chilterns – The Beyonder

Finally, the countryside explodes into colour

Posted on April 20, 2024April 20, 2024 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

AFTER those dull, muddy early weeks of the year, the world suddenly seems to explode into life in March.

**CHEEKY CUSTOMER:** a grey squirrel *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwi*n

Suddenly – and only after long grey days of eager anticipation – the natural world is alive with activity, with something new to spot every day.

**BEADY EYE:** a kestrel on the lookout for prey *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwi*n

Well, that’s the theory, anyway. Except that this year, the rain seemed to be unrelenting and the mud lingered remorselessly on until the end of the month.

**WATERLOGGED:** downpours leave their mark *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwi*n

Fields languished under water and footpaths turned into claggy quagmires. But amid all the deluges and unpredictable temperatures there were still all those small, familiar, welcome signs that spring is inexorably pressing on with the business of encouraging new life to flourish.

**CHILLY PROSPECT:** wintry skies in Chesham *PICTURE: Leigh Richardson*

With the weather so grubby, nature lovers have been alert to the smallest changes in our local flora and fauna that signal those new beginnings and have been watching them with fascination.

**MISTY MORNING:** deer at Windsor *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Delight in the little things, said Kipling – yet all too often simple daily pleasures slip past us without us taking the time to savour them.

**FURRY FACE:** a cute youngster *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwi*n

But on a bright day in March, with the sun streaming in through the bedroom window after what seems like weeks of gales and torrential downpours, the birds are in full song.

**DRESSED TO IMPRESS:** a pheasant in full finery *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwi*n

And to quote Wodehouse: “The snail was on the wing and the lark on the thorn – or, rather, the other way around – and God was in His heaven and all right with the world.”

First it was the daffodils and primroses replacing the snowdrops, a welcome splash of colour around nearby villages, prompting the predictable outpouring of Wordsworth quotes.

**SPRING LAMBS:** new arrivals *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

And if that old favourite is a little too familiar, what about a less well known one from the Twitter account of @A_AMilne: “I affirm that the daffodil is my favourite flower. For the daffodil comes, not only before the swallow comes, but before all the many flowers of summer; it comes on the heels of a flowerless winter. Yes, a favourite flower must be a spring flower.”

**SEA OF BLOSSOM:** fruit trees and hedges come to life *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwi*n

Almost overnight, it seems, the blackthorn hedges have become awash with abundant small white flowers, like sea foam splashing against the shoreline.

**EARLY PROMISE:** a long-tailed tit at Dorney Wetlands *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

But while the earliest hedgerow shrub to flower may herald the onset of spring, country folk warn of the so-called ‘Blackthorn Winter’, when the white blossoms can be matched in colour by frost-covered grass, icy temperatures and even late snow flurries.

**EARLY RISER:** a muntjac deer in the mist *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Although depicted in fairy tales throughout Europe as a tree of ill omen, blackthorn is given a rather magical reputational makeover by Dutch storyteller Els Baars, who suggests the “innocent” white flowers are the Lord’s way of telling the world that the blackthorn bush was not to blame for its twigs being used to make Christ’s crown of thorns.

And it’s far from being the only colour to catch the eye. Plumes of fragrant apple and cherry blossom appear all around too, a delight to bees and other pollinators before they start to shower to the ground like pink, white and red confetti.

Wonderful magnolia trees and glossy everygreen camellias and mahonias are fighting for attention in local gardens, while yellow gorse flowers have opened up across the heathland at Stoke Common and Black Park.

**PRICKLY CUSTOMER:** gorse flowers on Stoke Common *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

The air is thick with birdsong in morning and early evening, robins, blackbirds and wrens shouting about territory while the local wood pigeons strut and coo. There’s frogspawn aplenty in local ponds and nest-building is under way in earnest.

**FRIENDLY FACE:** a fluffy garden favourite *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Sometimes even the most familiar local residents are worth a much closer look. Living close to a river, we tend to take for granted the birds and animals we see every day: the squirrels, pigeons and the ducks who amiably wander through the garden or quack for food at the front door.

**DRESSED TO IMPRESS:** the distinctive head of a drake *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

But as Graham Parkinson’s remarkable portraits show, even the ubiquitous mallard is a remarkably handsome fellow, and while the female lacks such dramatic colours, she has a remarkable depth and subtlety to her plumage that is equally striking.

**SUBTLE PLUMAGE:** the female duck *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

There’s an important advantage to not being so dramatically dressed, though – camouflage. Nesting alone means female ducks suffer a higher mortality rate than males, so it makes perfect sense to blend into the vegetation on their nesting areas.

Warmer days are encouraging the first butterflies out for a flutter, like the bright yellow brimstone, peacock, small tortoiseshell or red admiral.

**UP FOR A FLUTTER:** a peacock butterfly *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Many beetles have been waking up after their winter hibernation too, most noticeably the bright red seven-spot ladybirds, glistening like little red jewels as they warm their bodies in the morning sunshine.

The warmer daytime temperatures also lure adders out of hibernation, but they can hard to spot, even when sitting motionless in the sun.

**ON THE MOVE:** scudding clouds in Chesham PICTURE: Leigh Richardson

Early morning is the best time to see them while they’re still cold from the previous night and a little slower on the move – once warmed up they can wriggle with remarkable alacrity.

Those early mornings and sunny evenings are the best time for photography, as well as catching the sounds of woodland creatures stirring – the yaffle of a woodpecker, perhaps, or the agitated chittering of argumentative squirrels.

**ROAD LESS TRAVELLED:** the Chiltern Way PICTURE: Andrew Knight

Country lanes are beginning to look a little more welcoming, with splashes of colour to offset the brown: the cowslips and coltsfoot, dandelions and winter aconites providing welcome dots of yellow against an increasingly green backcloth.

Although many think of wild flowers like dandelions as a nuisance, Brtiain’s wild flowers are increasingly being recognised as a valuable asset, with people rediscovering their ancient medicinal properties and old recipes being dusted off for salads, wines and health tonics.

**OLD FAVOURITE:** the common cowslip *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Spring lambs are gambolling in the fields and local farms are a hive of activity too, with chicks hatching, vegetables to plant and spring cleaning to organise as the earth begins to warm – even if there are still plenty of frosty mornings and chill clear nights to freeze the bones.

**MOTHER’S DAY:** sheep at Great Missenden *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Whichever aspect of spring gives you most enjoyment – those insects emerging from hibernation, early blooms, noisy rooks or natterjacks, frosty morning walks or the antics of playful baby goats, squirrels and lambs, it’s an extraordinary time of year.

**WORM MOON:** nights can still be chilly *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwi*n

As Melissa Harrison says in her nature diary The Stubborn Light of Things: “It’s the oldest story: the earth coming back to life after its long winter sleep. Yet spring always feels like a miracle when at last it arrives.”

**MORNING CALL:** a barn owl hunting at dawn PICTURE: Graham Parkinson

As always, we’d like to give a very big thank you to all the local photographers who allow us to use their work this month. If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entries, contact editor@thebeyonder.co.uk on email or via our Facebook group page.

Dancers in the woods delight the senses

Posted on March 7, 2024March 7, 2024 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

BLUEBELLS. If there’s one word which conjures up the Chilterns landscape in spring, it’s the flowers that have become such an intrinsic part of our woodland heritage.

And if there’s one abiding positive image which emerged during that horrendous lockdown month of April 2020, it will be those vistas of bluebells dancing in the local woods.

**WELCOME SIGHT:** bluebells among the trees

We were lucky, of course. Living on the edge of open country, it was easy to disappear into the woods for our vital daily permitted escape from the house.

And what a great healer nature was during those difficult months. From the deluge of Twitter and Instagram pictures being shared from woodlands across the Chilterns, it seems we were not alone in finding this a welcome respite from the grim tally of deaths and infections on the news feeds.

**CARPET OF COLOUR:** respite from the news

It’s not a luxury we took for granted either – friends in Italy, Spain, China and Argentina were under virtual house arrest, unable to get out for anything more than a tightly controlled shopping trip.

Not to mention those trapped on cruise ships or stranded in a drab hotel in a foreign country stressing about how to get home.

**CALL OF THE WILD:** woods were a blaze of colour

But those walks offered so much more than just a welcome escape from the house, a breath of fresh air and all-important exercise.

From the moment that the prime minister addressed the nation on March 23 about government plans to take unprecedented steps to limit the spread of coronavirus, it was clear we were in uncharted and scary territory – not just in the UK, but all over the world.

Doubtless many volumes will be written about the awful spring of 2020, and it’s hard to write anything positive about that time without being conscious of the terrible human toll – some 27,500 deaths in the UK by the end of April, with all the associated individual family tragedies those figures reflect.

For a while, it felt as if we might be joining the statistics. A long feverish weekend paved the way to a fortnight of slow recovery. But lying in the night coughing and sweating, listening to relentless government press conferences and stories of doom from around the world, it was all too easy to succumb to the paranoia.

Every cough and tickle took on a new significance. What if there was a problem breathing? Would this mean dying on a ventilator in a hospital unable to say anything to your nearest and dearest? And the social media feeds didn’t help – this was real, and friends around the world were already having to cope with the loss of loved ones.

Thankfully, the symptoms subsided and strength returned. And nothing felt quite so exhilarating as the fresh air of that first tentative walk, even if we couldn’t smell the flowers.

It made those bluebell paths all the more enchanting, of course, a month-long carpet of colour on so many of our local paths…English bluebells, naturally, so long associated with the ancient woodlands of the Chilterns and a constant source of inspiration for local artists like Jo Lillywhite (below), whose paintings reflect the landscapes near her home in South Oxfordshire.

As our first steps outdoors became a little more confident and we managed to stray further from home, there were new copses and paths to discover.

Enchanting and iconic, bluebells are said to be a favourite with the fairies – and the violet glow of these bluebell woods is an incredible wildflower spectacle that really does lift the spirits and warm the heart.

**SPRING SPECTACLE:** bluebells in Hodgemoor Woods

“There is a silent eloquence/In every wild bluebell” wrote a 20-year-old Anne Bronte in 1840.

The vivid hues may have begun to fade by the end of April, but the secret beauty of our ancient local woods helped to set us firmly on the road to recovery back in 2020 and provided a welcome gentler vision of a terrible month which will haunt so many for years to come.

**ELOQUENT:** bluebells delight the senses

Four years on, and paths across the Chilterns are set to spring into colour when April arrives.

From Henley to Cliveden, from the Ashridge Estate to Wendover, private gardens, huge estates and public nature reserves start to put on stunning displays, many of which will last well into May.

**ELOQUENT:** an April wander in the woods

Poets have written of blue bonnets, silken bells and dancing sapphires, waves of mystical blue and the fragrance of a thousand nodding heads.

It’s not hard to see why these modest blue flowers have won such a precious place in our hearts. As Anne Bronte realised, their “silent eloquence” still speaks volumes about the wonders of the natural world and the beauty of the ancient woodlands we are so blessed to know and love.

Nature finds a way to put a spring in our step

Posted on March 2, 2024March 2, 2024 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

FEW Chilterns characters are quite as gloriously colourful as the male mandarin duck.

And although these stunning wildfowl originally hail from the Far East, nowadays they are a common sight on lakes and wetlands across the south-east of England.

**MAKING A SPLASH:** a mandarin duck *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

The unmistakable plumage features bright orange cheek plumes and ‘sails’ on their back, though females are much less ostentatious, with grey heads, brown backs and a white eyestripe.

Normally shy, the ducks breed in wooded areas near shallow lakes and marshes, often in tree cavities, with Springwatch managing to catch the cute fledging process back in 2018, as a succession of tiny fluffballs leaped to the ground.

**BREEDING SEASON:** grey herons are building nests *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Equally dramatic in a more prehistoric-looking way are the silhouettes of grey herons taking a break from their solitary fishing expeditions to set about the business of building their nests.

This is the time of year the distinctive birds come together to breed, often in busy heronries where they have returned for many generations.

**ICONIC:** the red kite *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Other bright spots amid the February mud and mire include the glimpse of a graceful red kite soaring on the thermals: the birds were rescued from extinction to become virtually synonymous with the Chiltern Hills in recent decades.

More humble but equally popular feathered friends at local bird tables include the cheeky robins that follow gardeners around as they dig the ground, sometimes becoming tame enough to be fed by hand.

**GARDEN FRIEND:** the cheeky robin *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Fluffy long-tailed tits are another endearing visitor, sociable and noisy in their small excitable flocks as they rove the woods and hedgerows building domed nests out of moss in bushes and tree forks.

These are majestic little homes, camouflaged with cobwebs and lichen, and lined with as many as 1,500 feathers to make them soft for the eight to twelve eggs the birds will lay.

**ENDEARING:** the long-tailed tit *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

But for an unparalleled avian spectacle, the photographers were out in their droves this month to capture an extraordinary starling murmurations at Tring reservoir and watch thousands of birds swoop and glide in stunning patterns over their communal roosting sites as the last of the daylight fades.

Lesley Tilson was well placed to capture the drama of the aerial displays before that final moment when an unspoken signal seems to tell the group to funnel towards the ground with one last whoosh of wings.

**DAZZLING DISPLAY:** starlings swoop over Tring *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Early February is the peak season for badger cubs to be born, but if we can’t look inside their very private underground homes, we can spot other mammals up and about, especially at dawn and dusk.

Early risers might be rewarded by deer moving shyly around or later in the day catch them lying in a sheltered spot resting, ruminating and dozing.

**COLD START:** deer in Windsor *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

At the other end of the day it’s the time of year when toads start plodding back to their breeding ponds and sometimes need the help of human volunteers to help them cross busy roads.

For those with better lenses it’s also a time to capture the insect world in close up: a female bumblebee, perhaps, venturing out of hibernation to refuel on early blooming plants before looking for a suitable place to lay their eggs.

**BUZZING ABOUT:** bees are refuelling *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Despite the flooded fields and footpaths, there’s plenty to see for those with an eye for detail, from the squiggly trails left by caterpillars to poisonous fungi helping to break down dead wood or hazel trees opening their optimistic catkins to release their pollen.

