8 charming walking routes in Beds, Bucks, and Herts
Launched to promote walking as a free, easy, and accessible form of exercise and transportation, National Walking Month is the perfect time to stretch your legs, lace up your boots, and explore natural and historic beauty just beyond your doorstep.
Whether by yourself, with a friend, or as part of a walking group, here are eight charming trails that you can embark on in the Three Counties municipalities to celebrate the month.
Bedfordshire
1. Dunstable Downs countryside walk
This circular walk directs attention to the beauty of Dunstable Downs, a chalk escarpment within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (and the highest point in Bedfordshire).
You will discover diverse wildlife, ancient tracks, and burial mounds – a detour to Icknield Way will reward you with the historic ramparts of Maiden Bower, a Neolithic hillfort.
A moderately challenging walk, this trail lasts for 6.5 miles and should take you around 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete.
There are also two more exciting routes you can take to explore more of Dunstable Downs:
- Whipsnade and Dunstable Downs walk – another moderately difficult walk starting at the Tree Cathedral.
- Dunstable Downs Five Knolls wildlife and heritage walk – a more accessible walk lasting only 1.9 miles.
Find out more about these walks on the National Trust website.
2. Greensand Ridge Walk
This mammoth trek lasts for 40 miles along the Greensand Ridge through Central Bedfordshire.
The path passes through several nature reserves of heathland and woodland habitats that you can immerse yourself in, including King’s Wood and Rammamere Heath.
While a 40-mile walk is certainly an elite challenge, the route has also been split into five shorter trails, which you can find on the Wildlife Trusts for Beds, Cambs, and Northants website.
Buckinghamshire
3. Lakeside walk at Stowe Gardens
This route allows you to peacefully explore Stowe Gardens, a National Trust site displaying picture-perfect views of winding paths, temples, and lakeside walks.
The Stowe Gardens estate has been attracting visitors for over 300 years as the largest, grandest, and most important landscape garden in England. An ideal family day out, this stroll can be a great opportunity to spend time in nature with the little ones in your life.
Visit the National Trust website for more details.
4. Views of the Hughenden Manor estate walk
Hughenden Manor, nestled in the Chiltern valley, was the country home of the Victorian prime minister Benjamin Disraeli and his wife Mary Anne.
This walking route offers serene views of their home, ancient beech woodlands, and rolling hills – you will also find exotic trees on the north lawn of the manor and bold-coloured annual beds in the Italianate formal gardens.
The manor is also open to visitors, where you can learn about a top-secret WWII operation codenamed “Hillside”.
This route is circular and lasts for 5.3 miles, which should take you around 3 hours to complete. It’s moderately difficult, so get ready for some steep ascents and descents.
More details are on the National Trust website.
5. Chiltern Hills three-in-one walk
If you’re keen for a full walking day out, the Chiltern Hills three-in-one walk allows you to explore the scenic Hughenden Manor and two more National Trust sites.
This route spans up to 8.5 miles for the full trail, or 5.5 miles for the shorter trail, passing between the historical village of West Wycombe, home to the elegant Palladian home of the Dashwood family, and the Bradenham estate, with its scenic village and 17th-century manor house.
This walk is more challenging than most, with steep and slippery paths. Further details are on the National Trust website.
Hertfordshire
6. Ivinghoe Hills butterfly walk
If you’re a keen or budding lepidopterist, the Ivinghoe Hills butterfly walk might be for you – home to a variety of butterfly species, including one of the strongest colonies of Duke of Burgundy butterflies in the entirety of England.
This easy, circular walk is best enjoyed on a sunny day with the family. However, note that there are some muddy paths which might be difficult to traverse with a buggy or elderly relatives.
The National Trust website contains more information about this walk.
7. Bridgewater Monument to Pitstone Windmill circular walk
For your inner historian, you can discover a Grade II listed windmill on the Pitstone Windmill circular walk, said to have ground flour for the local village for over three hundred years until a freak storm in the early 1900s left it damaged beyond economic repair.
This walking route also links together the mill and the Bridgewater Monument – commemorating Francis Egerton, the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater (known as the “Canal Duke” for developing the first canal in Britain).
Find information about this walk on the National Trust website.
8. The Chess Valley Walk
The Chess is a “chalk stream”, a rare, spring-fed river fed by underground chalk aquifers which maintain a constant temperature, creating the ideal conditions for a variety of wildlife, like cygnets, kingfishers, water voles, and trout.
At 10 miles long, this route is ideal for keen walkers and animal lovers. Find directions for this walk on the Chilterns National Landscape website.
Get in touch
If you’d also like to get your financial plan moving this National Walking Month, get in touch with your Caliber financial adviser today.
Email contact@caliberfm.co.uk or call 01525 375286 to speak to one of our team.