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Rivers and streams are fed from groundwater held in the chalk of the Chiltern Hills. The water emerges as springs but as groundwater levels vary according to rainfall and season, chalk streams are naturally intermittent in their flow. The water table rises in winter and the heads of the rivers move up the valleys; conversely in summer the water table drops leaving the tops of the rivers (‘winterbourne’) dry.

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Photographs of farmers and farming in the Chilterns showing how things have changed since the 1940s.

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To open our new project 'Chiltern Farming in 2023', Sheila Crouch has contributed a set of photos that features arable farming practices at the Penn Estate farm. Located near Amersham, it is managed by William Lee on behalf of Earl Howe, the Chiltern Society's patron and we acknowledge their help in compiling this album. 

Click here to see location on a map

An earlier album shows Chiltern farming as it was between 1940 and 2006:

https://www.chilternphoto.org.uk/index/category/91

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The Chilterns Conservation Board initiated a Commons Project in September 2011 and the Chiltern Society was involved from the beginning. The Chilterns has nearly 200 commons that have been at the heart of the communities since the Middle Ages but they are under threat from neglect, agriculture, housing and commerce. Clive Ormonde was one of many Chiltern Society members who contributed to the project by volunteering to photograph some of the commons. The aim was, and is, to publicise the commons, help to restore them to something like their former state and encourage their use.

This album includes some of the photographs that Clive took in the south Chilterns. He introduces them:

“I tried to visit as many of the commons as I could during the course of the project, but because I lived close to the Nettlebed commons it was natural that I would spend most of my time at three of these: Kingwood Common, Peppard Common and Nettlebed Common itself. My aim was to photograph some of the character of the commons, items relating to the history, the natural history of the commons and examples of current everyday use.

“At first glance the three commons would appear to be quite similar in nature: all three have areas of heathland, which is rather unusual in Oxfordshire. But there are also major differences.”

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A cairn near Wendover marks the highest point (267m or 876ft) in the Chiltern Hills. Map ref: SP889092.

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College Lake in Bulbourne is east of Marsworth and two miles north of Tring. 
The 67 hectare site is one of the flagship nature reserves of the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (www.bbowt.org.uk). Formerly it was a busy chalk quarry operated by Castle Cement to serve its nearby works in Pitstone. Teams of volunteers have transformed it into a delightful place of tranquility. It has three walking trails, including the circular two-mile Wild Trail, a learning centre for school children, and an eco visitor centre and café. Opened in 2010, the centre has great views of the lakes.   The photographs were taken between 2011 and 2021.

Click here to see location on a map

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Our website has photographs, taken over the last 50 years, of more than 130 beautiful wild flowers that can mostly be found on the Chiltern chalk hills and grasslands. Here we have listed all the flowers so you can easily find them, (they are in alpha sequence).

Scroll through the thumbnails to select one or jump directly by clicking on a photo ID number eg. di175.

Anenomes               di175       Asphodel, Bog          mw134

Balsam                 mw076       Balsam, Himalayan      mw077        Blackthorn          di146

Bluebells              di111       Bluebells              wv587        Broomrape, Greater  mw151

Broomrape, Ivy         mw113

Candytuft              mw068       Celandine              di202        Chicory             mw133

Common chickweed       mw084       Common mallow          mw074        Corn cockle         wv573

Cornflower             mw078       Cornflowers            wv573        Cow wheat           wv573

Cowslip                mw079       

Dragons teeth          mw066       Dropwort               mw108
         
Eyebright              mw126       Eyebright, Dwarf       mw127

Felwort                mw072       Field Fleawort         mw100        Fox and cubs        mw085

Fumitory               mw120

Gentian                di115       Gentian                di205        Gentian             di244

Gentian, Chiltern      di114       Gentian, Chiltern      mw071        Gentian, Marsh      mw110

Goatsbeard clock       wu894       Great willowherb       mw104        Greater dodder      mw101

Hellebore, Green       mw153       Hellebore, Stinking    mw165        Helleborine, Broad  mw154

Helleborine, Dark red  mw160      Helleborine, Marsh     mw162        Helleborine, Narrow lipped mw157

Helleborine, Red       mw057       Helleborine, Violet    mw055        Helleborine, Violet mw156

Henbane                mw109
       
Knapweed               mw081       Knapweed               wu440        Knapweed, Greater   wv564

Lady's bedstraw        wu440
        
Marsh violet           mw103       Marsh woundwort        ex35         Mignonette          mw122

Monkey flower          mw064       Mullein                di113

Nettle-leaved bellflower di112

Onion weed             mw087       Orchid                 di208        Orchid              di218