**WATERLOGGED:** fields near Coombe Hill *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

But with tree branches bare and vegetation withered, it’s a good time of year to pick out birds as the dawn chorus begins to pick up volume, and as the first flowers start to poke through the soil crust, ramblers are on the lookout for snowdrop displays, crocuses and early daffodils.

**DAMP PROSPECT:** bare branches *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

On patches of heathland, the gorse has begun to provide a backdrop of yellow flowers but elsewhere colours are still muted, at least until the last few days of the month.

Nonetheless, it’s the shortest month, when hibernation is coming to an end and spring is slowly starting to assert itself, so those early optimistic signs are important.

**SPLASH OF COLOUR:** gorse in bloom *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Many need little encouragement to head off to the woods to revive body and soul, whatever the weather. But it’s perhaps understandable that teenagers might find the prospect of wandering around in a rain-soaked wood less than appealing.

Chris Packham bemoans the growing prevalence of “nature deficit disorder”, not an official mental health condition but an increasingly recognised reason for the disconnection from nature that both children and adults feel.

**FIRE IN THE SKY:** sunset at Coombe Hill *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

The phenomenon was first identifed back in 2005 by child advocacy expert Richard Louv and linked to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, stress, anxiety and depression.

Louv argued that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for our physical and emotional health.

**HEALTHY OUTLOOK:** the great outdoors *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Packham laments parents keeping youngsters indoors to protect them from danger and perhaps in the process perhaps exposing them to far more horrors in the online world that has nowadays become a replacement for outdoors adventures.

Back in 2018 it was already clear that British youngsters were spending twice as long looking at screens as playing outside, and for inner-city kids the opportunities to engage with the natural world may be minimal.

**LAST LIGHT:** a Chilterns sunset *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Louv’s book sparked an international movement to connect children and families to the natural world, as well as a growing recognition of the problem among the medical community.

Thankfully our photographers need no persuading to get out and about in all weathers, and we’d love to hear from any other nature lovers wanting to make the most of the Chilterns countryside, rain-soaked or otherwise.

If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entry for March, join our Facebook group page or write to editor@thebeyonder.co.uk.

New year gleams with a frosty sparkle

Posted on February 16, 2024February 16, 2024 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

CRISP mornings and plummeting temperatures replaced the dreary days of December as the New Year cast a welcome sparkle over the timeless Chilterns landscape.

**DAWN SPARKLE:** mist on the fields *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

The branches may be bare and the fields covered in frost, but the first spring-flowering bulbs are beginning to poke through the leaf litter: snowdrops and winter aconites providing a welcome source of nectar for hungry bees at a time of year where other food may be hard to find.

**WATERLOGGED:** it’s wet in the woods *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

As soon as the land heats up some paths are still waterlogged and our main roads are depressingly lined with litter, but as soon as you leave the main thoroughfares behind, the ramblers and dog walkers leave much less of an imprint on the surroundings.

**OPEN COUNTRY:** leaving the litter behind *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Here the birds are much more visible against the bare branches as they hunt out berries and there will be carpets of yellow and white flowers among the trees before too long.

**BREAKFAST BERRIES:** a robin finds a feast *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

From frosty dawn forays to chilly, starlit evening strolls, this is a time of year when the countryside may look asleep but small signs of life are everywhere now that the daylight hours are increasing.

**DAWN LIGHT:** a morning encounter *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

You can hear the first signs of a dawn chorus, as our feathered friends start to prepare for the breeding season after the long hard winter and begin to realise there’s more to life than bickering over the scraps on the bird table.

**TASTY TREAT:** a blue tit finds some nuts *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

The volume will grow day by day during the month as the sparrows, robins, dunnocks and tits all start to get in on the act, switching from clicking call notes to more coherent song, full of thoughtful phrases issued from the highest perches.

**BATH TIME:** a wren takes a dip *PICTURE: Nick Bell*

It’s still a delicate balance, though. The nights are still interminably long for small birds fighting to find enough food during the short chilly days to avoid starving during the hours of darkness.

**BALANCING ACT:** a marsh tit gets peckish *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

As we highlighted at the start of January, it has also proved to be a waxwing winter, with the berry-loving birds flocking to the UK in large numbers and brightening up our town centres with their swooping crests, distinctive black “eyeliner” and orange, grey and lemon-yellow tails.

**WAXWING WINTER:** a colourful visitor *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Another distinctive figure is the grey heron, the largest bird most of us will ever see in our garden with a wingspan of around 6ft, and also one of the earliest nesters.

**EARLY NESTER:** the grey heron *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

It’s not unusual to see herons picking up sticks and twigs towards the end of January, and some birds lay their first eggs in early February, though the normal start is early March.

**ON SONG:** a robin pointing the way *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Watching these dinosaur-like birds patrolling our river banks in search of a fishy snack, it’s hard to believe that roast herons were popular at medieval banquets. But they seem to be thriving these days, and they’re sociable birds, invariably nesting in long-established heronries which can include dozens or even hundreds of nests.

**MAKING A SPLASH:** a chilly swan *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Mammals are on the move this month too: as well as secretive deer and badgers, the fox breeding season peaks after Christmas and January is a peak month for foxes fighting and being run over as they trespass on each other’s territories and range further afield in search of mates.

**WHO GOES THERE?:** a curious muntjac *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

The ubiquitous grey squirrels are also very lively just now. Cheeky and incorrigible, as they enter the breeding season they can be seen chasing each other madly through the treetops in a frantic courtship dance.

**CHEEKY:** the acrobatic grey squirrel *PICTURE: Nick Bell*

The invasive greys may have many detractors but there’s no doubting just how clever, ingenious and adaptable they are, as we recalled in an article marking Squirrel Appreciation Day.

**ADAPTABLE:** the ubiquitous grey squirrel *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Smaller mammals like voles and mice may not be quite so outgoing, but rustles in the leaf litter might give away their presence as they trundle around on their daily chores, or you might stumble across one of the network of trails leading to their underground homes.

**SHY RUSTLE:** a bank vole at Warburg *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Even if the birds are wildlife are too quick on the move to pose for your camera, there are plenty of lichens and mosses to provide glorious patterns on trees and walls alike, as well as perfect nesting materials for birds and food and shelter for invertebrates.

**WOODLAND PATTERNS:** bark textures *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

While most plants tend to fruit or flower later in the year, you might spot the vivid yellow of mahonia or winter-flowering heather, the first hazel catkins starting to appear along hedgerows and the splashes of colour from the winter berries or vibrant red and yellow dogwood stems.

**FEATHERED FRIEND:** a tiny silhouette *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

But if the landscape often lacks colour at this time of year, glorious sunsets and cloudless nights can often compensate.

**COLOUR CONTRASTS:** January’s wolf moon *PICTURE: Carol Ann Finch*

Clear January skies offer stargazers and nature photographers some great opportunities to turn their cameras skywards, as we examined in our full moon feature.

**SLICE OF LIGHT:** the moon’s surface *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Their shots reflect some of the amazing colour contrasts to be seen at this time of year, especially on dawn and dusk walks.

**SKY’S THE LIMIT:** sunset near Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

It’s a wonderful antidote to the relative bareness of the countryside at this time of year, and a reminder of just how spectacular the Chilterns can be throughout the changing seasons.

**SOGGY OUTLOOK:** waterlogged fields *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

As always we’re greatly indebted to our wonderful team of photographers who have been out and about in all weathers trying to capture the perfect shot, and we’re always keen to hear from other contributors who may be out and about across our circulation area, from Berkshire to the Dunstable Downs, from the outskirts of London to the wilds of Oxfordshire.

If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entry for February, join our Facebook group page or write to editor@thebeyonder.co.uk.

Colours to brighten the dullest of days

Posted on January 3, 2024January 3, 2024 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

DAMP, dull and sometimes desperately dreary, December proved relatively mild in the Chilterns, barring a handful of chilly nights where clear skies produced frosty mornings and brighter days.

**SEASONAL FAVOURITE:** a Christmas robin *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Yes, there were storms up north and snow on the Scottish hills, but for the most part the month was more about muddy footpaths and grey skies than ice or snow.

Not that the month was without its meteorological dramas – steady downpours meant some areas were hit hard by heavy flooding – but Christmas Eve saw the warmest temperatures for 20 years being recorded at Heathrow Airport.

**DAMP DAYS:** out on the river *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

Beyond our shores, the news headlines played out a bleak backdrop of war and suffering from the Middle East to Ukraine, with climate change also a recurring theme to dampen the pre-Christmas spirits.

**SUBTLE HUES:** the Chess Valley *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

But as the festive lights went up in villages across the Chilterns, occasional breaks in the rain allowed ramblers and photographers the chance to take pleasure in the more subtle winter hues and the undoubted relief that nature can offer to those dispirited by the short dull days.

**WINTER LIGHT:** savouring the outdoors *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

For those coping with bereavement, illness or personal tragedies the run-up to Christmas can be a particularly challenging time of year and many find refuge in the great outdoors from the cares and tribulations of daily life.

As a therapy for loss, pain and despair, the natural world allows room to breathe, unwind and recover.

**ROOM TO BREATHE:** Amersham nature reserve *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Earlier in the year, TV presenter Julia Bradbury wrote about how her lifelong passion for walking had grown into something of an obsession with its healing power to strengthen the body and soothe the mind.

For some, the transformation may be even more dramatic. As Catherine Arcolio explained earlier this month, for her, nature became a genuine life-saver, a way of overcoming despair and addiction.

“Each day was an abyss,” she recalled. “All the colour, light, purpose and connection had drained out of my life.”

**PLACE OF REFUGE:** the healing power of nature *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

That was before a move from the city to a tiny rural community offered her the chance to reclaim her life amid the quiet of the woods.

Catherine’s tale may be particularly dramatic, but she is far from alone – and even veteran blogger Peaklass admits to finding the dark of winter days very difficult.

“Sometimes, on the darkest winter days, the very best place to be is in the woods,” she says. “Among the noisy rattle and creak of bare branches and the constant seethe of water over rocks, there’s a strange kind of peace and stillness.

**WOODLAND ESCAPE:** peace among the trees *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

“The air is cool and damp, but so soft that it seems to wrap itself around you, as if Nature has been waiting to welcome you back.

“No matter how cold my fingers and toes get, it always feels like a physical wrench to leave the mist and quiet colours and return to the day.”

**GOING FOR GOLD:** the light returns *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Nonetheless, she writes with delight of the winter solstice: “From tomorrow, the sunset ticks later minute by tiny minute and the light gradually returns, ready to coax awake the sleeping seeds and fill the forests with gold again.”

Certainly for those out in all conditions the occasional glimpses of winter sunshine help to expose some cheerful splashes of colour, like the rich plumage of a mandarin duck lit up like a painting-by-numbers gift set against dark water.

**RICH PLUMAGE:** mandarin ducks *PICTURE: Carlene O’Rourke*

And once the sunlight finally does break through the mist and murk, the clarity of the winter air can provide some startling contrasts – the sails of a windmill silhouetted against the winter sky, the glorious colours of a red kite dramatically backlit by the afternoon rays or vibrant berries glittering like jewels among the winter foliage.

**RICH PICKINGS:** winter berries *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Some distinctive landmarks have dominated the skyline for centuries, like the magnificent post mill at Brill which has timbers dating from the 17th century, or the stone tower mill at Great Haseley in Oxfordshire, which suffered years of neglect before being fully restored to its original working order in 2014.

**MILLER’S TALE:** the Great Haseley windmill in 2020 *PICTURE: Siddharth Upadhya*

Four years ago, the first winter to feature in our Chilterns calendar when a couple of these pictures were taken, we’d never heard of Covid 19 and had no idea it was about to dominate our lives throughout 2020 and beyond.

Flash forward to 2023 and there’s still plenty to worry about, which makes it all the more important to escape from the house and explore those muddy footpaths, however uninviting the weather might seem.

**CHILTERNS ICON:** a red kite *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

This is a time of year when the past feels very close at hand in our ancient Chilterns landscape, where small villages sit clustered round their ancient churches as they have done for centuries, spirals of woodsmoke curling into the air as dusk falls and the inviting glow of lamps and lanterns lighting up the cottage windows.

Deep in the woods, naked branches and frozen berries provide some striking patterns for photographers on early morning walks, the ice forming delicate patterns on spiders’ webs and the birds clearly visible against the bare twigs.

**WINTER VISITOR:** a redwing *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

For winter ramblers, dusk and dawn are favourite times to brave the elements, not just in the hope of a spectacular sunrise or sunset but because those quiet times are also often the most promising for catching wildlife unawares.

**FURRY FRIEND:** a cute encounter *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

And even when nature is looking at its lowest ebb, there’s something to see: a noisy robin, chattering starling or welcoming whistle of a red kite.

**RESTLESS CHATTER:** a curious starling *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

At night the owls are calling loudly too, and on clear nights those with their lenses trained further afield have the chance of capturing the appropriately named “cold moon” or other features of the night sky.

**COLD MOON:** the night sky in December *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Throw in some more of those spectacular sunsets to lift the spirits and it’s easy to forget the torrential downpours and muddy footpaths.

**ROSY GLOW:** a spectacular sunset *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

With the winter solstice behind us, the days start getting longer from here on. There’s plenty of grim winter weather to come, but it’s beginning to feel as if spring is just around the corner.

**BRIGHTER OUTLOOK:** spring is a little closer *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

Come rain, hail or shine, our photographers are out in all weathers capturing the beauty of the Chilterns countryside, and we are enormously grateful for their evocative portraits of our local flora and fauna this December and throughout 2023.

If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entry for January, join our Facebook group page or write to editor@thebeyonder.co.uk.

Photographers are just wild about the Chilterns

Posted on December 10, 2023December 10, 2023 by andrew in Books

IT’S four years since Pete Hawkes and Matt Kirby teamed up to produce The Best of Chilterns Wildlife, but the little square book is still a marvellous introduction to the fascinating species that make the Chiltern Hills so very special.

**IN FOCUS:** The Best of Chilterns Wildlife

From badgers and bats to moorhens and moths, the book contains more than 150 photographs chronicling the most familiar flora and fauna of the area, along with a selection of rarer visitors – nearly all taken by enthusiasts while out and about exploring the local landscape.

