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I was born in Aylesbury and have lived in the Chilterns all my life, always within a 5-mile radius of where I grew up. I have travelled all over the world, but there is nowhere I would rather live than in this beautiful part of England. The changing seasons and beautiful landscapes of the Chilterns have inspired me, comforted me and provided me with a sense of stability throughout the ups and downs of my life. These images are of places that mean a great deal to me. These photographs were taken over the last two or three years, all on Canon cameras. I have a small Ixus with me at all times, use a Powershot for general photography, and an EOS when photography is the main purpose of the outing.

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I must confess I have never actually lived in the Chilterns. I was born and brought up in Leicestershire and although when I was 21 I moved much further south to Bracknell to begin a career at the Met Office, my familiarity with the Chilterns has grown very gradually, with my knowledge at first limited mainly to the far south of the region. Only in quite recent years have I become more adventurous, working inwards and northwards to explore what are still to this day foreign lands to me. The Chilterns I know best are very much out on the fringes, places that for many years I was unaware were even within its boundary. Even so, there are now many places that I have come to regard as special enough to be included in 'My Chilterns'. Here is just a flavour.

Dates that photographs were taken follow each caption; * indicates a film camera.

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I first came to the northern Chilterns over fifty years ago, so I’m delighted to be able to share with you some images and thoughts about this lovely patch of rural England. These photos and captions are necessarily parochial. They are my images and my thoughts about an area I love. This is ‘My Chilterns’. The photographs were taken between 2010-12 using a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS digital camera.

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For me there are two distinct aspects to My Chilterns. There is my carefree Chilterns where I have walked for a number of years culminating in the completion of the wonderful Chiltern Way in 2000. I belong to two photography groups and have enjoyed many field trips photographing the towns, villages, countryside and leisure pursuits for which the area is renowned. The area has a rich heritage with many museums, significant buildings and places of interest to visit.

There is also my cared for Chilterns. Although it is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) it is still under threat from development. It was the proposal to build HS2, a high-speed railway line, across the middle of the Chilterns that increased my awareness of these threats. Since 2010 I have been photographing locations that will be changed forever.

Some developments which were controversial when announced, have brought great benefits both to local communities and to the Chilterns as a whole. I’m thinking of the M40 and the A41 in particular. Many towns and villages which are now bypassed by ever increasing amounts of traffic, are now pleasant places to visit.

Ironically excavations for HS2 have uncovered many treasures going back to the Bronze Age. There must be so much more yet to be uncovered. All of this has made me appreciate just how special are My Chilterns.

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I have lived in or close to the Chilterns since the age of five. My family moved to Aylesbury initially and then to High Wycombe when I was 14. More recently we have lived in Widmer End and Holmer Green. Since the age of digital my photography has moved on from an interest to a passion/obsession! During that journey I have come to appreciate the full beauty of the Chilterns. Since retirement my wife and I have regularly met up with friends to walk in the Chilterns and we have thoroughly appreciated the Chiltern Society “walks leaflets”. The pictures that I have selected are personal favourites, mainly from the last five years, in locations that mean a lot to me. My pictures are taken on Canon cameras, mainly using an 18-135mm lens.

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Unlike most Chiltern Society members, I have lived most of my life in Ealing, not the Chilterns, but the beautiful Chiltern countryside is an easy Sunday drive from West London. For many years my husband and I walked there most weekends and after he died much of my pleasure and social life was still centered there.    Sadly I only get out to the country very occasionally now. As I move towards the end of a long life, I hope you will accept that this My Chilterns album has turned out to be more of a personal memoir than most others. So it starts with a brief recall of my early life – the experiences that later led me to love walking among the Chiltern great beech woods, green hills and shady valleys and photographing the landscape, flowers and wildlife along the way.   I have to add that I was originally the second photographer to my more expert husband. He started in the ‘50s with exposure meter, tape measure and darkroom, and a few of the pictures here are his. My thanks are due to the Chiltern PhotoGroup, who offered friendship over the years and made me feel a ‘proper’ photographer at last.   The making of this album has given me enormous pleasure: it turned into a chance to relive so many wonderful moments, all still vivid in my mind; and became an expression of gratitude for the joy and solace that green places and wild things have given me for eighty years, and a collection of happy memories to wrap around me as walking itself becomes more difficult.   This album has been a long time in the making but thank you, Website Editor, for suggesting I produce it, waiting so patiently and encouraging me every step of the way.