THE Chilterns is a glorious landscape of rolling chalk hills, ancient woodlands, and quaint villages that’s steeped in history: a perfect playground for walkers, cyclists, and nature lovers keen to explore and enjoy the great outdoors.
When we launched The Beyonder back in 2018 we hoped it would appeal to like-minded locals and visitors who share our love of nature and want to find out more about the rich wildlife, heritage and culture of the area too.
We live in a frantic hi-tech world where it’s only too easy to lose sight of the important things in life, and where youngsters have less and less chance to escape from their phones and computer screens and get out in the countryside.
We wanted to create a thriving online community of people who share similar interests and goals – whether they are ramblers or bird-watchers, runners or photographers, dog-walkers or tourists.
Most of all, we wanted to encourage people to get out and about and enjoy all the attractions the area has to offer: the best home-cooked food, cosy pubs with roaring fires, empty valleys and ancient woods.
If you feel the same way, we hope you’ll enjoy the features, reviews and photographs on the site and want to share them with your friends. And we hope the ‘what’s on’ pages will give you some ideas about events and activities you might find interesting.
Protecting our precious countryside
Like most people who appreciate the natural environment, we’d like to do our bit to help protect it for future generations.
Support – We try to actively support organisations we believe in through our personal membership and by doing what we can to publicise their activities.
Promote – As communications professionals, we want to spread the word about conservation and protection projects, for example, as well as local events, activities, eateries and food producers.
Educate – We’d like to hear more from teachers about what they and their schools are doing to spread the word among young people about protecting their local environment and encourage youngsters to enjoy the great outdoors.
Campaign – Some issues are worth fighting for and are highlighted in our Getting Involved section – starting with the uphill struggle against litter and fly-tipping.
Volunteer – Talk is all very well, but sometimes action is called for – and if getting your hands dirty involves making new friends and meeting like-minded people, that sounds like a win-win situation!
Developing an online community of local people who care
As we continue on our own journey of exploration with The Beyonder, we hope it will encourage other people to join us – whether that just means getting the family out of the house together or discovering a new hobby, sport or enthusiasm.
We look forward to hearing your stories and seeing your pictures – and hope that they will help to inspire others to take a renewed interest in the world around them too.
