbury. Just before Christmas, the Dinton Hermit – a historic coaching inn and pub which closed in 2013 – re-opened for business. It’s being … Continue reading The Hermit is back

Children, LiteratureLeave a comment

To boldly go in search of our only hope…

August 31, 2019September 20, 2020 slowchilterns

If you’re a sucker for science fiction and fantasy, especially in the movies and on TV, the ‘Robot’ exhibition at Bucks County Museum in Aylesbury has been – to quote the Cybermen – an ‘excellent’ place to visit in the … Continue reading To boldly go in search of our only hope…

architecture, Children, historyLeave a comment

Blood, bone and a snappy opening

July 7, 2019September 20, 2020 slowchilterns

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

history, Tradition1 Comment

Boarstall Tower: a frank and Ernest history

June 30, 2019 slowchilterns

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

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