It’s not quite a spotter’s guide, but the pocket-sized volume is divided into helpful sections which include mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, fish, plants, lichen, fungi, slugs and snails.

**CHANGING SEASONS:** harvest time *PICTURE: Karen Woodward*

Inspired by Matt Kirby’s Chesham Wildlife facebook page, where for years local people have posted their nature photographs, the book contains a glorious cross-section of colour pictures and even includes some photographic advice from those fascinated by the challenges posed by different types of wildlife.

With more than 4,000 members and a focus on the 10-mile radius around Chesham, the group features daily posts exploring popular haunts from the Pednor Valley and Chartridge to the Chess Valley, Tring Reservoirs, Marlow and Ashridge estate.

**GARDEN FAVOURITE:** the chirpy robin *PICTURE: Graham Parsons*

From the glorious front-cover portrait of a brown hare captured by Ben Hartley to wasps and beetles, the book is not intended as a comprehensive guide, but captures a good range of the species which thrive in the different habitats in and around the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The AONB runs north-eastwards from Goring to Luton and Hitchin, encompassing the core circulation area of The Beyonder.

**FISHING TRIP:** an egret on the hunt for a meal *PICTURE: Carol Scott*

Amid the ancient beech woodland and rare chalk streams are a huge array of birds, for example, from woodpeckers, nuthatches and jays to egrets and owls, from kingfishers, kestrels and buzzards to the iconic red kite that has become such a familiar symbol of the region.

Short sections focus on some of the different habitats of the area, from hedgerows and rivers to chalk grassland and gardens, while the book also guides readers to nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest managed by a range of conservation bodies.

**ICONIC:** red kites have become a familiar sight *PICTURE: Graham Parsons*

Local author, publisher and gallery owner Pete Hawkes stresses that one aim of the book was to increase awareness and understanding of local wildlife, helping people to differentiate between various species and deepening their respect for nature and the countryside.

From woodland flowers and butterflies to orchids, beetles, fungi and grasses, smaller and less familiar species are not forgotten, either.

Something of a labour of love, it took a couple of years to collate the pictures and put together the text, but the compact volume has proved popular, with more than 2,000 copies sold since its launch in 2019.

The Best of Chilterns Wildlife costs £9.95 plus p/p and is also available from a range of local bookshops.

Magical world amid the mist and murk

Posted on December 6, 2023December 6, 2023 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

FOR some it’s the most evocative, magical and colourful month of the year: a time of misty mornings when a chance ray of sunlight might highlight the delicate filaments of a spider’s web or a dramatic sunset provide the perfect finale to a rain-soaked ramble.

**SUNSET SONG:** spectacular colours at Coombe Hill *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

Mosses, lichens and intriguing fungi flourish in the damp woods, while for a fortnight or so the trees are draped in the glorious yellow, gold and russet hues that mark the most spectacular natural fireworks show of the year.

**FUNGI FIND:** clustered bonnets *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

After the fun and games of Halloween and noise and lights of bonfire night, November can be a bleak, damp time too: with darkness falling by teatime and a fine drizzle all too often washing the colour out of the landscape, it can be all too tempting for us to stay close to the fire.

**FAIRY CITY:** mushrooms flourishing in the woods *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

Making the extra effort to dress up warm and shrug off the rain can bring its own rewards, though.

**RICH PICKINGS:** a blue tit feasting on berries *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

There’s wildlife aplenty flourishing among the trees, with birds feasting on berries and hedgehogs settling down for the winter to a backdrop of whistles from the red kites that have become synonymous with the Chilterns in recent years.

**GORGEOUS HUES:** a red kite *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Once a common sight in the towns and cities of medieval Britain, the birds had become virtually extinct by the end of the 19^th century after 200 years of human persecution.

**PERFECT CAMOUFLAGE:** a kite among autumn leaves *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

These days the Chilterns is one of the best places in the UK to see the birds, thanks to a successful re-introduction project between 1989 and 1994 which now sees them soaring on the thermals across the region.

**IN FULL FLIGHT:** red kites are flourishing *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Of course this area of outstanding natural beauty pretty much epitomises quintessential English countryside with its sweeping chalk hills, quaint market towns, historic pubs and breathtaking views.

**PICTURE POSTCARD:** Finch Lane, Amersham *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

The weathered brick walls of a pretty cottage down a quiet country lane reflect the final blaze of autumn colour before the icy blast of December arrives and the trees get stripped bare by fierce winds and driving rain.

**CHEEKY FACE:** the ubiquitous grey squirrel *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

The squirrels are stocking up too, their cheeky faces one of the most familiar wildlife sights in local woods.

**STAR PERFORMER:** the grey squirrel *PICTURE: Carol Ann Finch*

On bleaker days, it may be hard to find much to photograph among the drab, dripping branches, though more inventive souls are good at spotting those small shapes, shadows and textures that can still produce the perfect picture.

**SMALL DETAILS:** textures and shapes stand out *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

As we’ve mentioned before, up in the Lake District they call the sullen no man’s land between autumn and winter “back End”, a lost “fifth season” of the year recalled by author and friend Alan Cleaver, better known as @thelonningsguy.

**AUTUMN GLORY:** Coombe Hill *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Writing in his blog back in 2013, Alan wrote: “It’s such a blindingly obvious fact to most Cumbrians that you really do wonder how the rest of the world copes with a mere four seasons.

**EVENING LIGHT:** sunset at Amersham *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

“It comes between autumn and winter when autumn’s lost its glory but winter is yet to bite.” It’s a perfect phrase for summing up the dank, drab atmosphere on some days in late November, when the light feels bleached and the undergrowth sodden.

**CARPET OF LEAVES:** walking the dog *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

But not all days are like that – chilly glimpses of winter sunshine uncover the glories of the Chilterns landscape, from colourful fungi to foraging birdlife.

**PURPLE HAZE:** amethyst deceivers *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

And as November comes to a close, there’s a true icy blast to remind us that winter is just around the corner, with snow forecast across much of the country in early December.

**TASTY SNACK:** the colourful goldfinch *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Evergreen trees and bushes provide an array of berries for native birds and migrants alike, while foxes are on the move, younger dog foxes and some vixens leaving their home territory to try to establish territories of their own.

**PASSING THROUGH:** a fox on the move *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

It’s a time of year when many young foxes are killed by cars, while others could die from cold or starvation if the winter is a hard one.

**SUNNY OUTLOOK:** a footpath at Latimer *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Badgers too are are pulling moss, leaves and bracken into their underground setts where they spend so much time snoozing while round in the gravel pit the wildfowl are squabbling and the migrants have arrived in force.

**SEEING THE LIGHT:** a dramatic sunset *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

On crisper, clearer mornings the lighting effects are more striking, and dramatic cloud patterns offer the promise of a memorable sunset.

**BALANCING ACT:** a rooftop silhouette *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

When the sun is low on the horizon, the rays pass through more air in the atmosphere than when the sun is higher in the sky, and there are more moisture and dust particles to scatter the light and produce those vivid red and orange hues we love so much.

**GRAND FINALE:** an evening display *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Some of the most dramatic sunsets occur when clouds catch the last red-orange rays of the setting sun or the first light of dawn and reflect the light back towards the ground.

**MOONSHOT:** our nearest astronomical neighbour *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

The skies offer plenty of other photographic opportunities too. While serious astronomers have had their cameras focused on the gas giant Jupiter or the Leonid meteor shower, Astronomy magazine was waxing lyrical about the surface of the waxing crescent moon, where in the middle of the month the “bewildering spread of craters in the south” gave way to the “wrinkled ridges crossing the darker lava seas to the north”.

**CHILTERNS CALENDAR:** check out our monthly articles **here**

Whether you’ve been capturing a perfect shot of the new moon on a clear night, the mist rising over the valley or a red kite swooping down for a snack, we’d love to see your pictures from across the Chilterns.

If you’d like to contribute to our “calendar” articles in 2024, contact us by email at editor@thebeyonder.co.uk or come and join us on our Facebook group page.

As always, a huge thank you to all the local photographers who have allowed us to use their work this month: click on their pictures to find out more about our regular contributors.

Picture of the week: 20/11/23

Posted on November 18, 2023November 18, 2023 by andrew in Art & Photography

WE DON’T normally like to blow our trumpets here at The Beyonder, but this week’s picture choice is the latest original artwork that my lovely wife Olivia has been able to turn into a greetings card for our online shop.

It’s a suitably autumnal portrait of a rather gorgeous fox who looks as if he’s stepped out of a fairytale, and it’s the seventh piece of art Ollie has been able to transform into a smart greetings card with the help of Tom Allnutt at Amersham Business Services.

Other portraits include a couple of inquisitive badgers, a duck, teddy bear and a pair of endearing dogs, much of the artwork notable for its vibrant colours and celebration of the natural world.

The cards are also for sale on Ollie’s new Etsy shop, where she explains how she has only recently rediscovered her love of painting while struggling to recover from Long Covid.

“It has been such a tonic for me to be able to paint peacefully and prayerfully for just a few minutes each day,” she says. “I have found the process of working with colour to be very restorative and restful as well as uplifting.”

She adds: “I haven’t been able to get out and about in the natural world as much as I would like recently, so escaping into nature via paintbrush and canvas has lifted my spirits.”

Her cards are also stocked in a small number of select local outlets, including Bella Luce in Watlington and The Good Earth Gallery in Chesham.

Picture of the week: 13/11/23

Posted on November 13, 2023November 13, 2023 by andrew in Art & Photography

IT’S a joy to be relaunching our Picture of the Week feature after an extended break, and to kickstart the new series we have a delicate portrait of a saffrondrop bonnet mushroom taken by regular contributor Graham Parkinson.

**MUSHROOM MAGIC:** a saffrondrop bonnet *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

It’s one of a series of recent fungi photographs he’s posted on local nature and wildlife forums, some of which featured in our October calendar feature about the Chilterns.

Inspired with a love of wildlife as a child, Graham found that lockdown in 2020 proved the perfect opportunity for him to explore his longstanding interest in photography, and in the past three years his pictures have proved a big hit with nature lovers.

**SPREADING SPORES:** common puffballs *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Birds and insects feature prominently, but his great pleasure has been embarking on seven- to 10-mile walks exploring new areas around his Marlow home and capturing what he can of the local flora and fauna.

Using his Ordnance Survey OS Maps app to plan new routes, his journeys have taken him from local favourites like Homefield Wood and Quarry Wood to Bisham, Burnham Beeches and beyond, from the banks of the Thames to the many walks between Ibstone and Christmas Common.

**MINIATURE MARVELS:** clustered bonnets *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

“It’s been extremely rewarding, capturing wildlife I’ve never seen before,” he says. For a long time he didn’t bother with fungi, lacking a good lens that would enable him to take “interesting” shots.

“I’ve now got a macro lens and From a photography point of view what has interested and challenged me is trying to create a lovely photo of them rather than just a record shot,” he says.

**PURPLE HUE:** an amethyst deceiver *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

“They’re fascinating organisms, really quite beautiful. It’s sort of like landscape photography in miniature.

“I was out again yesterday in beautiful woods and sunlight. It’s quite magical walking through the woods trying to first find fungi and then find ones where I can make a nice shot.

“An added bonus is that there’s always something else to see. Yesterday I watched two bats hunting all around me, in bright sunshine at 1pm.”

Fabulous fungi lurk amid the fallen leaves

Posted on November 11, 2023November 11, 2023 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

IT’S the month of first frosts and stormy nights when the sights, smells and sounds of autumn really bring the countryside to life.

**RICH PALETTE:** colour contrasts in Penn Woods *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

The rapidly-changing colours and glorious textures of October make it a favourite with photographers, especially deep in the woods where the yellow, green and russet hues contrast so beautifully with the rugged outlines of ancient trees.

**LEAF MAGIC:** striking outlines at Penn *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

It’s also a month of ripe berries and falling fruit, with trees and bushes bursting with tasty treats for birds, insects and mammals alike and a huge array of startling fungi hiding beneath the fallen leaves.

**FIERY FLAME:** the yellow stagshorn *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

From the foul-smelling stinkhorns to poisonous toadstools, it’s thought there are more than six million species of fungi in the world, and we’re only really beginning to fully appreciate what an impact they have on our lives.

**MUSHROOM MAGIC:** fungi come in all colours *PICTURE: Ken Law*

They can change our minds, heal our bodies and even help us to avoid environmental disaster, as Merlin Sheldrake showed us in his fascinating 2020 book Entangled Life.

**DELICATE OUTLINE:** a saffrondrop bonnet *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

But although we may have only formally identified around 150,000 of the millions of fungi out there, they are a source of fascination for photographers and nature lovers alike.

**FASCINATING:** texture contrasts at Hughenden *PICTURE: Ken Law*

The colours and shapes fascinate us, even though we know their beauty can be deceptive and that there could be deadly consequences of dabbling with the most poisonous of them.

**SUBTLE TONES:** an amethyst deceiver *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

They vary in size from the microscopic to the largest organisms on earth and boast the most intriguing array of sinister-sounding names, from gelatinous jelly ears to toxic beechwood sickeners.

**SPINY OUTLINE:** a puffball in Bisham Woods *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

The glorious array of shapes and textures is a reminder that it’s now three years since we first asked local photographers to share some of their favourite pictures of the local landscape and wildlife in our monthly calendar feature: and what a joy those pictures have been.

**MORNING LIGHT:** Raans Farm, Amersham *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

Back in October 2020, with half the country still in lockdown, the natural world was providing a vital escape from the stresses and strains of mask wearing and social distancing – and for many, offering an absolutely essential boost to mental health.

**IN THE PINK:** a bench at Penn Wood in 2020 *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

Three years on, there may not be quite as many families exploring the local woods any more, but the natural world is still a lifeline to millions, an escape from the stresses and strains of frantic modern living and the all-pervasive hubbub of social media.

**TOXIC TOADSTOOL:** fly agarics in Penn Wood *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

As Peak District photographer Suzanne Howard – better known as @peaklass on her social media feeds – recently posted: “Sometimes, when the world is too noisy and sad, it helps to walk into the kaleidoscope of an autumn country lane. To hear nothing but your footsteps and the leaves falling, and to feel the solidity of old trees arching their boughs over you. I hope everyone can find their lane.”

