Activities at Chilterns Countryside

Watlington Hill

Discover fine views and wildlife as you walk to the top of Watlington Hill. The hill has a long, triangular shaped chalk white mark and is a SSSI. It's an especially good place for watching red kites.

From Chilterns Escarpment to Remote Interior

This is a moderately long walk that begins at Watlington Hill with far-reaching views of the Chilterns escarpment and the Oxford Vale.

• Challenging
• 5 hours 30 mins
• 11.3 miles (18.15km)

Watlington Hill and the Wormsley Estate – An Emblematic Chilterns Walk

This is a 8.4 miles (13.4 kilometres) walk taking you around the National Trust’s Watlington Hill site, Pyrton Hill, Cowleaze Wood and the Wormsley Estate.

• Challenging
• 4 hours
• 8.4 miles (13.5km)

Bradenham Beech Woods, Bunkers and Ballrooms

This is a medium length walk in the woodlands and meadows of the Bradenham Manor Estate in Buckinghamshire village of Bradenham and neighbouring meadows.

• Moderate
• 2 hours
• 4.4 miles (7.05km)

Bradenham Butterfly Trail

This is a short trail that can be walked at any time of the year, but to see butterflies it is at its best on a warm, dry day, without strong winds at any time between April and September. You are most likely to see the greatest variety of species between May and August.

• Easy
• 1 hour 30 mins
• 2.7 miles (4.3km)

Chiltern Hills, Valleys and Woodlands Walk

This is an 8 mile (13 kilometre) walk starting in the National Trust’s Bradenham Village and leading you through a mix of chalk meadows, beech woodlands and a variety of farmland.

• Moderate
• 3 hours 30 mins
• 8.0 miles (12.85km)

Beacon Hill, Juniper Bank and Aston Wood Walk

A moderate walk around the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve and the National Trust woodlands at Juniper Bank and Aston Wood. Some of the route coincides with the way-marked Aston Rowant Discovery Trail.

• Moderate
• 2 hours
• 4.5 miles (7.2km)

A long walk in the Chilterns

This 16 mile circular walk starts at the National Trust’s Watlington Hill site. It drops down and along the Chilterns escarpment then climbs back into the hills. Here you visit pretty hamlets and villages, and the Stonor and Wormsley estates. You also enjoy much remote and unspoiled countryside and woodland. The walk is challenging but hugely rewarding.

• Challenging
• 6 hours 30 mins
• 16.0 miles (25.7km)

Coombe Hill

Enjoy an easy walk to the monument (not NT) for incredible 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.

Low Scrubs: A walk back in time

This short way-marked walk takes you around Low Scrubs. The dense, dark woodland and the relics of its ancient use give the area a unique and mysterious atmosphere.

• Easy
• 45 mins
• 1.2 miles (1.9km)

Coombe Hill and Chequers trail

This moderately energetic circular walk offers panoramic views across the Aylesbury Vale. You’ll see rare chalk grassland, beautiful woodlands, the pretty village of Ellesborough and the Prime Minister’s country retreat at Chequers. Feel the fascinating history of the Chiltern Hills, inhabited by people for thousands of years.

• Challenging
• 2 hours 30 mins
• 5.0 miles (8.0km)

Coombe Hill Trees, Shrubs and Grass

This short walk around the beautiful Chilterns countryside of Coombe Hill and Low Scrubs takes you to and describes some of the notable plants that have populated this landscape. It also explains how the National Trust and its volunteers work to conserve them.

• Easy
• 1 hour
• 1.6 miles (2.55km)

'Exploring the Chiltern Escarpment': a walk between Coombe Hill and Whiteleaf Hill

This 10 mile walk offers a range of panoramic views across the Chiltern Escarpment and the Aylesbury Vale. See a range of historical and archaeological sites, as well as the pretty village of Ellesborough and the prime minister’s country retreat at Chequers. With several important ecological habitats, ranging from rare chalk grassland to archetypal Chiltern beech woodlands, you’ll also pass through the largest remaining area of natural box woodland in Britain.

• Challenging
• 5 hours
• 10.0 miles (16.05km)

Coombe Hill Woodland Walk

This gentle 3.5 mile circular walk passes mostly through sheltered woodland, from the mysterious coppiced beech of Low Scrubs to the towering beech standards of Linton’s Wood. The final section of the walk, in contrast, takes you around Coombe Hill, with its magnificent, far-reaching views.

• Easy
• 1 hour 3 mins
• 3.5 miles (5.6km)

The Best of Coombe Hill walk

This gentle circular stroll, which takes around 40 minutes, takes in the best Coombe Hill has to offer. You can expect panoramic views across the Aylesbury Vale and rare chalk grassland filled with wildflowers and butterflies in the summer.

• Easy
• 40 mins
• 1.0 mile (1.6km)

Watlington Hill - Greenfields and Saxon Roads

A 7-mile walk from Watlington Hill that explores chalk grassland and beech woodlands on the historic landscape of the Chilterns on the border between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

• Challenging
• 3 hours 30 mins
• 7.0 miles (11.25km)

Watlington Hill short walk

This is a 1.5 mile walk around the Watlington Hill site, with opportunities to see rare and endangered chalk grassland and woodland habitats. The walk offers spectacular views over Watlington, the Vale of Oxford, and along the Chiltern Escarpment.

• Moderate
• 1 hour
• 1.5 miles (2.4km)

Bradenham countryside trail

This is a short walk around the Buckinghamshire village of Bradenham and neighbouring meadows.

• Easy
• 1 hour
• 2.0 miles (3.2km)