The Location
The Chiltern Hills are a beautiful, unspoilt corner of England. They lie only a few miles to the north-west of London and yet have a very rural character. The Chilterns begin in Oxfordshire in the Thames Valley and stretch north-east through Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire to Hitchin in Hertfordshire.
The gently rolling hills are swathed in beech woodland and chalk downland, providing a haven for wildlife. Wildflowers found on the downland in summer include abundant orchids and the rare Chilterns gentian. In the southern Chilterns the spectacular red kite, a reintroduced bird of prey, is very visible for most of the year.
In the valleys attractive villages with their traditional brick and flint cottages nestle around medieval churches. In 1965, 833 square kilometres of the Chilterns were designated by the government as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). This recognises that the Chilterns countryside is amongst the finest in the country, on a par with National Parks.