**MOMENT OF CALM:** leaves falling at Penn *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Nature writer Melissa Harrison picks up on the theme of sound in her book The Stubborn Light of Things. She writes: “Sound is such a vital part of our relationship with nature, and yet – apart from birdsong – it’s so easily overlooked.”

**SOUND OF SILENCE:** Penn Woods *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

Marvelling at the silence surrounding her country cottage in rural Suffolk, she wrote: “For most of our history, total silence – and total darkness – would have been nothing unusual at all.

**PEACEFUL SPOT:** mushrooms at Penn *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

“This new quietness has made me more aware of sound , from the mysterious creature which processes across my roof each night to the rain gurgling relentlessly in the gutters and the noise the wind makes as it rushes through the last of the ash leaves, tattered and yellowing.”

**SENSE OF CONNECTION:** footpaths at Latimer *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

For Chris Packham, society’s increasing physical and cultural separation from nature is a crisis of disconnection that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency, as he outlined in his book Back To nature, co-authored with stepdaughter Megan McCubbin.

**RUTTING SEASON:** Windsor Great Park *PICTURE: Leslie Tilson*

Not that Beyonder readers need any reminder of the importance of maintaining our familiarity with the great outdoors, but that’s not to say it’s always easy. Life gets in the way and health problems or work commitments may make it harder to get out and about on a rainy day, and easier to procrastinate when dusk starts falling fast and the temperatures drop.

**SUNSET SILHOUETTE:** stags at Grangelands in 2020 *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

But making the extra effort is always worth it, and our photographers have been braving the elements at all times of the day over the past three years.

We’ve included a couple of our favourite shots from our October post in 2020 along with links to some of our regular contributors, but we are always on the lookout for new members who can help expand our coverage of the local area.

**INTRICATE PATTERN:** a spider’s web *PICTURE: Gel Murphy*

By the end of October, houses across the Chilterns are bedecked with cobwebs, witches and carved pumpkin lanterns to welcome the little parties of ghouls and ghosts trotting round to see their neighbours, a prelude to the noisy parties of Bonfire Night.

**PARTY SEASON:** getting in the Halloween spirit *PICTURE: Nicole Burrell*

But away from the welcoming lights and lanterns, from the banks of the Thames to Ivinghoe Beacon, this is an ancient and fascinating landscape with thousands of hidden pathways, Roman roads and drovers’ routes to explore – and we’re grateful, as always, to those hardy souls who are out and about in all weathers capturing the beauty of the local countryside in all its glory.

If you have a picture or two you would like us to feature in a future post, drop us a line by email to editor@thebeyonder.co.uk, join us in our Facebook group or contact us on Twitter @TheBeyonderUK or Instagram at thebeyonderuk.

Dog lovers, show us your favourite shots…

Posted on October 2, 2023October 2, 2023 by andrew in News

THEY’RE our most faithful and trusted companions, and they’ve been close by our side for centuries.

Now we want to hear from dog lovers across the Chilterns about what makes your pets so very special.

**GOOD COMPANY:** Ted among the bluebells *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Our recent feature reflects how dogs have won our love and admiration for their skills, intelligence and character, and we know that thousands of nature lovers rely on the companionship of their canine chums when they set out to explore the countryside.

**FURRY FRIEND:** dogs win our love and admiration *PICTURE: Olivia Knight*

Do you have a favourite place to walk or memory to share? Is your pet a pedigree champion or a scruffy rescue dog? It doesn’t matter — we’d love to feature your pictures and stories in our regular ‘dogsofthechilterns’ feature and social media feeds.

You don’t have to give away personal information or precise locations, but send us landscape-shaped pictures of your dog along with any details you’re happy for us to share — and remember to tell us who in the family took the picture.

With more than 200 breeds to choose from, Britain really is a national of dog lovers, and we’d like to celebrate the best aspects of responsible dog ownership on our pages.

As well as sharing your shots on our Twitter and Instagram feeds, we’re keen to hear your own stories about the impact and importance of four-legged friends in your life.

Your pictures should comply with the guidelines of The Kennel Club’s Canine Code and pleasure ensure you own the copyright to any picture you submit.

Contact us by email at editor@thebeyonder.co.uk or our social media links — we look forward to hearing from you.

How did dogs become such faithful friends?

Posted on October 2, 2023October 2, 2023 by andrew in Beyonder Blog

ROUND our way it sometimes seems as if everyone has a dog.

Little and large, fluffy and hectic or aloof and unflustered, they come in all shapes and sizes, from purebred aristocrats with a proud pedigree to scruffy scoundrels rescued from the streets.

**BEST FOOT FORWARD:** loyal companions *PICTURE: Lucy Parks*

But whatever their size, breed and provenance, we love them just as they are, taking them into our hearts and our families in their millions as part of an extraordinary symbiotic relationship where it can be hard to tell who needs the other more.

Dogs and people have lived together for thousands of years, and we have bred different breeds to hunt and to guard us, to herd sheep, retrieve game and just keep us company.

Domestic dogs may share 99% of their DNA with wolves, but they are social pack animals which thrive on attention and affection, helping them to win our love and admiration for their skills, intelligence and character.

They may need us to survive but it seems that we need them just as much: our most loyal and faithful companions cock a listening ear to our worries, give us a paw to hold and an unconditional love that sometimes borders on obsession.

Mind you, it’s an obsession that is mutual. Britain boasts a canine population of more than nine million, with more than 200 breeds to choose from.

Joyce Campbell, the Armadale farmer whose squad of collies were a hit with viewers of This Farming Life, said: “We really are a nation of dog lovers – my team of dogs have also been inundated with fan mail. We have genuinely all been blown away with everyone’s kindness.”

**FAN MAIL:** the dogs from This Farming Life *PICTURE: Joyce Campbell*

That’s why we’re setting out to meet some of the best-loved dogs in the Chilterns, and asking you to send us your pictures of them out and about enjoying our wonderful countryside.

As well as sharing your shots on our Twitter and Instagram feeds, we’re keen to hear your own stories about the impact and importance of four-legged friends in your life.

Most dog owners will tell you that their dog is a family member – and for many, dog ownership has proved a life-changing experience.

**CHILTERN ADVENTURES:** rescue dog Yella *PICTURE: Lucy Parks*

Lucy Parks has written in detail about her adventures with Cypriot rescue dog Yella as the four-legged arrival adjusted to a new life in the Chiltern Hills.

“She was my first ever dog, although I’d wanted one for ever,” says Lucy. “I finally got her aged 50 and she’s totally changed my life!

“Yella has got me out into the local countryside exploring new places and has introduced me to the dog-owning community in Amersham. I’ve got new friends as a result, as has Yella, and we know far more about the area we live in.”

**FRESH PERSPECTIVE:** Yella explores her new home *PICTURE: Lucy Parks*

From beagles to greyhounds, lapdogs to St Bernards, each breed has its own ardent fans, and although dog attacks have contributed to some chilling headlines in recent weeks, millions of responsible owners know how crucial it is to spend time training their pet to ensure that wagging tails and stress-free greetings help to put strangers at their ease.

The rewards are huge. No animal can surpass dogs for their devotion and intelligence, and it’s that unwavering loyalty and pure delight in our company that wins us over so readily. We know that our furry companions accept us for who we are, flaws and all, without reserve or judgement.

For Beyonder photographer Sue Craigs Erwin, energetic sprocker spaniel Ted has been at her side for the past six years.

**BEST OF FRIENDS:** Sue and Ted at Coombe Hill *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

“He has given me a reason to go out walking again after losing my husband six years ago,” she says. “I have become more aware of our beautiful surroundings. I always take my camera with me, capturing the day’s walk and sharing the beauty of the wildlife and changing seasons with my Facebook friends.

“We have recently made friends with a beautiful little robin in the woods. Ted now runs ahead of me and searches him out before I get there. I can’t resist a few shots of the friendly little chap everyday.

“It’s so therapeutic to be walking in the fresh air whatever the weather. Dogs are just the best company.”

Sue isn’t alone in appreciating Ted’s constant companionship. In a fast-paced world where human connections sometimes feel fleeting or even confrontational, dogs offer us vital emotional support, helping to reduce stress, anxiety and loneliness.

Says Jennifer Wynn, proud owner of a Great Swiss mountain dog: “Fearne is more than just a companion for exploring the beautiful Chilterns.

“She’s a friend for both of my teenage children, one of whom is autistic and the other is awaiting assessment. She listens without judging, loves no matter what and gives 50kg cuddles!”

Dogs have been our friends and protectors for centuries, and although they have transitioned from being primarily working animals to cherished family members, today they perhaps bring more joy and comfort than ever.

**BIG HUGS:** Great Swiss mountain dog Fearne *PICTURE: Jennifer Wynn*

They teach us responsibility and help youngsters learn the importance of kindness, while formidable sheepdogs and astonishing therapy dogs startle us with their skill, sensitivity and ability to perform complex tasks.

Of course, the individual breed we favour will vary according to our own preferences and lifestyles. Do we want a snuggly cockapoo happy to flop around the house like a supersoft chenille throw, or a livewire collie who’s panting to head for the hills every morning?

Do we need a miniature dachsund getting under our feet or an Irish wolfhound or Great Swiss mountain dog edging our guests off the sofa?

**SITTING PRETTY:** Fearne at home *PICTURE: Jennifer Wynn*

It’s all very personal, as author Patrick Gale writes in The Returns Home, a chapter of Duncan Minshull’s 2022 collection of walking stories, Where My Feet Fall.

“Hounds are not emotionally needy dogs when walking; whippets and greyhounds have none of the collie’s need for constant affirmative interaction with its human but seem quite content to trot independently from smell to fascinating smell, occasionally breaking off to send up a pheasant or make a show of chasing a rabbit. They enjoy walks hugely but they’re not forever nudging you to say, ‘I’m enjoying my walk. I am. Are you? Are you enjoying yours? Are you really?'”

**LIVEWIRE:** COAM sheepdog Bang *PICTURE: Chiltern Open Air Museum*

Whatever our personal choice of companion, those rambles allow us to come across a dozen other breeds, making new friends along the way, from doe-eyed whippets and gentle golden retrievers to inquisitive terriers or rumbustious young labradors.

Back in the Middle Ages, European nobles had close relationships with their dogs. Ladies doted on their fashionable lap dogs and noblemen went hunting with hounds — a practice that grew so popular that breeding hunting dogs became a trend throughout Europe.

By the Victorian era, dogs had wormed their way into the heart of family life and Britain had become a centre for dog breeding, with the first formal competitive dog shows held in the middle of the 19th century.

**BEST BEHAVIOUR:** TV dog trainer Graeme Hall *PICTURE: Channel 4*

Canines played such vital roles in military operations during the two World Wars that they steadily gained increasing recognition of their intelligence and abilities throughout the 20th century, with films depicting the adventures of Lassie and Rin Tin Tin capturing the hearts of millions in the 1950s.

The Queen’s fondness for corgis helped to popularise the breed, while on the small screen Blue Peter presenter John Noakes became so inseparable from his excitable border collie that “Get down, Shep!” became a catchphrase so well known that it was even immortalised in song by The Barron Knights when the pair left the show in 1978.

**INSEPARABLE:** John Noakes and Shep *PICTURE: BBC*

These days dogs have become a much more familiar presence on TV and social media, with the Crufts dog show attracting an unbelievable 18,000 competitors and almost nightly programmes highlighting different aspects of canine behaviour and welfare, from sheepdog trials to different training techniques.

Of course, the difficult down side of our love affair with dogs is the pain we feel at losing them.

Countless online commentators attest to the fact that the death of a beloved pet is excruciating. With their shorter lifespans, it’s also unfortunately an inevitability, made all the more intense by their unconditional love and constant presence by our side.

Shepherdess Alison O’Neill has won a Twitter following of almost 50,000 for her glorious photographs and homely posts from her small hill farm in the Yorkshire Dales, where sheepdog Shadow is a star attraction.

**FAITHFUL FRIEND:** Alison’s pinned tweet *PICTURE: Alison O’Neill*

“Dogs are the best,” she says. “But yes, I’ve known the loss of a dog. It’s no different than any family member passing.”

Coping when they are suddenly not there at our side can be devastating. But then perhaps that works both ways.

Many dog trainers and behaviourists believe that dogs feel grief too, being highly intuitive and sensitive animals — perhaps much more than people give them credit for.

It may not quite be on the scale of devotion demonstrated by the apocryphal Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh, but artist Sir Edwin Landseer summed up the sense of loss memorably in his 1837 oil painting, The Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner.

**SENSE OF LOSS:** Landseer’s 1837 portrait *PICTURE: Victoria & Albert Museum*

In a sparsely furnished room, a moping dog rests its head on the coffin of its master, the shepherd, whose staff and hat lie underneath a table supporting a closed bible.

The pathos of the scene made it popular with both collectors and the Victorian public in general, but it’s a striking representation of loss, described by the influential art critic John Ruskin as one of the “most perfect poems…which modern times have seen”.

Sentimental it may have been, but the painting also became an important part of animal advocacy campaigns in the 19th century, a reminder of the shared experiences and strong emotional bonds that can exist between human and non-human animals, and few 21st-century dog lovers would argue with the importance of that message.

We’d love to share your pictures and stories about your own dogs enjoying our wonderful Chilterns countryside. Contact us by email or our social media links — you don’t have to include personal details or precise locations, but we’d love to hear from you about the four-legged friends in your life.

Rustles of life beneath the ancient branches

Posted on December 6, 2022November 11, 2023 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

IT’S a chilly November night in the heart of the woods, with the star-studded sky casting a ghostly glow through the ancient branches.

Only an hour ago, the place was awash with autumn colour, the last afternoon rays of sunlight lighting up the russets and browns of the fallen leaves.

**BROWN CARPET:** leaf litter at Latimer PICTURE: **Sue Craigs Erwin**

Now, although it’s not late, there’s little stirring among the frost-tipped leaves. The dog walkers have long headed home and most creatures with any sense have burrowed down for the night.

