Ascent
One of the easiest county tops to accomplish, the summit of Bedfordshire is marked by a trig pillar on the west side of the B4541 Dunstable–Whipsnade road that crosses the Dunstable Downs. The pillar is a few steps from the road and next to the entrance of the new Chilterns Gateway Visitor Centre. The Dunstable Downs, a chalk escarpment, are part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. After visiting the highest point, walkers seeking a greater challenge can head north to the shapely Five Knolls or follow the Icknield Way south to the Tree Cathedral at Whipsnade.
Sculpture in front of the Chilterns Gateway Visitor Centre on the Dunstable Downs
Did you Know?
Famous native
Sir Joseph Paxton (1803–65), the architect who designed The Crystal Palace, was born at Milton Bryan, a village near Luton. The cast-iron and glass building was erected for the Great Exhibition in 1851, held in London’s Hyde Park, before being relocated to Sydenham.
Interesting fact
Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon was annulled by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer at Dunstable Priory in 1533. The king married his second of six wives, Anne Boleyn, later that year.
Route
Leave the Visitor Centre car park by the driver’s entrance/exit. The trig pillar is immediately opposite in a triangle of grassy land between the access road to the centre and the B4541.
Descent
Return by the same route.
The Chilterns
Stretching 70km from the Thames Valley in Oxfordshire to Hitchin in Hertfordshire, the rural, rounded Chilterns juxtapose their densely populated surroundings. Much of the chalk escarpment, an area covering 833km2, was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965. As well as the 100,000 residents who live inside the area’s boundaries, a further 500,000 people live within a 3km range.
Trig pillar marking the highest point on the Dunstable Downs
10 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE and HERTFORDSHIRE
Haddington Hill (Buckinghamshire) 267m SP 8907 0909
Pavis Wood (Hertfordshire) 244m SP 9143 0915
| Location | Chiltern Hills, 10km ESE of Aylesbury |
| Start | Wendover Woods car park (pay & display), off St Leonard’s Road, SP 8882 0890 (Buckinghamshire) |
| OS map | Landranger 165 (Aylesbury & Leighton Buzzard), Explorer 181 (Chiltern Hills North) |
| Difficulty | 2 |
| Enjoyment | ** |
| Distance | 11km (6.5 miles) |
| Ascent | 110m |
| Time | 2–3hrs |
Two county tops, the highest point in the Chilterns, a fine stretch of the ancient Ridgeway: what more could a walker want? Haddington Hill, the highest point in Buckinghamshire, and Hertfordshire’s Pavis Wood, are both flat summits, but that is where their similarity ends. The former is a honeypot, heaving with visitors, the top celebrated by a brass plaque erected in 1977; the other is anonymous, unmarked and unwittingly ignored. Combining the two high points gives a pleasant walk through Wendover Woods and along The Ridgeway, Britain’s oldest road and now a long-distance footpath running for 139km across the Home Counties from Overton Hill near Avebury to Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns.
Route
As drivers enter the car park, a sign pointing to the ‘Chiltern Hills highest point’ is immediately on the left. After parking, return to the sign and follow a track through woods to a rock sculpture marking the Chilterns summit and the highest point in Buckinghamshire. The cairn and a plaque were erected to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.
For Hertfordshire’s top briefly retrace your steps to a junction of paths close to the summit. Turn left onto a track that soon reaches the exit road of the car park. Cross the road and continue on an obvious footpath. The route will divide after about 250m. Follow the left fork when that happens and head S along a bridleway, initially running parallel to the road.
The path will begin to drop, gently at first, then more steeply, and turns to the SE before joining the Icknield Way. Follow the track to the NE, where it meets The Ridgeway. The trail passes through more woodland and beside two cottages before reaching St Leonard’s Road. Cross the road and pass through a kissing gate into a field. Head NE across the field towards a communications mast that towers over Chivery Hall Farm. Another kissing gate escapes the field.
Walk past the mast and turn right, following a sign for The Ridgeway. The path stays virtually on the same level for 1.2km to the E edge of Pavis Wood. Pass through a gate to reach a country lane, marking the Buckinghamshire/Hertfordshire border. The rather disappointing, unheralded summit of Hertfordshire is close to the sharp bend in the road.
Descent
Return by the same route or via the Icknield Way and The Crong.
The Ridgeway between Haddington Hill and Pavis Wood
Did you Know?
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
Famous native
Designer of the Albert Memorial in London’s Kensington Gardens, George Gilbert Scott (1811–78) was born in Gawcott. The 54m structure commemorates Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, who died of typhoid in 1861.
Interesting fact
Aylesbury won £2 million in 2005 to become one of the UK’s six ‘cycling demonstration’ towns. The money was used to create new cycle routes in the town and to encourage people to ride to work and school.
HERTFORDSHIRE
Famous native
Born in Hitchin in 1980, cyclist Victoria Pendleton won gold in the women’s individual sprint event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was subsequently made an MBE in the 2009 New Years Honours list.
Interesting
