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Walking in the Chilterns
35 walks in the Chiltern hills - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Walking in the Chilterns
35 walks in the Chiltern hills - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
This guidebook to Walking in the Chilterns offers 35 of the best walks in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Chiltern Hills is a peaceful walking destination of chalk hills and ancient woodlands within easy reach of London. The walks in this guidebook range from 4 to 12 miles and are suitable for most walkers. GPX files available to help with navigation.Experience the rolling hills, peaceful woods, and panoramic viewpoints of the Chiltern Hills, one of England’s most accessible Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Historic villages, riverside paths, and dramatic escarpments create a quintessential English countryside escape. From Ivinghoe Beacon to Watlington Hill, the Chilterns offer a tranquil backdrop for walkers seeking scenic and varied landscapes within easy reach of London.
This comprehensive guide presents 35 walks ranging from 6–19km (4–12 miles) and 2–6 hours, suitable for beginners and more experienced walkers. Routes feature relatively low-level terrain with occasional steep climbs and descents, and include practical advice on refreshment stops, public transport, detours, and points of interest.
- 35 day walks across the Chiltern Hills AONB, from short woodland rambles to more challenging high escarpment walks, covering areas around Amersham, Dunstable, Henley-on-Thames, High Wycombe, Ivinghoe, Princes Risborough, Tring, and Whipsnade.
- Step-by-step route descriptions supported by 1:50,000 OS map extracts reproduced at 1:40,000 for clarity, guiding walkers along forest tracks, chalk ridges, river valleys, and scenic villages.
- GPX files provided for every walk to assist digital navigation and ensure confident route-finding in all seasons in the Chiltern Hills AONB.
- Detailed information on refreshment stops, transport links, and local points of interest, with detours to historic churches, cosy pubs, and notable heritage sites.
- Panoramic viewpoints including Ivinghoe Beacon, Coombe Hill, Whiteleaf Hill, and Watlington Hill, offering spectacular vistas across rolling hills, peaceful woods, and riverside landscapes.
- Advice on planning walks in the Chilterns throughout the year, with spring and early summer ideal for wildflowers, autumn for vibrant foliage, and clear winter days providing dramatic views.
- Compact and portable format, sized to fit in a jacket pocket, perfect for countryside day walks within easy reach of London and across the Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire landscapes.
Plan your Chilterns walking adventure with confidence using this guidebook, and explore the rolling hills, tranquil woods, historic villages, and panoramic viewpoints of one of England’s most scenic regions on foot.
Walking in the Chilterns - Quick Facts
Trail name: Walking in the Chilterns
Location: Chiltern Hills, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, England
Route type: Day walks
Number of walks: 35
Distance: 6–19km / 4–12 miles
Typical duration: 2–6 hours per walk
Highlights: Panoramic views from Ivinghoe Beacon, Coombe Hill, Whiteleaf Hill, Watlington Hill; riverside paths; historic churches; hill forts; thatched villages; cosy pubs
Difficulty: Easy to moderate, suitable for most walkers
Terrain: Woodland tracks, chalk escarpments, river valleys, rural paths, low-level climbs and descents
Navigation: OS 1:50,000 maps reproduced at 1:40,000; GPX files included
Best season: All year; spring and early summer for wildflowers, autumn for colourful foliage, winter for clear views
Accommodation: Village inns, B&Bs, country hotels along routes
Author Highlight
“The area of the National Landscape itself has a relatively low population – around 100,000 – but its boundary skirts around larger urban areas such as High Wycombe and Luton, meaning that a further half million people live within 3km. Good transport links also make the Chilterns easily accessible to people from London. Yet peace and tranquillity are in abundance: listen to the birdsong in the ancient woodlands or the skylarks singing over the open grassland; be dazzled by the myriad flowers and butterflies; admire the gently rolling landscape that has inspired many over the centuries, from famed authors to artists and poets, including the WWI poet Rupert Brookes, who wrote of the countryside in his poem The Chilterns: I shall desire and I shall find / The best of my desires; / The autumn road, the mellow wind / That soothes the darkening shires. / And laughter, and inn-fires.”
- Steve Davison, author of Walking in the Chilterns
Printed book
A guidebook with detailed route descriptions, stage breakdowns, accommodation listings, profiles and maps - everything you need on the trail.
ISBN
9781786310187
Availability
Published
Reprinted
16 Dec 2025
Published
24 Sept 2018
Edition
Second
Pages
224
Size
17.20 x 11.60 x 1.30cm
Weight
260g
eBook
The complete digital edition of the guidebook, with full route descriptions, accommodation listings, profiles and maps, ready to use on any device. To access your eBook, you will need an eReader app. For more details, visit the eBook FAQs.
