This fairly sedate hike is in the Chiltern Hills (or the Chilterns), a chalk escarpment in southern England which was designated in 1964 as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are many places where you could start this loop walk – and even more variations to the hike you could make using the vast network of trails that criss-cross the Chilterns.
Ridgeway National Trail
I’m starting near the Tring railway station, making this a very easy hike to access by public transport.
This first part of the Chilterns loop follows the 140km (87 miles) Ridgeway National Trail – an ancient trackway described as Britain’s oldest road. The Ridgeway passes through Aldbury Nowers, a 19.7 hectare (49 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
So far most of the trail has been through woodland, which covers 21% of the Chilterns, one of the most heavily wooded areas in England.
Emerging from the forest, the trail climbs gently up and over Pitstone Hill, a biological Site of Special Scientific Importance (SSSI) which is home to the scarce pasque flower and field fleawort, and 26 species of butterfly. From the hill there’s a view over the town of Pitstone to the west.
After traversing Pitstone Hill the Ridgeway reaches the large Pitstone Hill car park, which is a better spot to start/finish the loop if driving. The trail now ascends (gently) towards Steps Hill.
After skirting around the edge of Steps Hill, the Ridgeway heads towards Beacon Hill (crossing Beacon Road just before the final climb up to the top of the hill).
Beacon Hill and the Ivinghoe Beacon is not the highest point on this Chilterns loop – but it does offer one of the best views on the hike. The hill is an ancient signal point, used in times of crisis to send messages across long distances, and the site of an early Iron Age hillfort (evidence has revealed human activity dating back to the Bronze Age).
The Beacon’s appearance of remoteness yet relative proximity to two film studios has made it a popular choice as a filming location, including four Harry Potter films and the Star Wars movie The Rise of Skywalker.
Icknield Way
From the Ivinghoe Beacon, the route follows the Icknield Way, another old road that stretched from Berkshire through Oxfordshire; the earliest mentions of the Icknield Way are in Anglo-Saxon charters from the year 903 onwards and it was shown around 1250 as one of the Four Highways of Great Britain.
The Icknield Way veers off the more obvious path and follows the edge of a large field.
After passing a few more fields the route reaches Ward’s Hurst Farm; the Icknield Way turns east towards the town of Dagnall, while I continue straight ahead through Ashridge Estate.
Ashridge Estate
Consisting of 5,000 acres of semi-natural woodland (Ashridge Forest), parkland and chalk downlands, Ashridge Estate is another Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It dates back over 700 years to when a monastery was founded, which continued to flourish until Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539. The trail ascends through a planted pine forest, before crossing more Natural Trust farmland.
This section is quite varied as the route alternates between field and ferns, and wide paved roads to narrow walking tracks.
The route passes through Pitstone Common, where it meets a wide trail shared with horses, cyclists and walkers.
The trail ends at the Bridgewater Monument, a towering granite column built in 1832 in memory of the 3rd Duke of Bridgewater (Francis Egerton) who lived in Ashridge house. On weekends you can climb to the top.
From the Bridgewater Monument – which even on a weekday is bustling with picnickers – the Rangers Ramble descends quite steeply to the town of Aldbury.
Situated in a narrow valley, Aldbury has been described as a “chocolate-box” village due to its traditional appearance. Within Aldbury is the Parish Church of Saint John the Baptist which is of Early English style; parts of the chancel and nave are 13th century in origin, and the church was restored in 1866–1867.
Hertfordshire Way
The last part of this hike from Aldbury follows a very short section of the 312km Hertfordshire Way, a circular walk around the county of Hertfordshire.
As the route passes through fields above Aldbury, there’s another view of the Parish Church of Saint John.
The Hertfordshire Way meets The Ridgeway near Tring Station, and the last few hundred metres of the route is through tall forest again along The Ridgeway National Trail.
This Chilterns Loop is one of many variations you can do in this area; it’s easy to get “lost” and follow the wrong path, but you’ll invariably just end up at a different pub, or a village… or both.
Getting to the Chilterns Loop
This loop trail has many starting point; by public transport the Tring railway station is the best place to start – it has train services operated by London Northwestern Railway (LNR) and West Midlands Railway (WMR) to London Euston and Milton Keynes. By car, the most convenient car parks are at Pitstone Hill, Ivinghoe Beacon and Beacon Road – but there are many other trailheads along the 15km loop.
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