**AUTUMN CHILL:** temperatures drop as the sun fades *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

The call of an owl pierces the cold night air and the occasional explosive flurry of a startled pigeon or muntjac is enough to get the heart beating a little faster, but for the most part these dark woods seem deserted.

That’s something of an illusion, of course. It may be quiet, but this is still a refuge for wildlife of which we often catch only tantalising glimpses.

**IMPOSING FIGURE:** a stag in Windsor Great Park PICTURE: **Lesley Tilson**

How often have we spotted a weasel or dormouse, for example? The occasional rustle among the leaf litter reveals we are not alone, and the reassuring hoots of the owls are a reminder that food is plentiful if you know where to look for it.

**CHANCE ENCOUNTER:** otters have been spotted on the Thames *PICTURE:* ***Nick Bell***

But although a fortunate wild swimmer might bump into an otter in the Thames, or spot a bank vole preening its whiskers, you have to get up with the lark or mooch silently around at dusk to stand a chance of catching a glimpse of our more elusive mammals.

**CUTE CUSTOMER:** a bank vole PICTURE: **Graham Parkinson**

On night walks like these, it’s easy to have a sense of time standing still: of past generations sharing the same sounds and emotions as they trudged along the local drovers’ roads and ridgeways on just such a wintry evening in a past century.

**FAMILIAR ROAD:** time stands still on old footpaths PICTURE: **Sue Craigs Erwin**

Chilterns woodlands reek of history – of charcoal burners and iron age forts, of lurking highwaymen and wartime military camps.

**PICTURESQUE:** Finch Lane in Amersham PICTURE: **Sue Craigs Erwin**

Amid this picture postcard landscape, Romans built their ancient roads out from London, stagecoaches swept past on their way to Oxford or Amersham, and displaced Polish families lived for years among the trees after the Second World War…

**IF TREES COULD TALK:** ancient boughs at Burnham Beeches *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

If the trees could talk, they could tell countless tales of past generations, of royal parks and medieval manors, entrepreneurs and philanthropists, poachers and politicians.

**SPLASH OF COLOUR:** autumn puddles PICTURE: **Lesley Tilson**

November is the month of woodsmoke and fireworks, of first frosts and misty mornings, of fading fungi and a fabulous fortnight of burnished golds, yellows and russet hues as nature puts on its own glorious fireworks display before the trees get stripped bare for winter.

**IN MEMORIAM:** silhouettes at Waddesdon Manor PICTURE: **Lesley Tilson**

It’s a season of remembrance too: of poppies and memorials, of wreath-laying ceremonies and sombre thoughts of past battles and lost loved ones.

**COLD BATH:** swirling waters outside Amersham PICTURE: **Lesley Tilson**

As temperatures fall, this is that bleak, sullen fortnight or so before winter properly sets in that, we learned in 2020 from author and friend Alan Cleaver (better known in the Lake District as @thelonningsguy and for writing about the “corpse roads” of Cumbria), Cumbrian farmers identify as “back end”.

**WELCOME GUEST:** a blue tit seeks out a snack PICTURE: **Graham Parkinson**

The landscape may start feeling somewhat bleak and unwelcoming, but it’s a time when our bird tables come alive with tiny visitors and crisper mornings reveal gloriously intricate spiders’ webs and colourful mosses and lichens carpeting old tree stumps.

**PLUSH PLUMAGE:** a male bullfinch PICTURE: **Graham Parkinson**

Some less familiar faces may join the native birds feasting on the hawthorn, holly and juniper berries, while hedgehogs and badgers are seeking out comfortable spots for a wintry snooze – and there might even be a chance to catch sight of a stoat in its winter coat of ermine…a camouflage tactic that offers somewhat less protection now that our winters are becoming less and less snowy.

**RAY OF HOPE:** sunlight over Latimer PICTURE: **Sue Craigs Erwin**

Chilly it may be, but our timeless Chilterns landscape has not lost all its colour yet, tempting us out in our scarves and mittens in the hope of hearing the whistle of a kite or hoot of an owl, watching the wildfowl squabbling at the local quarry or the bats coming out to hunt as darkness falls.

Here, where the buried flints and pots beneath our feet remind us that this landscape has been home to people like us for thousands of years, we can smell the woodsmoke rising from ancient chimneys, watch the silvery Thames slicing through the fields and feel just a little more connected with the natural world around us.

**CALL OF THE WILD:** a stag bellows at Windsor PICTURE: **Lesley Tilson**

A big thank you to all the keen local photographers who have allowed us to use their work this month. If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entry for December, contact editor@thebeyonder.co.uk on email or via our Facebook group page.

Fungus foray reveals the secrets of survival

Posted on November 4, 2022November 4, 2022 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

SOARING temperatures and flash floods marked a summer where climate change concerns were never far from people’s minds.

**BLAZE OF COLOUR:** sunflowers at Chesham **PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin**

So after an unseasonally mild October, perhaps it’s a relief to finally feel the chill in the air on a starry Chilterns November night.

**SEPTEMBER SKIES:** birds on the wing outside Amersham **PICTURE: Gel Murphy**

Back in the hot, dry summer, temperatures soared to a new UK record temperature of 40.3C in Lincolnshire and much of the local countryside looked brown and parched, with hosepipe bans in place across large areas.

**EARLY START:** morning mist creates an inviting haze **PICTURE: Gel Murphy**

The joint warmest summer on record for England, and the fourth driest, it meant wildlife enthusiasts having to rise early to catch the countryside at its best before the searing heat of the midday sun.

**FEELING CHIRPY:** a stonechat at Widbrook Common **PICTURE: Graham Parkinson**

It takes patience and perseverance at the best of times to capture our native species on camera, but all the more so when they are taking refuge from such unpleasant heat.

**POLLEN COUNT:** hundreds of insect species pollinate plants **PICTURE: Gel Murphy**

What a delight, then, to savour the mellower temperatures of autumn and watch the sights, sounds and smells slowly switching to a different pace and palette.

**AUTUMN HUES:** trees start to lose their leaves **PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin**

Suddenly it’s crisper and colder in the mornings and darker evenings, though the woods are ablaze with colour as families look out their scarves and winter coats to make the most of the seasonal spectacle.

**SILENT SWOOP:** a short-eared owl in Oxfordshire **PICTURE: Graham Parkinson**

With Autumnwatch back on our screens and pumpkins suddenly swamping the shelves of local farm shops, a host of animals and birds are stocking up for the winter months.

**SEASONAL SPECTACLE:** woods are awash with colour **PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin**

And from the banks of the Thames to Ivinghoe Beacon, there’s no better time of year to venture outdoors to smell the ripening fruits and admire the beauty of the leaves as they change colour.

**SUNNY FACES:** sunflowers ready for picking **PICTURE: Lesley Tilson**

In just a few short weeks, the landscape has been transformed: from the August fields of sunflowers ripe for the picking, we have seen the dust of the combine harvesters blowing across the land and subtle changes in the light deeper in the surrounding woods.

**OUT OF THE SHADOWS:** autumn brings a change of light **PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin**

In the grounds of Windsor’s Great Park the autumn rutting season may have had an extra resonance for visitors this year following the death of the Queen.

**POLLEN COUNT:** deer at Windsor **PICTURE: Nick Bell**

After so many thousands swamped the town to pay their final respects, many returning ramblers might be only too keenly aware of the monarch’s absence from her beloved castle, with the current herd all descendants of 40 hinds and two stags introduced in 1979 by the Duke of Edinburgh.

**FINAL FLOURISH:** ferns capture the sunlight before dying back **PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin**

And from the historic Ridgeway to the depths of Burnham Beeches, a myriad other changes are taking place in this ancient and fascinating landscape, most noticeably the sudden golden glow as nature puts on its most spectacular fireworks display of the year.

**SNAZZY DRESSER:** the colourful jay **PICTURE: Graham Parkinson**

The autumnal leaf fall is a clever form of self-protection, allowing deciduous trees to drop thin leaves that would otherwise rupture during the winter, making them useless for photosynthesis, giving the tree a fresh start in the spring while the nutrients from the decaying leaves are recycled to help grow the next generation.

**RECYCLING PLANT:** fallen leaves and fungi in Hodgemoor Wood **PICTURE: Andrew Knight**

Amid all the leaf mulch, autumn is also one of the best times to head out foraging, with woods and hedgerows filled with a feast of delights from hazelnuts and rosehips to blackberries, sweet chestnuts and crab apples.

**FORMIDABLE:** the woods are home to a huge variety of fungi **PICTURE: Gel Murphy**

The woods play host to a formidable array of mosses, lichens and fungi too, but not all of the intriguing range of shapes and colours to be found among the soaking foliage are safe to eat, as their spine-tingling names might suggest.

**FRIEND OR FOE?:** many fungi are poisonous **PICTURE: Gel Murphy**

If you can’t tell a tasty morsel from a destroying angel, funeral bell or death cap, it’s perhaps best to give those colourful mushrooms and toadstools a wide berth.

**ANCIENT TABOOS:** not all mushrooms are magical **PICTURE: Gel Murphy**

Widely regarded as magical and equally frequently mistrusted, toadstools and mushrooms are associated with ancient taboos, dung, death and decomposition.

**SUPPORT NETWORK:** many species rely on fungi **PICTURE: Gel Murphy**

But as the Woodland Trust explains, trees and many other species rely on fungi and we’re only just starting to fully understand how close this relationship is: great woodland networks that link and support life.

**PLUSH PLUMAGE:** a little egret **PICTURE: Graham Parkinson**

As Gillian Burke explained in a previous Autumnwatch series: “90 per cent of our plants are utterly reliant on fungi for survival. By breaking down dead wood, cleaning the soil and recycling nutrients by the most intimate relationship with living plants, fungi are vital to life on Earth.”

**VITAL RELATIONSHIP:** fungi play a vital role **PICTURE: Gel Murphy**

At this time of year, those forest floors and woodland glades are full of colourful and intriguing characters, from puffballs and stinkhorns to earthstars and jelly fungi – and while many of them could be poisonous for us to touch and eat, it’s fascinating just how important they may be for our survival.

As always, we’d like to give a very big thank you to all the keen local photographers who have allowed us to use their work.

If you have a picture or two you would like us to feature, drop us a line by email to editor@thebeyonder.co.uk, join us in our Facebook group or contact us on Twitter @TheBeyonderUK.

Season of renewal overshadowed by war

Posted on September 2, 2022September 2, 2022 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

FEBRUARY. It might be one of the coldest, bleakest months of the year, but it’s also the shortest – and a time when families out on muddy wintry walks are eagerly on the lookout for the first signs of spring.

Not this year. This year, come February 24 and everyone’s eyes are on the other side of Europe and the shock Russian invasion of Ukraine.

**LILAC WINE:** a February sky outside Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Suddenly it seems a little trite to be chatting blithely about the Chilterns countryside awakening after winter. Instead, we are all glued to the television and the unthinkable images of war engulfing Europe.

As days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months, whole streets and towns are turned into rubble, sparking the biggest refugee crisis since World War II.

**PALE HUES:** dramatic colours over Coombe Hill *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

The devastation is already reminiscent of the streets of Syria and Iraq, and with families streaming over the border to Poland and other neighbouring countries, the fear is palpable and the threat is real.

How ironic then, that in the same week that war broke out we are visiting the Polish resettlement camp at Northwick Park in Gloucestershire and recalling how a previous Russian invasion more than 80 years ago changed the course of world history.

**WARTIME ECHOES:** Northwick Park camp *PICTURE: Olivia Rzadkiewicz*

It’s one of many reminders around the UK of those terrible events from the spring of 1940, made all the more painful by history being repeated so many years later.

Marysia, the wonderful woman we are visiting with, lived briefly in this camp when she first came to England as a teenager after the war – like so many others after a long and arduous journey via Russia, Persia and Africa.

**LIVES IN TRANSIT:** the monument at Northwick Park *PICTURE: Olivia Rzadkiewicz*

She was seven when the Russian soldiers arrived and her family was deported from their forest home to the icy wastes of Siberia.

After the war, Northwick Park was a brief stopping-off point before she was moved on to Herefordshire, but with many of the Nissen huts used to house families then still in use today for local businesses, in many ways the place looks very like it did more than 70 years ago, bringing memories flooding back.

**FOREST CAMP:** Polish families lived in Hodgemoor Woods until 1962 *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

Many of the Polish families relocated to the UK lived in camps like this for years – including those in Hodgemoor Woods beside Chalfont St Giles, where the camp remained open until 1962.

Indeed by October 1946, around 120,000 Polish troops were quartered in more than 200 such camps across the UK.

All of which is an all-too-vivid reminder that the events being played out in the towns and cities of Ukraine today will have an impact on people’s lives for decades to come.

**SHEPHERD’S DELIGHT?:** a Chesham sunset *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

As the pale skies and dramatic sunsets of February give way to the brighter weather of March, we stumble across a young woman looking a little lost in local woods at sunset.

She has no dog and seems a little disorientated as dusk falls, but when we ask if she is OK she assures us that she is. She’s from Ukraine and adjusting to a new life in the Chilterns, insisting that she is fine.

**FLYING HIGH:** on the wing outside Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

But as she wanders back to the village, we’re left wondering just how many families will be torn apart by the current conflict – and how many decades it will be before the shockwaves stop reverberating across Europe.

Here, the dawn chorus is beginning to pick up volume as the branches begin to look a little less bare and the first flowers poke through the frost: snowdrops and primroses, later to be followed by the daffodils and bluebells.

**SPRING DANCE:** daffodils brighten the hedgerows *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Once more photographers across the Chilterns are up with the lark, capturing the sights and sounds of the changing months as hungry badgers and foxes get braver in their hunt for an easy snack and insects and reptiles emerge from their slumbers.

There may still be a chill in the morning air, but the morning dog walk is no longer a battle against the elements.

**THE EYES HAVE IT:** a hare pauses for the camera PICTURE: **Graham Parkinson**

Beyonder stalwarts Nick Bell and Graham Parkinson are on the hunt for less usual sights, tiptoeing through the undergrowth on the trail of an elusive hare, fox cub or cautious deer.