Orchid with trefoil    wu895       Orchid, Autumn Lady's tresses mw050 Orchid, Bee         di099

Orchid, Bee            mw033       Orchid, Bee            wu896        Orchid, Bee variant mw034

Orchid, Birds nest     mw149       Orchid, Burnt tip      mw014        Orchid, Butterfly   di100

Orchid, Butterfly     di206       Orchid, Butterfly    mw008       Orchid, Common Twayblade  mw045

Orchid, Early marsh    mw020       Orchid, Early marsh    mw137        Orchid, Early purple mw036

Orchid, Fly            di097       Orchid, Fly            di098        Orchid, Fly         mw138

Orchid, Fragrant       mw139       Orchid, Frog           mw018        Orchid, Ghost       mw042

Orchid, Green winged   mw023      Orchid, Green winged   mw026        Orchid, Heath spotted mw035

Orchid, Lady          ex100      Orchid, Lady's slipper mw001        Orchid, Lesser butterfly mw009

Orchid, Loose flowered mw022       Orchid, Man            mw002-3      Orchid, Military    mw140

Orchid, Monkey         ex99        Orchid, Musk           mw030        Orchid, Pyramid     di016

Orchid, Pyramid        mw005       Orchid, Pyramid        mw006-7      Orchid, Pyramid     wv803

Orchid, Small white    mw004       Orchid, Southern marsh mw021        Orchid, Yellow Birds nest mw148

Orchids                di207       Orchids, Common spotted zd050       Orchids, Fragrant   wv562

Pale flax              mw073       Pasque                 wu588        Primroses           di204

Rattle, Red            mw125       Red-spur valerian      mw119        Restharrow          mw080

Rose, Dog              di091       Rose, Dog              di227        Rose, Dog           mw106

Rose, Field            mw107

Snakeshead fritillary  mw167       Snowdrops              ex104        Speedwell           di217

Spurge laurel         mw105       St John's-wort         mw067        St John's-wort, Hairy mw117

St John's-wort, Marsh  mw115       St John's-wort, Trailing mw116      Star of Bethlehem   mw135

Sticky sage            mw083       Sunflower, Cottage garden ex52
        
Thistle, Dwarf         mw114       Thistle, Musk          mw121        Thistle, Woolly     mw082

Thistle, Woolly        wv804       Toadfax, Yellow        mw069        Toadflax, Purple    mw112

Violet, Water          mw118       Violet, Wood dog       mw102        Violets, Wood       di110

Vipers Bugloss         mw128
         
Water crowfoot         mw123       Water crowfoot, Tubular mw124

Willow herb            wu441

Yellow-wort            wu277

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Originally called the Grand Junction, the canal was constructed in the late 18th century to provide a short cut from the Oxford Canal at Braunston to the Thames at Brentford. The canal was a busy commercial waterway until the coming of the railways. It became part of the Grand Union system of canals in 1929. The photographs of the canal in the Chilterns are divided into four sections and were taken by John Fitzgerald, Quiller Barrett, David and Lin Roberts, and Edna Sansom, mostly in 2011.

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The Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal is just over 6 miles long. It descends 95ft from Marsworth Junction to Aylesbury Basin and was opened in 1814 with narrow locks to conserve water.   The photographs were taken in 2022 by Martyn Loach.

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Completed in 1797, the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal is 6.75 miles long and follows the 390ft contour from Bulbourne to Wharf Road in Wendover. 'The Navigable Feeder' as it was originally called was meant to feed water to the Tring Summit while commercial traffic also used the arm to carry hay and straw to London before returning with manure and coal.   The photographs were taken by Martyn Loach, mostly in 2022.

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The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers 324 square miles from the River Thames in southern Oxfordshire to Hitchin. It contains some magnificent landscapes where the underlying chalk rock has given rise to quiet valleys, streams and hillsides of velvety downland. The Chiltern Society PhotoGroup has rather arbitrarily decided where the Heart of the Chilterns lies and has selected a few landscape photos to illustrate its beauty.

The photos were taken in 2019 unless otherwise indicated.

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Whipsnade Park golf course is close to the zoo, which makes for some interesting noises at times. Founded in 1974, the owner planted over 30,000 trees and has a keen interest in bringing nature to the notice of members and visitors alike. There is no better way to illustrate this than for John Hockey, a member of the club for more than 30 years, to take us on a journey through the year. The club motto is Carpe Diem so let's join their members in enjoying what the golf course has to offer.

The photos were taken by John Hockey between 2015 and 2018.

Click here to see location on a map