Walking in the Chilterns (Cicerone Guides)

This guidebook describes 35 varied day walks in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in southern England. The routes range from 4 to 12 miles and cover fairly low-level terrain, and although some have several, sometimes steep, climbs and descents, they should be suitable for most walkers. The walks take you on a journey through this classic Chiltern landscape that has been shaped by human activity for thousands of years, visiting interesting historic sites, colourful gardens and picture-postcard villages with thatched cottages, fascinating churches and cosy pubs. Step by step route directions include lots of information about all these sites along the way and are illustrated with clear OS mapping and vibrant photographs. The Chiltern Hills follow a line of chalk from the River Thames at Goring up to the Barton Hills just west of Hitchin, through Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, with great views from the north west edge and, on the south east side, a more intimate undulating landscape of rounded hills and valleys, covered in a mix of broadleaved woodland and open farmland.