Hidden Gems: Ivinghoe Beacon and Ashridge

By Andrew Adie

Just 40-miles from Central London, Ivinghoe Beacon, in the Chiltern’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, feels like a different world from the bustle of the Capital. It offers panoramic views across Buckinghamshire and, as one of the country’s finest areas of chalk downland, offers acres of wildflowers, butterflies and swooping skylarks. 

Set in the National Trust’s Ashridge Estate, the Beacon sits at one end of the Ridgeway, an ancient drove road which runs 87 miles from Wiltshire to Buckinghamshire.

For the more ambitious, Ivinghoe Beacon makes a stunning start (or finish) to a National Trail walk that takes in some of England’s most ancient and mystical landscapes.

For those looking for a less arduous day trip, there are plenty of walks through Ivinghoe Beacon and the Ashridge Estate, fabulous pubs for lunch or a drink in pretty villages like Ivinghoe, Aldbury or the market towns of Tring and Berkhamsted. 

For those with children there’s also Whipsnade Zoo nearby which gives the unusual pleasure of being able to see Elephants walking through British chalk downlands.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ashridge-estate/features/ivinghoe-beacon-at-ashridge-estate