Dunstable Downs and Whipsnade

Butterfly Grasslands — on an outcrop of the Chiltern Hills through downlands and valleys. Dunstable Downs provides a spectacular starting point for this varied walk. Rising to nearly 800 feet (244 metres), the Downs are the highest point in Bedfordshire. In fact the trig pillar is not far from the start and is an optional detour if you wish. See the Bedfordshire County Top walk. Also near the start is Five Knolls, a group of Neolithic or Iron Age burial mounds. Far over to the left is the outcrop of Ivinghoe Beacon, beginning point of the Ridgeway National Trail. Whipsnade Zoo is on the route of the walk and can be visited as another optional extra.

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Start Point

Robertson Corner

Grid Ref: TL 00866 19775

Total Distance

5.3 miles (8.5 km)

Total Climbing

100 metres

Estimated Time

3 hours

Difficulty Grade

Moderate

Trail Navigation Files:

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Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (1:25,000)

Essential paper map for exploring the Chiltern Hills North, Aylesbury, Berkhamsted and Chesham:

181 Chiltern Hills North, Aylesbury, Berkhamsted and Chesham →

The Walk Report

The walk passes a tree "cathedral", a natural setting of 25 different varieties of trees. The Tree Cathedral was the brainchild of Mr Edmond Blyth, who decided to commemorate the deaths of three of his friends in World War One. Planting began in 1930 and it was given to the National Trust in 1969.

St Mary Magdalene Church in Whipsnade has a late 16th-century tower built in local brick, with fine bells which have fostered a tradition of bell ringing. The splendidly carved pulpit, with its steps, door, and tester, is 17th century.

Whipsnade is a compound of the Anglo-Saxon personal name, Wibba, with the word "snæd", an area of woodland, so the name means "Wibba’s wood". A variation may be seen as "Wystnade" in a legal record of 1460, where named people in Dunstable were accused of trespassing.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.

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Dunstable Downs and Whipsnade

Ordnance Survey Explorer Map (1:25,000)

The Walk Report

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