Regular contributors Sue Craigs Erwin and Lesley Tilson also have their eyes peeled for those spectacular sunsets or rare moments when a bird or insect stays long enough on a twig for the perfect shot.

**FIRST FLUTTER:** a peacock butterfly *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Deep in the forest, there’s new growth everywhere, with fluffy lichen and moss coating tree barks and warmer weather tempting walkers back out onto footpaths no longer submerged in a sea of mud.

As the weather warms, there’s more time to study the colourful plumage of regular garden visitors, enjoy the first butterflies or spot a muntjac foraging in the woods or a fox returning proudly to its den with breakfast for the family.

**EVENING LIGHT:** a grazing muntjac PICTURE: **Graham Parkinson**

We are so lucky to live here: only an hour from central London, yet a haven for wildlife, with a network of thousands of miles of footpaths stretching across the 320 square miles designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Suddenly, after long grey days of eager anticipation, the natural world seems alive with activity with something new to spot every day, the green shoots and bursting buds a welcome reminder that spring has once again returned with a vengeance.

**WARMER DAYS:** Chess Valley reflections *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

From historic market towns to sleepy hamlets, this is a landscape dotted with quintessentially English coaching inns, ancient churches and picturesque chalk streams.

It many no longer boast charcoal burners or “bodgers” in the woods, or an abundance of watercress farms and cherry orchards, but it’s still a world of muddy boots and excited dogs, log fires and historic pubs.

**ANCIENT LANDSCAPE:** St Nicholas’ church at Hedsor *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

In the spring, the air is thick with birdsong in morning and early evening, robins, blackbirds and wrens shouting about territory while the local wood pigeons strut and coo.

There’s frogspawn aplenty in local ponds and nest-building is under way in earnest, though it’s still hard to fully concentrate on all the intimate daily changes in quite the same way it was before the war started to dominate the news agenda.

**FURRY FRIEND:** a holly blue butterfly *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

After the anxieties and distractions of lockdown we are once again free to explore the local landscape fully, yet it feels almost insensitive to be savouring that freedom against the backdrop of the apocalyptic pictures and real-world horror stories emerging from Ukraine.

Pandemic, climate change, war – no wonder our teenagers are worried about the world and find it hard to concentrate in class.

**NESTING TIME:** a long-tailed tit PICTURE: **Graham Parkinson**

But then just as lockdown gave us time to re-examine our relationship with the natural world, we know too just what an important role nature can play is maintaining or re-establishing our mental health.

Yes, we must do what we can to provide practical help to those fleeing the war, but it’s no bad thing for us to be immersing ourselves in nature again too.

**SUMMER STORM:** an ominous sky *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

It’s easy to get depressed by the pointlessness, chaos and destruction of war, but perhaps it’s even more important that we celebrate beauty at such a time and remind ourselves of the importance of those small daily delights that still matter so much.

Whether it’s the sounds of woodland creatures stirring in the early morning sunshine, country lanes awash with spring colour, the screech of an owl as dusk falls, the spring lambs gambolling in the fields or a family of little ducklings learning to swim, the Chilterns landscape has the power to soothe our fears and revitalise us to face new challenges.

**RUNNING FOR COVER:** red-legged partridges PICTURE: **Nick Bell**

Our timeless landscape has witnessed its fair share of bloodshed and conflict across the centuries, but the froth of hawthorn blossom in the hedgerows, dancing bluebells in the woods, and nodding poppies in the cornfields remind us that life must go on, and sustain us at times when our spirits are low.

When the news feels overwhelming, there could be no better way of keeping a grip on reality, clearing away the cobwebs and banishing our own fears and anxiety among the bluebell woods and country paths of the Chilterns.

**FIELD OF DREAMS:** a deer among the poppies *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

As always, we’d like to give a very big thank you to all the keen local photographers who have allowed us to use their work. If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions, contact editor@thebeyonder.co.uk on email or via our Facebook group page.

Bradenham farm becomes a ‘haven’ for wildlife

Posted on August 16, 2022July 17, 2023 by andrew in News

A CHILTERNS farm has been designated as a local wildlife site, reflecting one family’s 20-year battle to turn their land into a haven for wildlife.

**PROUD MOMENT:** Andrew Stubbings at Manor Farm

Andrew Stubbings has spent two decades turning the National Trust’s Manor Farm at Bradenham into a stronghold for nature and the new designation of more than 550 acres of land as being among the most exceptional and valuable wildlife areas in the UK is unprecedented.

Mr Stubbings said: “It’s so great to know that I am doing my bit to help our wildlife to thrive and has given me an extra buzz as I am out and about on the tractor.”

A tenant on the Bradenham Estate, Andrew first began working with his father on the process of reverting a good deal of their arable land back to a species-rich chalk grassland, a habitat which has suffered a 97% loss in the last century.

In summer 2020, the Chilterns Conservation Board and Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre carried out botanical surveys across the farm – made possible by the Chalk, Cherries and Chairs Landscape Partnership bankrolled by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The survey findings were submitted to a panel of local ecologists and other experts on the Local Wildlife Site Panel who awarded the designation set against strict criteria.

They found no fewer than 280 species of plant, with four different species of orchids and a large population of the increasingly uncommon Chiltern Gentian.

As well as various threatened plants found in the arable field margins, reseachers were impressed by the sheer diversity of plants, birds, butterflies and even reptiles to be found on a commercially viable working farm.

Mr Stubbings said: “I’m so proud to think that I started this with my Dad 20 years ago. Before the surveys I didn’t really know what I had living on the farm and have been blown away by the results.

Wildlife on the farm also includes breeding barn owls, common lizards, and breeding corn buntings – a locally scarce and endangered farmland bird. 35 species of butterfly have been recorded, including the Duke of Burgundy, chalk hill blue, Adonis blue, dingy skipper, grizzled skipper and the silver-washed fritillary.

Nick Marriner, landowner engagement officer at the Chilterns Conservation Board, said: “Andrew is leading the charge in supporting Nature’s Recovery in the Chilterns and has shown that commercial farming and wildlife can work together. He is an inspiration.”

Andrew is one of 18 farmers in the Central Chilterns farmer cluster (supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund), all of which are committed to do more to support wildlife on their farms too.

Julia Carey from the Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre added: “We couldn’t believe the scale of what Andrew has achieved. Field after field of our surveys throwing up so many important rare arable flora and chalk grassland species. Manor farm is a powerful example of how species and habitat conservation can be built into a working landscape, and a great example of how diverse land uses can support rare, threatened and unusual species.”

New year puts a fresh spring in our step

Posted on February 20, 2022February 20, 2022 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

AFTER those drab, dull days of December, the New Year brought us a crisp chill in the air and a sense of new beginnings.

**SEA OF MIST:** dramatic colours at Coombe Hill *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

After almost two years of pandemic restrictions and more than 140,000 deaths, could the UK finally envisage an end to most lockdown restrictions?

**SPRING FEVER:** a brown hare *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Against a backdrop of fresh concerns about distant rumblings of war in Ukraine and with many families still trying to heal the scars caused by isolation and loss, the timeless landscape of the Chilterns continues to provide a breathtaking backdrop to our daily lives and a source of solace to many.

**EVENING GLOW:** a glorious sunset *PICTURE: Paula Western*

Those lucky enough to have the countryside on the doorstep and willing to brave the storms, frost and freezing winds have been rewarded with some spectacular early morning walks, stunning vistas and glorious sunsets.

**SHADES OF GREY:** muted colours at Coombe Hill *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

The bare branches of January make it easier to spot birds in the trees and after the relative silence of winter, the dawn chorus will steadily grow between now and May.

Mosses, lichens and fungi provide splashes of colour and an array of intriguing patterns and shapes amid the soggy leaf litter.

**FILLING THE GAP:** bracket fungus on a tree bark *PICTURE: Carol Ann Finch*

The skeletal vegetation allows new vistas to open up too, however, exposing the earthworks, trails, mileposts and ditches so often hidden amid the undergrowth.

**WELL TROD PATH:** a mossy holloway *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Many footpaths are still muddy and forlorn, and our busier roadsides are still scarred by litter and fly-tipping, all the more visible now that the foliage is stripped bare for all to see the terrible impact of humans on the natural environment.

**SMALL WONDER:** the agile bank vole *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

But if there are days when nature appears to be under siege, there are plenty of small glimpses of light in the darkness promising happier times to come.

**LOCAL LANDMARK:** Brill windmill *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Those obliging early snowdrops, for example, have been a powerful symbol of hope since biblical times, these Candlemas bells which once decorated the windowsills of monasteries, abbeys and churches marking an important Christian holy day when the dark interior of a medieval church would become a sea of flickering candles.

Feathered friends in the garden have provided a welcome ray of sunshine too, in the run-up to the RSPB’s Great Garden Birdwatch 2022.

**SILENT HUNTER:** a barn owl hunting *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

This is the month where the dawn chorus really begins to grow in volume, and various Beyonder features have highlighted the chance to catch those first wintry warbles, the growing popularity of feeding the birds and how to recognise the different songs that make up the most spectacular natural orchestra on earth.

**ON THE WATER:** a male pochard at Spade Oak *PICTURE: Nick Bell*

Photographers prepared to get up with the lark have been treated to some of the most impressive sights, not just gorgeous sunsets but in the array of wildlife they have been able to capture on camera.

**FISHING TRIP:** a heron on the lookout for breakfast *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Their early morning forays to local woods and beauty spots provide a vivid reminder of just how much wildlife is around us, even if many animals are still sheltering from the wintry blast or are quick to disappear at the sound of an approaching footstep.

**NESTING SEASON:** a heron at Spade Oak *PICTURE: Nick Bell*

From the sounds of barking deer and fox mating calls in those first daylight hours to the thrum of a woodpecker or whistle of a red kite, there are plenty of audible clues to the wealth of wildlife around us, even if it sometimes requires a sharp eye, zoom lens and early morning start to spot that heron, egret or well camouflaged owl.

**WHO GOES THERE?:** deer at Bushy Park *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

If the ancient wings of the heron make the bird look positively Jurassic, the owl has long been a symbol of wisdom in literature and mythology. Their hunting prowess and night vision, in particular, impressed the Ancient Greeks, who believed that this vision was a result of a mystical inner light and associated the owl with the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena.

**WELL HIDDEN:** an owl at Cassiobury Park *PICTURE: Carol Ann Finch*

The late American poet Mary Jane Oliver expressed it in a rather different way in her poem Little Owl Who Lives in the Orchard:

His beak could open a bottle,
and his eyes – when he lifts their soft lids –
go on reading something
just beyond your shoulder –
Blake, maybe,
or the Book of Revelation.

**WOLF MOON RISING:** January’s full moon *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

The skies have been obliging too, Anne Rixon‘s stunning shot of this month’s Wolf Moon perfectly capturing the timeless wonder of that striking vision when the moon shows its “face” to the earth.

Wolf moons and snow moons, blood moons and strawberry moons, harvest moons and worm moons…long before calendars were invented, ancient societies kept track of the months and seasons by studying the moon.

**MORNING GLORY:** horses at Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

All year round, our photographers are out and about in all weathers to capture that moment when the sun breaks through the clouds and the rain stops, or a startled animal looks up at the sound of a broken twig.

Our Birds & Beasts page includes a special focus the work of our incredible specialist wildlife photographers.

As always, we’d like to give a very big thank you to all the local photographers who have allowed us to use their work this month. If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our next calendar entry, contact editor@thebeyonder.co.uk by email or via our Facebook group page.

Seasonal toast to a happier year ahead

Posted on January 9, 2022July 17, 2023 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

DREARY December bowed out in a pretty desultory fashion, paving the way for the warmest New Year’s Day on record.

**IN THE PINK**: birds silhouetted against a winter’s sky *PICTURE: Paula Western*

But after a year of debate about climate change, no one was really celebrating the unseasonal temperatures, thought to have been boosted by warm air wafting in from the Azores.

**SHORTEST DAY**: a winter solstice sunset *PICTURE:* *Anne Rixon*

It may not have helped that this was also the dullest December in 65 years, with only around 26.6 hours of sunshine across the UK, leaving many feeling dispirited – though it didn’t stop some lucky photographers snatching striking pictures of the shortest day of the year.

**FIRE IN THE SKY:** dawn and dusk provide dramatic contrasts *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

For some, seasonal affective disorder is a more serious type of depression that comes and goes in a seasonal pattern, symptoms of which include a persistent low mood, loss of interest in everyday activities, an extreme lethargy and feelings of despair, guilt and worthlessness.

**SPLASH OF GREEN:** near the River Thame in Aylesbury *PICTURE: Ron Adams*

Nature lovers can struggle with winter depression too on these short days when the sun is obscured and the landscape full of greys and browns.

**AWASH WITH COLOUR:** the countryside outside Amersham *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

But the more persistent photographers are up and about early and late to capture those brief dramatic moments when the sun breaks through to set the landscape awash with colour.

**LONGEST NIGHT**: December 21 *PICTURE:* *Anne Rixon*

On December 21, the winter solstice marks the time when the sun is at its lowest daily maximum elevation in the sky, giving us shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year: after which it doesn’t seem unreasonable to start dreaming about spring.

**SENSE OF OCCASION:** Christmas trees at Blenheim Palace *PICTURE:* *Lesley Tilson*

Perhaps it’s hardly surprising that around the world the day should have been seen as such a significant time of the year in many cultures, with midwinter festivals marking the symbolic death and rebirth of the sun, and with some ancient monuments like Stonehenge even aligned with the sunrise or sunset at solstice time.

**THROUGH THE KEYHOLE:** Durdle Door in Dorset *PICTURE: Siddarth Upadhya*

Down in Dorset, one of the UK’s most majestic natural landmarks comes into its own in December, when thanks to the way the Earth moves on its axis there is a rare opportunity to photograph the sun appearing on the horizon through Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast.

**BLUE-SKY THINKING:** a misty morning near Amersham *PICTURE:* *Lesley Tilson*

Keen photographers arrive in darkness to snatch that holy grail “through the keyhole” shot of sunlight bursting through the famous rock arch, which only occurs for a few minutes each day from mid-December to early January.

