Chilterns Countryside

Enjoy an easy walk to the monument (not NT) to see extensive views across the Aylesbury Vale from the highest viewpoint in the Chilterns. Wander back past chalk grassland alive with wildlife to the picnic area where you can explore the natural play trail.

Explore acres of countryside and beech woodland that surround the village that clusters around its village green where cricket is played in the summer. The village also has a pub, a church dating from the 11th century, and a 17th-century manor house, which is now tenanted.

Discover expansive views and abundant wildlife as you walk to the top of Watlington Hill. The hill has a folly in the form of a long, triangular shaped chalk white mark, and it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its areas of rare chalk grassland. It's an especially good place for watching red kites.

Chalk grassland is one of our rarest habitats, and a reason why Coombe Hill is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The large bumps on the steep west-facing slope are the nests of the yellow meadow ant; a tiny insect that builds large anthills that provides a diverse range of homes for many of these species of wild flowers and animals.

The landscape of the Chiltern Hills is surprisingly wooded, and those woodlands are dominated by beech trees. Many parts of the Chilterns have been covered with woodland for hundreds of years, and today the Chilterns are still one of the most wooded parts of England, with over one fifth of the land area covered by trees.

The Chilterns Countryside is rich in wildlife, ranging from red kites to Duke of Burgundy butterflies. Habitats include endangered chalk grassland, farmland and many acres of beech woodlands. Find out more about our wildlife and how we manage the environment at Chiltern Countryside sites.

The Bradenham Estate is centred on the seventeenth century manor house (not open to the public). The 18th-century cluster of brick and flint cottages is focused on the village green. In the 1956, the Bradenham Estate was acquired by philanthropist Ernest Edward Cook, who donated it the National Trust.

The countryside of the Chiltern Hills is steeped in history, ranging from Iron Age Hill Forts, to Elizabethan mansions, and areas of common woodland where the poor could collect fuel. Here you can explore the history of three of the National Trust's properties between Wendover and Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire

Watlington Hill was originally part of Watlington Park, which originated as a medieval royal park. In the mid-20th century, the Esher family donated Watlington Hill to the National Trust and it is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Hedgerows are important and increasingly rare habitats and wildlife corridors. At Hughenden and in the Chilterns Countryside, the National Trust is planting, restoring and managing hedgerows for wildlife on our farmland.

Chalk grassland in the Chiltern Hills includes some of the rarest habitats in the UK. Since the Second World War, the UK has lost around 80 per cent of grassland habitts like these. Find out how the National Trust works with a range of partners to protect the remaining chalk grasslands and how it plans to reverse this process of decline.

The landscape of the Chilterns Countryside contains several ancient woodlands, and protecting and managing these extraordinary environments is one of the most important conservation activities we undertake. Find out how we manage our woodlands to encourage the widest range of wildlife habitats.