Sunday Telegraph from London, Greater London, England • 119

The Sunday Telegraph FEBRUARY 22 2009 D7 THE CHILTERNS ENGLAND'S SOUTH EAST A WALKER'S PARADISE REPORT BY PAUL BRAY FIND OUT MORE QUIET FORESTS AND VALLEYS IN THE HOME COUNTIES ARE SURE TO DELIGHT on green Chiltern most the Birmingham. from M40 Hills Londoners or the are But a a train this glimpse the to cutting area of of chalk downs, quiet valleys and brooding forests just beyond the M25, is one of the most attractive parts of the Home Counties and a walker's paradise, richly deserving its designation as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The combination of rural tranquillity and proximity to the metropolis has long attracted those in the know. John Milton fled plague-ridden London in 1665 and settled in Chalfont St Giles, where you can visit the cottage in which he is thought to have completed Paradise Lost. The village is also home to Ivy House inn, reputed to serve excellent food, and the Chiltern Open Air Museum, which has rescued more than 30 historic buildings and re-erected them in a 45-acre park.

The Victorian Prime Minister Disraeli lived for 33 years at Hughenden Manor, near High Wycombe, where you can still see his furniture, books and pictures. Hughenden is one of 13 National Trust properties in Bucks, of which the most flamboyant is Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury the mock-French chateau built in the 1880s for the banker Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild. Waddesdon's worldclass collections, including French royal furniture and porcelain and portraits by Reynolds and Gainsborough, claim to rank with those of the Louvre. The gardens are equally splendid, the highlight being restored rococo-style aviaries housing exotic birds. Not all Chilterns residents were as respectable.

Disraeli's neighbour at West Wycombe Park (also National Trust) was Sir Francis Dashwood, founder of the Hellfire Club. Tales of their satanic rituals were probably exaggerated, but members certainly convened in the caves that Dashwood had excavated in his garden where their antics are recreated in tableau form and in the even more unlikely setting of the golden globe that tops the tower of St Lawrence's Church on West Wycombe Hill. The hike up the hill is worthwhile, not only for the views, but also for the chance to spot one of the red kites that have been reintroduced into the area. West Wycombe is one of a clutch of pretty villages in this part of Buckinghamshire. Other examples include Fingest, with its medieval and Georgian cottages; Hambleden, birthplace of Lord Cardigan of Light Brigade and knitwear fame; and Turville, aka Dibley, whose church was used as a set for the TV series.

If you want to cut your carbon footprint, Chiltern Railways provides two useful arteries into the area. The line to Aylesbury passes through old-worlde Amersham and Wendover, whose attractive high street is on The Ridgeway, an 87-mile long footpath traversing the Chilterns and North Wessex Downs. The station in between is Great Missenden, start of a three-mile stroll to the Misbourne Valley and home for 36 years to Roald Dahl; the village houses the intriguing Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. There's another good walk between Seer Green and Beaconsfield stations on the main In 1 chateau Waddesdon Manor; the 80-year-old Bekonscot chocolate at the Roald Dahl Museum; good walks abound Forty Green, the 900-year-old seven-mile, traffic-free Phoenix Royal Standard of England is Trail to Thame, part of the reputedly England's oldest pub. National Cycle Route to Oxford.

The railway line continues to Sadly the rail network is no High Wycombe, with its new Eden longer as extensive as it was, but shopping centre and acclaimed there are compensations. The Fusions restaurant, and then to Phoenix Trail was once a railway Princes Risborough, where you line, and the Old Station at can hire a bike to explore the Bledlow, near High Wycombe, has Get away from it all this weekend (we'll drive) It's now even easier to escape to the country by rail. What's more, leafy Or, of course, you could use your imagination and our website Buckinghamshire has plenty to see and do, so why don't you stay for the weekend? www.chilternrailways.co.uk/daysout to put together your perfect short break. The spectacular countryside of the Chiltern Hills has a variety of walking and cycle Our bargain Advance tickets are available for many journeys just use your mobile routes waiting to be explored. Just pick up a Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural to get a barcode ticket texted to you or book and pick up your tickets from one of Beauty walks leaflet from one of our stations, for some great station to station our station ticket machines.

No hassle, no queuing, just a great excuse to escape walks to follow. to the country. Take advantage of 2 for 1 entry when you travel by rail to the stunning Hell-Fire Caves at West Wycombe. Get off at High Wycombe station to explore the chambers and Great Banqueting Hall deep underground. To finish your short break, why don't you see how the Rothschilds lived at Waddesdon Manor? www.chilternrailways.co.uk/daysout Chiltern Railways VISIT BUCKINGHAMSHIRE www.visitbuckinghamshire.

org GREAT VALUE Chiltern Railways has off-peak and group-save tickets, and special all-line rail-rover prices. 08456 005165; www.chilternrailways.co.uk ACCOMMODATION The Five Arrows 01296 651727; www.waddesdon.org.uk/ The Old Station 01844 345086; www.theoldstation-bledlow. co.uk ATTRACTIONS Chiltemns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty www.chilternsaonb.org Chiltern Railways 08456 005165; www.chilternrailways.co.uk Hell-Fire Caves 01494 533739; www.hellfirecaves.co.uk Waddesdon Manor 01296 653226; www.waddesdon.org.uk Clockwise from top: faux French Model Village; giant Willy Wonka line to Birmingham. The Beaconsfield home of a rather different children's author, Enid Blyton, features in Bekonscot Model Village, which celebrates its 80th birthday this year and is said to have been the inspiration for Toytown in Blyton's Noddy stories. At the nearby village of been turned into a Visitors seeking unusual accommodation should also try the Five Arrows Hotel and Restaurant at Waddesdon, which has 11 individually designed rooms and a cuisine rooted in the European gastronomic traditions of the Rothschild family..