Map key
Overview map
Introduction
Geology
Plants and wildlife
Brief history
Where to stay
Getting to and around the Chilterns
Food and drink
Walking in the Chilterns
Maps
Waymarking, access and rights of way
Using this guide
1 North of Luton
Walk 1 Harlington and Sharpenhoe Clappers
Walk 2 Barton-le-Clay, Hexton and Barton Hills
Walk 3 Pirton and Pegsdon Hills
2 Dunstable to Berkhamsted
Walk 4 Whipsnade, Studham and the Dunstable Downs
Walk 5 Ivinghoe Beacon, Ivinghoe and Pitstone
Walk 6 Grand Union Canal, Pitstone Hill and Aldbury
Walk 7 Grand Union Canal and Tring Park
Walk 8 Great Gaddesden
Walk 9 Berkhamsted, Nettleden and Little Gaddesden
3 Wendover to Stokenchurch
Walk 10 Cholesbury and Hawridge
Walk 11 Wendover and The Lee
Walk 12 Wendover, Ellesborough, Chequers and Coombe Hill
Walk 13 Whiteleaf Hill and Great Kimble
Walk 14 Bledlow and Radnage
Walk 15 Lacey Green, Speen and Bryant’s Bottom
Walk 16 Great Hampden
Walk 17 Great Missenden and Chartridge
4 Amersham to High Wycombe
Walk 18 Chenies, Latimer and the River Chess
Walk 19 Little Missenden, Penn Wood and Penn Street
Walk 20 Hughenden, Bradenham and West Wycombe
Walk 21 Penn and Coleshill
5 Watlington and Nettlebed
Walk 22 Christmas Common and Watlington Hill
Walk 23 Turville, Skirmett and Fingest
Walk 24 Pishill and Stonor
Walk 25 Pishill, Cookley Green and Russell’s Water
Walk 26 Ewelme and Swyncombe
Walk 27 Checkendon and Stoke Row
Walk 28 Hailey and Grim’s Ditch
Walk 29 Nettlebed and Nuffield
Walk 30 Greys Green, Rotherfield Greys and Greys Court
6 Along the Thames
Walk 31 Hambleden, Medmenham and the River Thames
Walk 32 Henley-on-Thames and Middle Assendon
Walk 33 South and North Stoke and Grim’s Ditch
Walk 34 Goring-on-Thames and Cray’s Pond
Walk 35 Whitchurch Hill and Mapledurham
Appendix A Route summary table
Appendix B Useful contacts
Seasons
Walking in the Chilterns is enjoyable at any time of the year. Spring and early summer are best for wild flowers; the autumn colours are spectacular; a frosty winter's day gives impressive views
Centres
The Chiltern Hills stretch between Reading, London, Aylesbury and Luton. Walks around Amersham, Dunstable, Henley-on-Thames, High Wycombe, Ivinghoe, Princes Risborough, Tring, Whipsnade and plenty more.
Difficulty
The routes range from 4 to 12 miles and cover fairly low-level terrain, and although some have several, sometimes steep, climbs and descents, they should be suitable for most walkers. GPX files available to help with navigation.
Must See
Panoramic views from the crest of the Chilterns including Ivinghoe Beacon, Coombe Hill, Whiteleaf Hill and Watlington Hill; great views, rolling hills, peaceful woods; riverside walks and picturesque villages with thatched cottages; lots of detours to cosy local pubs and historic churches included
November 2023
Diversions - Walks 12 and 17
Walk 12 – Page 87
Temporary footpath closure due to HS2 works; this affects the route after leaving Wendover
This path closure is valid until 31/03/26 (this date may be extended)
Route description
Walk up the High Street and Pound Street, passing Station Approach on the right. After crossing the bridge continue along road (pavement) for 500 metres past houses to a footpath on the right. Turn sharp right along this and follow the path diversion, which soon swings left and continues to a junction at SP 858 078. Turn left along the enclosed path, following the Aylesbury Ring route. Continue southwest through paddocks separated by gates before bearing right along an old field boundary towards Wellwick Farm.
Just before the cottages turn left and then right, continue north-westwards between the large barn (left) and cottages (right). Go through the gate and bear half-left across two fields, passing just right of Wellwick House and later following the left-hand fence. Cross the stile and keep ahead over another stile, then continue through the middle of two fields to a cross-path junction.
Walk 17 – Page 110
Temporary footpath closure due to HS2 works; this affects the route near Great Missenden
This path closure is valid until 27/02/26 (this date may be extended)
Route description
With the car park entrance behind you, head south south-east along the left edge of the grassy area, following the South Bucks Way. Keep ahead past houses and a school to reach a green (The Square). Turn left and go through two underpasses (A413 and B485), then head steeply uphill to a lane.
Turn right (SP 899 017) along the lane and keep left at the split to reach a road (Frith Hill). Cross over and turn left uphill following the pavement for 1km to a crossroads in South Heath. Turn left along Potter Row (signposted for The Lee) for 600m – care required as there is no pavement. At a signed crossing path, shortly after passing a house (Bud Cottage) on the right, turn right through a gate (SP 905 024) into the field, where the path splits; now continue on main route.
GPX files with the diversions have been uploaded.
July 2020
Temporary footpath closure due to HS2 – Walk 17
Valid until October 2020 (this may be extended)
This temporary right of way closure affects the route near Great Missenden
Amended route description, P110
With the car park entrance behind you, head south south-east along the left edge of the grassy area, following the South Bucks Way. Keep ahead past houses and a school to reach a green (The Square). Turn left and go through two underpasses (A413 and B485), then head steeply uphill to a lane.
Turn right (SP 899 017) along the lane to the road, cross over and turn left following the pavement for 1km to a crossroads in South Heath. Turn left along Potter Row (signposted for The Lee) for 600m – care required. Turn right through a gate (SP 905 024) into the field, where the path splits (now continue on main route).
Alternatively, follow the diversions given on official notices posted in the area.
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