**CHILL IN THE AIR:** beehives at Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

If the warm air from the Azores brought an unseasonal feel to New Year’s Eve, the month was not entirely devoid of chilly nights and frosty mornings.

**SNOW ON SNOW**: Brush Hill nature reserve *PICTURE:* *Anne Rixon*

It may have lacked the grim icy resonance of In The Bleak Midwinter, or the reassuring seasonal familiarity of one of John Charles Maggs’ stagecoach paintings, but there were still plenty of moments when the “frosty wind made moan”, bringing a touch of colour to children’s cheeks and a welcome crispness to the morning air.

**STUCK IN THE SNOW:** Stage Coach in a Snow Drift *PICTURE: Benson Fine Art*

Wildlife may be hard to spot on these short days, especially when the sun is obscured and the countryside can appear bleak, but snatched snapshots provide a welcome foretaste of the excitement of spring, like a juvenile great crested grebe surfacing amid water glinting like mercury.

**MERCURY RISING:** a young great crested grebe *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Cross-country walking is a lonely exercise at this time of year and the backdrop may look bleak at times, with trees dormant, flowers withered and much vegetation looking half-decayed.

**SLIM PICKINGS**: a red kite looks grumpy in the snow *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

But even when nature is looking at its lowest ebb, there are already signs of bulbs pushing through the topsoil and it’s easier to see birds perching on the bare branches, hungry for a snack.

**CHOCKS AWAY:** a red kite launches into action *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

The welcome whistle of red kites is familiar to anyone living in the Chilterns, while buzzards too are an increasing common sight above our woodlands once more, having quadrupled in number since 1970.

**WILD EYED:** a buzzard in the centre of Marlow *PICTURE:* *Graham Parkinson*

Whether it’s the cry of a tawny owl or bark of a fox or muntjac, there are plenty of evening sounds to remind us that out local wildlife is never too far away, even if many creatures are dormant or hibernating at this time of year.

**TASTY TREAT:** winter berries *PICTURE:* *Sue Craigs Erwin*

A timely expedition down the M25 to the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey is a reminder of just how elusive some of our native wild breeds actually are.

**SMALL WONDER:** a harvest mouse poses for a picture *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

Furtive and fast-moving, or sleepy and nocturnal, our stoats and weasels, dormice and badgers are not easy to spot, which makes this centre an important place for education, given that so few children will have the chance to see such animals in the wild.

**FROSTY OUTLOOK:** Willow Wood, Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Back in the woods, our dog walkers and nature lovers are undeterred by cold hands and runny noses, and have been roaming across the Chilterns on the look-out for shots that capture the very best of the season.

**CHILL IN THE AIR:** a wintry walk near Amersham *PICTURE:* *Lesley Tilson*

2021 was an incredibly tough year for many, dominated by pandemic worries, lockdown restrictions and extreme weather events.

As Bill Gates reflected, it was also a year when we were reminded just how significantly something happening on the other side of the world could affect us at home – but also how change happens “because groups of people get together and decide to make things better”.

**BRANCHING OUT:** a snowy day in Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

We’re not there yet when it comes to avoiding a climate disaster. But we also know that we won’t get everyone agreeing on how to win the battle unless people care about the natural world and the impact we humans are having on it.

Our wonderful photographers are contributing to that awareness with their beautiful portraits of the flora and fauna to be found across the Chilterns landscape, and we are very grateful for their efforts to chronicle the passing year month by month.

A big thank you to all the keen local photographers who have allowed us to use their work this month, and throughout 2021. If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entry for the coming year, contact editor@thebeyonder.co.uk on email or via our Facebook group page.

Step out into a world of fire and light

Posted on November 30, 2021November 30, 2021 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

HARDLY had the shrill echoes of the little Halloween ghosts and ghouls died away before we were facing the noise and light explosion that is Bonfire Night.

**SOFT EDGES**: trees loom out of the mist near Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Dreaded by pet owners and nature lovers worried about the impact on local wildlife, the annual fireworks jamboree has become a more organised affair in modern times, with most November 5 celebrations run by local charities and other organisations.

**CHILLY OUTLOOK:** looking out over Aylesbury Vale from Coombe Hill *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

But of course there’s a visceral delight in so many of those sights, sounds and smells of bonfire night, of toffee apples and burnt marshmallows, baked potatoes and warm chestnuts; hands stabbed by the sharp prickles of sparklers, cheeks red with the cold night air pinching our faces.

**AUTUMN PALETTE:** walking at Whiteleaf Hill *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

Bathed in woodsmoke and the acrid smell of gunpowder, our caveman origins come to the fore as we draw closer to the flames and huddle together for warmth and light.

**LEST WE FORGET:** November is a time of remembrance *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

November is a month of remembrance too, of poppies and poppy-strewn memorials, of old soldiers and wreath-laying ceremonies, of sombre thoughts of past battles and lost loved ones.

**SPLASH OF COLOUR:** the Water Garden at Cliveden *PICTURE: Siddharth Upadhya*

It’s also the month that sees a fortnight-long firework display of natural colour as the falling leaves provide a spectacular backdrop for autumn rambles before the first winter storms strip the branches bare.

**GATE EXPECTATIONS:** perfect weather for a ramble *PICTURE: Paula Western*

The timeless Chilterns landscape offers such a wealth of different outings too, from ancient long-distance routes and drovers’ paths to simple circular strolls watching the red kites soar or catching a deer unawares.

**WHO GOES THERE?:** a fallow deer buck in Homefield Wood *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

For some, it’s the small details which catch the eye, from veins on leaves, unfamiliar fungi or seed cases strewn among the leaf litter.

**OUT ON A LIMB:** leaf patterns catch the light *PICTURE: Ron Adams*

For others, it’s the chance to get close to the mammals, birds and insects which inhabit this wonderland, always in the hope of that rare moment when time stands still just long enough for the perfect close-up of a or a hungry sparrowhawk.

**EAGLE EYED:** a juvenile female sparrowhawk poses for the camera *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Speaking of one of her November rambles a couple of years ago, Melissa Harrison writes in The Stubborn Light Of Things: “Dusk is my favourite time to go out walking. As the light fades, the night shift clocks on: rabbits come our to feed, owls call from the copses and spinneys, and foxes, deer and bats begin hunting as darkness falls…”

**AT THE CROSSROADS:** a signpost at Ley Hill *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

She goes on: “But there’s another reason I love to be out of doors at day’s end. Here in Suffolk traces of the past are everywhere, from horse ponds glinting like mercury among the stubble fields to labourers’ cottages like mine with woodsmoke curling from brick chimneys hundreds of years old.

**LOOKOUT POST:** the stunning colours of a red kite *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

“In the half-light of dusk, the old lanes empty of traffic, it’s possible to leave behind the present day with its frightening uncertainties and enter a world in which heavy horses worked the land, the seasons turned with comforting regularity and climate change was unheard of.”

**GO WITH THE FLOW:** the Thames at at Cliveden *PICTURE: Siddharth Upadhya*

Against the backdrop of the Thames, or those ancient woodlands and hidden holloways, the Chilterns is a similarly captivating landscape where time can frequently seem to stand still, especially at dusk and dawn.

**LENGTHENING SHADOWS:** in the woods near Latimer *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Under our feet are the hillforts, earthworks and buried flints and pots reminding us that this landscape has been a focal point for people for thousands of years, an ancient and beautiful place where the whistle of the kite or bark of a fox can still keep us in touch with the natural world around us.

Picture of the week: 01/11/21

Posted on November 3, 2021July 17, 2023 by andrew in Art & Photography

THE final portrait in our short series of pictures taken beside the Thames comes from the blog of Mary Tebje, whose posts have chronicled some four years of rambling around the Chilterns.

What began as a year-long project celebrating life in the Chilterns – that extraordinary space between London and Oxford that has such a rich heritage and such a variety of landscapes to explore! – turned into a much longer and more meaningful venture.

**TIMELESS THAMES:** the view of the river from Danesfield House *PICTURE: Mary Tebje*

A Year in the Chilterns started life as a quiet celebration of people and places with quirky and unusual stories to tell, but soon turned into a labour of love, a journey of exploration and self-discovery charting the changing seasons and extraordinary beauty of local landscapes.

Says Mary: “I thoroughly enjoy tramping around the Chilterns, looking, listening, loitering even and meeting lovely people.”

Nothing gives her more pleasure, she maintains, than “capturing the beauty in the mundane, the small things that the locals have stopped noticing”.

**RIVER OF ADVENTURE:** Cliveden Reach *PICTURE: Mary Tebje*

As a tourism marketing professional she also began to realise that her pride in living and working in the area could translate into a way of helping to sustainably support the local businesses and destinations featured in her pages.

The pandemic only served to emphasise the importance of the Chilterns landscape and the businesses it supports, and Mary’s posts have continued throughout, providing a kaleidoscope of beautifully illustrated rambles stretching from Bedfordshire to Berkshire.

**LOCAL LANDSCAPES:** several of Mary’s rambles can be found on our **Local Walks** page

From haunted houses to tales of scandal and intrigue, her stories help to bring people and places to life, regularly echoing many of the aims and enthusiasms that we share at The Beyonder.

Whether visiting a historic manor house or ancient hill fort, her journeys have been accompanied by stunning pictures and even video diaries, social media feeds on Instagram and Twitter and even a range of Chilterns gifts.

**TALES OF THE RIVERBANK:** exploring Marlow *PICTURE: Mary Tebje*

“I am part of lovely community celebrating. collaborating and sharing what we know and love about where we live,” says Mary.

And so say all of us. Check out Mary’s latest posts on her blog here.

Rich pickings signal the end of summer

Posted on September 6, 2021July 16, 2023 by andrew in Beyonder Blog

AUGUST is a time of plenty, when gardens are in full bloom and the combines are rolling across nearby farmland.

**FRIENDLY FACES:** sunflowers put on a show near Aylesbury *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Ironically, Britain’s farmers may have an unlikely source to thank for thousands of us watching those crops being harvested with a new and more knowledgable eye this year.

For amid all the mysterious talk about spring beans, oilseed rape and winter wheats, moisture content and disappointing yields, it seems that the belligerent “petrolhead” Jeremy Clarkson was responsible for introducing a new generation of TV viewers to the trials and tribulations of farming life.

**FARMING LIFE:** harvest time at Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

The success of Clarkson’s Farm offered some unexpectedly revealing insights as our Jeremy took personal charge of the management of the 1,000-acre Cotswolds farm near Chipping Norton that he bought back in 2008.

And amid all the hapless bumbling and frustrated swearing at the continual setbacks, we were treated to a warm-hearted gem of a series that potentially taught us more about farming than any other agricultural programme on the box.

**WINTER FEED:** hay bales outside Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Farmers are a notoriously tough audience, but many were won over by the TV star’s hard-hitting commentary about bureaucracy, pricing policies, Brexit challenges and bad weather.

“I think the show is absolutely brilliant,” Redditch-based farmer George Beach told Birmingham Live. “Clarkson isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but everyone seems to agree about what he’s done.”

Even Sutherland hill farmer Joyce Campbell, who proved such a popular character on BBC2’s This Farming Life that even her collies get fan mail, tweeted: “I love @JeremyClarkson on his farming. The best TV ever.”

**SUNNY SIDE UP:** a sunflower crop near Aylesbury *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

From cultivation to harvest, misty dawn starts to exhausted night shifts, this was Clarkson as we have never seen him before, in a world where failures have real emotional and financial consequences.

The whole experience also gave him a new respect for farmers, he confessed. He told monthly magazine Farmers Guide: “I get annoyed with what people think about farming. It’s either the huge barns in Texas where they brutally grow pigs or cows, or Kate Humble with a freshly scrubbed baby lamb on a clean bed of hay. Farming is somewhere in between.

**A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT:** overlooking the Misbourne *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

“Farmers are trying to fill the supermarket shelves with cheap good food, and at the same time look after the countryside. Every one of them I talk to is responsible and doing this all the time, despite what is going on with Covid, Brexit or idiotic political decisions.

“We should give farmers a lot more respect. We’re all eating what they produced.”

**SPLASH OF COLOUR:** heather in bloom on Stoke Common *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

Away from the arable farms, it’s been a colourful month on local heathland like that at Stoke Common, where the heather and gorse are at their finest.

Pockets of heathland like this provide a marked contrast to the large ploughed fields of the scarp foothills where medieval open fields were divided into regular parcels through the process of enclosure. From the 1750s onwards, enclosure by parliamentary Act became the norm, affecting more than a fifth of the total land area of England by the First World War.

**EVENING LIGHT:** a Chesham sunset *PICTURE: Leigh Richardson*

The majority of Chilterns crops are cereal crops like wheat and barley, used in a variety of foodstuffs from bread, cakes and biscuits to beer and whisky. One of the most familiar crops is oilseed rape, with its distinctive yellow flowers and pungent aroma, the rapeseed being crushed and the oil used for cooking or food processing, or as an industrial lubricant.

But you can also find peas and beans, alternative crops such as linseed, borage and poppies, and of course thousands of cattle, sheep and pigs, not to mention the occasional less familiar livestock like red deer, emus or alpacas.

**POLLEN COUNT:** a bee gets busy *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Parts of the Chilterns have a long history of orchards, particularly those growing cherries, while there are also several vineyards producing quality wines – and while the arable farmers are busy with haymaking and silage collection, insects, birds and baby mammals are abundant too, the annual wildlife population at its highest this month, even if the birds are too busy moulting to make much noise.

**DISTINCTIVE CALL:** the green woodpecker or “yaffle” *PICTURE: Graham Parksinon*

Lambs born in the spring are back out in the fields, reptiles can be spotted basking the sun and baby squirrels are beginning to put on weight and bully the young birds at garden feeders.

But according to meteorologists, August 31 marks the end of summer, and although it’s too early for the real golds, reds and browns of autumn, there’s a definitely chill in the morning and evening air that hints at the start of a new season, even if we are hoping there are plenty of sultry September days still to enjoy.

**COLOURFUL CHARACTER:** an Egyptian goose *PICTURE: Graham Parksinon*

September is a big month for bird migration, with the British Isles a crossroads for millions of arrivals and departures, but the first to head south are already on the move in August.

