The Chilterns

East and south of Aylesbury is the chalk escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, cutting diagonally across the countryside for almost 50 miles.

The range is conserved as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and offers scenic and occasionally stiff bike trails and walking paths.

You could head up to hike a section of the Ridgeway, a National Trail following the course of a path along the hilltops that has been walked since Prehistory.

A lot of the land has been made public, after estates were donated to the National Trust.

The majestic lookout at Coombe Hill is one, while further south the Bradenham Estate has ancient beech woodland bedded with bluebells in spring, around a quaint village of brick and flint cottages.

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