25 years ago this month (September 1995) signs began to spring up on roads leading into some of the most attractive landscape in England and Wales. In addition to already well-known beauty spots, such as the Chilterns, the Surrey Hills and the Cotswolds, the sites included less nationally-famous places, such as the Clwydian Range, Nidderdale… Continue reading
Posts tagged Chilterns
National Trust puts a price on bluebells
Ashridge, the National Trust estate on the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire border, is one of the top places in the UK to see bluebells, according to surveys. In 2016 it decided to charge visitors to see the bluebells at some of the best locations on the 5000 acre estate. Is putting a price on our ‘national… Continue reading →
Capability Brown’s Golden triumph
Capability Brown worked on many garden landscapes in England, and there’s a glittering list of day trip possibilities. These places display his creativity and his genius, but on the scale of epic poems compared to the exquisite little sonnet that is the Golden Valley. There are days throughout the year when the National Trust’ s… Continue reading →
Chart-topping walk on London's doorstep
How do you measure Britain’s most popular walks? Footpaths may look busy, but it’s very difficult to count how many people are using them. And who’s to say it isn’t the same local people taking a turn every day of the year, which would certainly build up the numbers? Truth is, the countryside is not… Continue reading →
Chalk up and walk in the Chilterns
The Government – in fact all three major parties – are committed to building HS2, the high speed rail link from London to Birmingham, then Scotland – through the Chilterns. I spent a day there – arriving and departing, I must admit, by (slower) train.
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