The hills of my childhood

I recently popped by to see the folks as I travelled down south for work. I did very little other than sit in the garden and enjoy slow living for 48 hours with a brief foray or two out into the hills that surround where they have always lived. They are very different to the hills of the Scottish Borders where I currently live or the foothills of the Cairngorms where I used to live but they are charming non the less.

The Chiltern Hills are a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and run for 70 miles south west to north east across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire and my formative years were focussed on the south west of the area between the charming towns of Henley On Thames and Marlow. I spent those days cycling around the lanes, bridleways and long distance paths that cross the area, working on farms and in rural pubs (most of which no longer exist) and enjoying temperatures that are usually at least 5 degrees celsius warmer than my adopted homeland.

The NW side of the hills is a sharp chalk escarpment that rises quickly from the plains east of Oxford and then the landscape slowly dips eastwards towards the Thames with areas topped by clay and flint, balls of the stone are on display at home to maintain the connection. Between is a landscape of national significance, it is home to rare chalk downlands, rolling grassy hills rich in wildlife such as butterflies and wildflowers and stunning views over the surrounding countryside.

If you’ve never been you should go. Visit Henley and Marlow to see how the other half live, enjoy a long lunch in the rural pubs that remain, see Turville and its famous windmill that sits above it, and perhaps has shaped my life more than I appreciate. Go to Hambleden, the set of many films and TV shows and enjoy the paths that wind their way across the fabulous landscape.

I love rural Britain and I usually blame this on childhood holidays to Pembrokeshire, Cornwall and the West Coast Of Scotland but I suspect the gentile Chiltern Hills are just as much of a reason as the more dramatic locations.