The Chiltern Way
About the Chilterns
The Chilterns is a largely wooded chalk escarpment stretching from the Thames in a north-easterly direction to just past Luton. It covers an area of 660 square miles. By length, it’s about 50 miles long and 15 miles wide. It is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and therefore enjoys some protection.
Like much of the south of England, the earth beneath the soil is chalk. What distinguishes the Chilterns are the woods that are found here – far more than on the chalklands of the Downs. And, whilst the Chilterns are hilly, they are not particularly high – never rising above 1,000 feet. However, we have listed the feet of ascent on our itineraries just so you know!
The Chilterns are easily accessible from London. Trains run from Marylebone into the Chilterns with stops at Beaconsfield, Princes Risborough, Wendover and Tring. The Metropolitan Line reaches into the Chilterns as far as Chorleywood, Amersham and Chesham.
Despite its proximity to London, the Chilterns remains largely unspoilt and infrequently visited. Unlike the Cotswolds, you won’t find hordes of tourists. You can walk for miles without seeing a soul.
The area is heavily wooded, most of it natural. Beech is the commonest tree but you will also find oaks, sweet chestnuts and conifers.
The woodlands are a natural haven for wildlife. Deer roams freely. Pheasants run amok. The area is the natural home for the Red Kite, once extinct but reintroduced here in 1990. Insects are drawn to rotting tree stumps. Bluebells, orchids and fungi come out in spring, summer and autumn respectively.
Life in the Chilterns
The Chilterns is sparsely populated with only a handful of towns, most of which are on the edge of the region. As you walk through the countryside you will see farms, small holdings, equestrian centres, cottages and large country homes. Farms are mostly arable or sheep and pig. The Chilterns has become a popular place to live for those who need access to London. Some traditional estates remain such as Hambleden, Mapledurham and Stonor Park.
In almost every village, a pub still remains bucking the national trend of pub closures. Many are now gastro-pubs with lovely beer gardens in summer and roaring fires in less clement weathers. So, pop in for lunch, a swift pint, or maybe a cup of tea.
The Chiltern Way
The Chiltern Way was created by the Chiltern Society as a Millenium project. It was based on a previous walk, the Chiltern Hundred, a 100 mile circuit of the central Chilterns.
(The Chiltern Hundreds is also a term used in politics for MP’s to resign their seat: they apply for the unpaid position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds which disqualifies them from being an MP and allows them to leave their seat). The Chiltern Way extended this route to take in all four Chiltern counties (Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire) thus creating a 133 mile walk.
Subsequently three extensions were created : a “Berkshire Loop” of 28 miles; a southern extension of 27 miles; and a northern extension of 25 miles. These take the total distance to 177 miles. Note: it’s not as simple as adding the sum of the extensions to 133 as will soon become clear.
We’ve decided to tackle this project in stages by bringing you, in 2026, what we will call the Chiltern Way- South. This makes use of the Southern Extension, starting in Marlow and ending in Ipsden near Wallingford. It makes use of the Southern Extension as that really adds to the quality of the walk. The Southern part of the Chilterns is also the section closest to us and is arguably the nicest. So it makes sense to start here. We have decided not to make use the Berkshire Loop. This runs parallel to the Chiltern Way but on the opposite side of the Thames. Since the river forms a natural boundary for the Chilterns, one could therefore argue that the Berkshire loop doesn’t belong here.
The Chiltern Way, although well-marked, does not have a good guidebook. So we are providing detailed route guidance with all our packages.
Itineraries
We will have 4 interlinking itineraries: Chiltern Way South, West, North and East.
The first of these, Chiltern Way South, is now available.
We also have a Chilterns “taster” – a 3 day 30 mile walk through the southern Chilterns, some of which is on the Chiltern Way. This walk is filled with deep woods and rolling hills. It starts in Marlow and finishes in Goring.
Ready to book?