Country Escapes - The National Trails

Country Escapes
Along the Ridge of the Chilterns
When people moved around England’s untamed countryside in
prehistoric times, they followed the ridges of hills and downs
where there were fewer trees and less dense vegetation. There
could have been few finer viewpoints than Ivinghoe Beacon, which
marks the eastern end of The Ridgeway National Trail, thought to
be the oldest of all such early routes. On this heady spot The
Ridgeway and the ancient Icknield Way meet and look down over
peaceful scenery that is well blessed with rural attractions, village
pubs and gentle country walks to delight you for a few days.
The Ridgeway near Aldbury © Jos Joslin
Tring to Ivinghoe
FACT FILE
This easy-to-follow route from Tring Station to Ivinghoe Beacon along
The Ridgeway is a lovely walk. The Ridgeway actually passes the
station (which has a car park) just outside the town.
From the station turn right and follow Station Road before shortly
turning left following Ridgeway signposts. The walk takes you through
a marvellous variety of scenery. First comes Aldbury Nowers Nature
Reserve, a haven for chalk grassland flowers and insects, followed by
lovely beech woods with a section of Grim’s Ditch, an ancient Iron Age
boundary. You will emerge to enjoy sweeping views from the top of
Pitstone Hill and to stride on over the springy Chiltern turf to the Iron
Age fort at breathtaking Ivinghoe Beacon. From here you can either
return the same way or make your way to Ivinghoe by footpaths where
there are regular buses to the centre of Tring (service 61) on Mondays
to Saturdays.
Distance: Tring Station to Ivinghoe Beacon - 3½ miles/1½ hours
Ivinghoe Beacon to Ivinghoe – 1½ miles/¾ hour
Finding your way
The Ridgeway is way-marked throughout
with the National Trail acorn symbol.
Maps
See map at end of document; also
OS Landranger 165
OS Explorer 181
Getting there
For details of buses and trains visit:
Ridgeway Travel Planner
Refreshments
Tring: Various cafés and pubs
Aldbury: Greyhound
T: 01442 851228
Valiant Trooper T: 01442 851203
Ashridge: Outdoor café facilities at
Ashridge Visitor Centre
T: 01442 851227
Public Toilets
Tring: Car park, east end of High Street
Ashridge: Ashridge Visitor Centre
Ivinghoe Beacon at far end of ridge © Graeme Cannon
Ashridge Drovers Walk
Accommodation
For another walk, you can download Ashridge Drovers Walk which
provides circular walks from Tring Station. It has a choice of a short or
longer walk which take you into Aldbury, through the wooded Ashridge
Estate and back via The Ridgeway to the station.
Tring: Pendley Manor Hotel
T: 01442 891891
Premier Inn T: 01442 824819
Old Forge T: 01442 827038
97 High Street T: 01442 823678
E: [email protected]
Distance: Short route 4 miles/2 hours; long route 6 miles/3 hours.
Grand Union Canal to Berkhamsted
Another pleasant and very different walk is to turn left out of Tring
Station and, after 200 metres, turn left onto the towpath of the Grand
Union Canal, Britain’s longest canal. Follow the canal to Berkhamsted
from where you can catch a train back.
Aldbury: Greyhound T: 01442 851228
Folly Farm T: 01442 851645
Applegarth T: 01442 851231
E: [email protected]
Distance: 4½ miles/2½ hrs
Other places to visit
While visiting the area
The panorama from Ivinghoe Beacon shows several places worth a
visit. The eye-catching figure of a huge white lion etched into the flank
of the Chilterns in 1933 marks the site of what is now Whipsnade Zoo.
At the edge of escarpment is 17th-century Pitstone Windmill, Britain’s
oldest surviving post mill - so called because the whole mill pivots on a
massive wooden post. Nearby is the Ashridge Estate, acres of open
downs and woodlands whose focal point is the Duke of Bridgewater’s
monument erected in 1832. The estate is a magical maze of mainly
woodland paths, alive with birdsong and the fleeting forms of deer. Its
village of Aldbury is popular for its picturesque village green, stocks and
pond and for refreshments served at its two pubs.
From Aldbury it’s just a step to Tring, the town largely shaped by the
Rothschild family who built over 200 Victorian cottages here in a Tudor
revival, Arts & Crafts style. They also created Tring’s Zoological
Museum, now part of the Natural History Museum – originally given to
Lionel Walter Rothschild at his coming-of-age to house the zoological
specimen he had accumulated since the age of six. A mosaic in the
centre of Tring is of Walter and his team of zebra, which drew his
carriage around the town. Whilst in Tring take time to visit its Local
History Museum or, if you’re lucky enough to be there on a Saturday
morning, take a tour of Tring Brewery and sample its Ridgeway Bitter
named after The Ridgeway National Trail. Alternatively really treat
yourself by visiting Champneys Tring Health Resort for a day spa.
The White Lion from Ivinghoe Beacon © Peter Blyth
To complete your stay you might also visit: Pitstone Green Farm
Museum; College Lake Nature Reserve or take a cruise on the
Pitstone Canal with Grebe Canal Cruisers.
Whipsnade Zoo
Pitstone Windmill
Ashridge Estate
Natural History Museum at Tring
Tring Local History Museum
Tring Brewery
Champneys Tring Health Resort
Pitstone Green Farm Museum
College Lake Nature Reserve
Pitstone canal cruising with Grebe Canal
Cruisers
Tourist Information
Tring: Market House, High Street,
T: 01442 823347
E: [email protected]
W: www.tring.gov.uk
Remember when out walking
• Wear appropriate clothing and strong,
comfortable footwear.
• Carry water.
• Take a mobile phone if you have one,
but coverage may be patchy in rural
areas.
• If you are walking alone it’s sensible,
as a precaution, to let someone know
where you are and when you expect to
return.
• Please follow the Countryside Code