**ON THE WING:** a swallow skimming over the river *PICTURE: Graham Parksinon*

Swallows, house martins and swifts are all migratory birds that winter in Africa. Swallows and house martin arrive back in the UK in late March to early April and leave again in September to October, but the swifts are first to leave, and young swallows and house martins are honing their flying skills and enjoying the abundance of insects before joining the exodus.

Fruits, berries and nuts are plentiful, the game season is under way for meat eaters and the list of vegetables in season is quite overwhelming, from beetroot and broccoli to parsnips, peas and peppers.

**TOUCHDOWN**: Canada geese coming in to land *PICTURE: Nick Bell*

Home-grown herbs are also in plentiful supply, and from bilberries and crapapples to wild damsons and mushrooms, there’s plenty to keep foraging enthusiasts busy too, as well as ensuring a fertile feast for many species of birds, eager to gorge on berries before their long migration and helping plants propagate in the process.

Across the Chilterns, it still feels as if summer is with us, with warmer temperatures marking the opening weeks of September. But this is a time when the leaves are beginning to dry out on plants and trees, flowers are fading and days are becoming shorter.

Whisper it quietly, but autumn is sneaking quietly in. We haven’t had the dramatic drop in temperature yet, or the growing awareness that the leaves are beginning, ever so gradually, to change colour. But it won’t be long, so enjoy that September heatwave while you can, as temperatures briefly push close to 30 degrees centigrade before autumn finally makes its presence felt.

**GROW WITH THE FLOW:** the river Misbourne at Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

As always, we’d like to give a very big thank you to all the keen local photographers who have allowed us to use their work this month. If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entry for September, contact editor@thebeyonder.co.uk on email or via our Facebook group page.

Vivid memories of a year in pictures

Posted on September 1, 2021July 16, 2023 by andrew in Beyonder Blog, News

IT’S been a year since we launched our Picture of the Week series – and what a year it’s been.

Inspired by the open studios events staged across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire each year, the series was launched at a time when months of lockdown had prevented artists from getting out and meeting potential customers face to face.

Such events offer a great opportunity for artists and makers to throw open their doors and showcase their work, but if the lockdown put paid to such intimate contact, it certainly did not the cramp the enthusiasm and ingenuity of creative souls from all over the Chilterns.

MAUREEN GILLESPIE — **LOCKDOWN WALK:** Blenheim by Maureen Gillespie

Some turned to local walks near their homes for inspiration, while others took the opportunity to go back through old sketchbooks, sort out old photographs and revisit settings which had never quite made it on to canvas.

**STOCKTAKE:** Beaconsfield artist **Tim Baynes** searched old sketchbooks for inspiration

And many seized the chance to improve their virtual galleries and reach out to customers through blogs, instagram posts and online shops.

**PERSONAL TOUCH**: Dorset artist **Sam Cannon** launched a monthly newsletter

Of course that’s not quite the same as getting to meet your customers in person, but as lockdown restrictions started to ease, those exhibitions, pop-up displays and working studio visits soon began to emerge again.

**PERSONAL TOUCH:** self-taught artist **Sabbi Gavrailov** from Hemel Hempstead

For wildlife and nature lovers, highlights of the weekly series have included many works inspired by or reflecting the natural world, including animal portraits and sculptures, and paintings rooted in the local Chilterns landscape, from the Ridgeway views of Anna Dillon and Christine Bass to the colourful Oxfordshire scenes captured by Alice Walker, Jane Peart and Sue Side.

**VALE VIEW:** Inchombe Hole, Buckinghamshire by **Anna Dillon**

We have ventured out into the parks of Harpenden with Andrew Keenleyside, explored the wetlands of Oxfordshire with Jane Duff and delved deep into Wytham Woods with Rosie Fairfax-Cholmeley.

ROSIE FAIRFAX-CHOLMELEY — **WOODLAND FORAY:** a reduction linocut by **Rosie Fairfax-Cholmeley**

A score of those local artists can be accessed through our Local Landscapes page, and their subject matter ranges from portraits to seascapes and abstract works.

SUE GRAHAM — **CORNISH VISIT:** Sundown, St Ives by **Sue Graham**

Further afield, Chilterns artists have taken on us on journeys from Cornwall to West Wales, while guest artists have hailed from as far afield as Dorset and the Lake District.

Photographers have featured too, patiently waiting for the perfect wildlife shot, whether otter or kingfisher, red kite or dragonfly.

**FAIRGROUND FUN:** handpainted gallopers at **Carters Steam Fair**

Over 52 weeks, the collection has grown into a formidable showcase of local talent, punctuated by occasional more unusual contributions, ranging from the fairground art of Joby Carter and family to a step back in time to enjoy the 1930s art of Eric Ravilious, the “happy little trees” of TV art legend Bob Ross or the stunning works of Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon.

Do you have a nomination for an artist who should be featured in our weekly series? Write to editor@thebeyonder.co.uk explaining the reasons behind your choice.

How fossil secrets sparked a mining boom

Posted on July 21, 2021July 21, 2021 by andrew in Beyonder Blog

SCRATCH beneath the surface of a pictureque Chilterns village and you’re never quite sure what secrets you might discover.

That’s certainly the experience of local travel blogger and tourism marketing professional Mary Tebje as she ventures into Shillington village, just north of the Barton Hills in Bedfordshire.

**LOCAL LANDMARK**: All Saints Church in Shillington PICTURE: Mary Tebje

The ancient village church is such a prominent landmark that it’s perhaps predictable that a visitor’s thoughts turn to the past, and how this former Saxon monastery has survived the weather, natural disasters, war, decay, plague and pollution for so long.

Perhaps more surprising is how this village, along with many others spread in a line towards the Suffolk coast, grew rich through the unexpected mining and selling of coprolite: the fossilised remains of land animals caught as sea levels rose 90 million years ago.

Why get so excited about dinosaur poo? These droppings of bear, lizard, wildebeest, fish or dinosaur contain the fossilised teeth, claws, scales and bones of all sorts of dinosaurs, marine lizards and other animals, not just filling the shelves of excited 19th-century geologists but spawning something of a mini-gold rush once the phosphate content was fully appreciated as an important fertiliser.

**THIRSTY WORK**: Shillington no longer boasts a dozen pubs PICTURE: Mary Tebje

Mary discovers how Shillington’s population exploded as locals cashed in on the lucrative trade, with weary workers packing the village’s dozen pubs.

The article is one of numerous entries in Mary’s “quiet exploration” of the Chilterns which shares the stories of the people and places that have shaped the region. See more of Mary’s adventures here.

Picture of the week: 05/07/21

Posted on July 10, 2021July 16, 2023 by andrew in Art & Photography

ARTISTS and makers across Buckinghamshire throw open their doors in June to showcase their work.

But even when the event is over, online galleries give visitors the chance to explore the work of dozens of creative souls from all over the Chilterns throughout the year.

**MINDFUL MOMENTS:** **Sharon Bailey** draws inspiration from the Chilterns landscape

The Bucks Arts Weeks project – which follows similar events across Oxfordshire in May – allows the public a unique opportunity to hear artists, sculptors, printmakers, photographers and jewellery makers talk about their work and see them in action.

The open studios scheme has been running in Buckinghamshire since 1985 and all the events are free to the public – including exhibitions, pop-up displays and dozens of working studios.

From calligraphy to ceramics and sculpture to digital art, the skills on display include printmaking, jewellery, drawing and painting, metalwork and photography.

For wildlife and nature lovers, highlights include many works inspired by or reflecting the natural world, including animal portraits and sculptures, and paintings rooted in the local Chilterns landscape.

Many of the local artists, from Anna Dillon and Jane Duff to Sue Graham and Christine Bass, have featured in The Beyonder’s Picture of the Week series and can be accessed through out Local Landscapes page.

**ANIMAL MAGIC:** Highland Moo visits Pitstone Windmill by **Katie Nathan**

Geographically the open studios and exhibitions stretch from Milton Keynes and Buckingham in the north to Aylesbury, Chesham, High Wycombe, Chorleywood, Henley and Maidenhead, on the southern edge of the county.

Some towns like Princes Risborough, Amersham and Chesham organise their own trail maps during the live event and exhibitors are grouped geographically to make it possible to visit a number at a time.

And while many artists draw inspiration from the Chilterns countryside, subject matter ranges from portraits to seascapes and abstract works.

**LIGHT AND DARK:** oils provide a favourite medium for **Joe Little**

During the fortnight of displays and demonstrations, visitors can buy or commission work – or even try their hand at some of the skills or sign up for classes. Prices range from postcards and small gifts costing a few pounds to major pieces of original artwork or sculpture costing hundreds.

Any artist or maker interested in taking part next year should contact the organisers on admin@bucksartweeks.org.uk.

Picture of the week: 28/06/21

Posted on July 10, 2021July 16, 2023 by andrew in Art & Photography

ARTISTS and makers across Buckinghamshire throw open their doors in June to showcase their work.

But even when the event is over, online galleries give visitors the chance to explore the work of dozens of creative souls from all over the Chilterns throughout the year.

The open studios scheme has been running in Buckinghamshire since 1985 and all the events are free to the public – including exhibitions, pop-up displays and dozens of working studios.

From calligraphy to ceramics and sculpture to digital art, the skills on display include printmaking, jewellery, drawing and painting, metalwork and photography.

Some towns like Princes Risborough, Amersham and Chesham organise their own trail maps during the live event and exhibitors are grouped geographically to make it possible to visit a number at a time.

And while many artists draw inspiration from the Chilterns countryside, subject matter ranges from portraits to seascapes and abstract works.

Any artist or maker interested in taking part next year should contact the organisers on admin@bucksartweeks.org.uk.

Picture of the week: 21/06/21

Posted on July 10, 2021July 16, 2023 by andrew in Art & Photography

ARTISTS and makers across Buckinghamshire throw open their doors in June to showcase their work.

But even when the event is over, online galleries give visitors the chance to explore the work of dozens of creative souls from all over the Chilterns throughout the year.

The open studios scheme has been running in Buckinghamshire since 1985 and all the events are free to the public – including exhibitions, pop-up displays and dozens of working studios.

From calligraphy to ceramics and sculpture to digital art, the skills on display include printmaking, jewellery, drawing and painting, metalwork and photography.

Some towns like Princes Risborough, Amersham and Chesham organise their own trail maps during the live event and exhibitors are grouped geographically to make it possible to visit a number at a time.

And while many artists draw inspiration from the Chilterns countryside, subject matter ranges from portraits to seascapes and abstract works.

Any artist or maker interested in taking part next year should contact the organisers on admin@bucksartweeks.org.uk.

Stolen snapshots in a drab, damp landscape

Posted on July 6, 2021July 6, 2021 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

MAY may have ended in a bank holiday heatwave, but for most in the Chilterns it was a damp, drab and chilly month, with intermittent downpours and lower-than-average temperatures.

**SPLASH OF COLOUR:** buttercups brighten the Amersham landscape *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

Gardeners, growers and farmers were glad to see the rain after the drier weather earlier in the spring, but the late cold caused other problems, with late-season frosts, chilly nights and thunderstorms contributing to the impression that summer was being temporarily put on hold.

**CHILL IN THE AIR:** rainclouds gather over Stoke Common *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

As walkers and riders found the dry earth of April transformed into muddy slippery morasses once more, fledging and flowering patterns were delayed compared with previous years.

**SUNSET SONG:** startling skies over Chesham *PICTURE: Leigh Richardson*

Photographers up and about early and later were still able to capture spectacular backdrops, but the delay in budding had a knock-on effect on the hatching of caterpillars, impacting on early brooding blue tit families, for example – though some bird species flourished despite the rain.

**INTO THE BLUE:** the colour palette changes over Chesham *PICTURE: Leigh Richardson*

As our April pictures showed, spring brought an explosion of life and colour into the Chilterns countryside, with swathes of bluebells from Ashridge to Cliveden surviving well into May, while the hedgerows and woods from Hedsor to Penn were awash with purple rhododendron flowers.

**BLUEBELL WOODS:** a dramatic display in the woods at Henley *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Back in May last year our slow emergence from lockdown at last allowed walkers to stray a little further along local byways at a time when interest in the natural world was at its height.

**SPRING BLOSSOM:** horse chestnut candles in Wooburn *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

These were the weeks where the slower pace of lockdown life allowed many families extra time to savour those small precious sights around us that we so often overlook, from eye-catching hedgerow blossoms to unfamiliar wildflowers or insects emerging from winter hibernation.

**NATURAL GLOW:** wild clover is known for its medicinal properties *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

From the white surf of hawthorn to the pinks, whites and reds of the horse chestnut trees, there’s a welcome explosion of life in the meadows and woods alike, and the insects are making the most of the array of food on offer.

**HAPPY FAMILIES:** greylag goslings on the march *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

From fox cubs and goslings to woodpeckers and treecreepers, fresh life is emerging all around us, even if much of the fledging and migration is taking place a little later than in previous years.

**GRUB’S UP:** a treecreeper on chick-feeding duties *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Last year the timing of the crisis, coupled with some unseasonally warm spring weather, meant that the limited allowance of daily exercise was a perfect opportunity for many to watch the natural world unfolding outside.

**FEEDING TIME:** a hungry young starling asks for more *PICTURE: Nick Bell*

This May may have been colder and less welcoming for family rambles, but nature lovers on local wildlife forums have been sharing their queries and pictures again, and savouring the growing intensity of the dawn chorus as it reaches its seasonal peak.

**CAUGHT ON CAMERA:** a common whitethroat PICTURE: Graham Parkinson

Wildlife photographers have been out early and late, some covering impressive distances in their search for an unusual subject: the chance sighting of an adder or water vole, perhaps, or an opportunity to capture the exotic colours of a green orb weaver spider or fast-moving damselfly.

**RIVER DANCE:** a female azure damselfly at Dorney Wetlands *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Much of our wildlife can be quite elusive, making it hard to spot during a normal daytime walk in the woods but as always, our contributors have often managed to find the ideal spot to capture that perfect picture of an elusive butterfly, rare flower or striking sunset.

**FLOWER POWER:** a meadow by the River Misbourne *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Their pictures capture some of the brighter moments amid the May monsoon, but by the Spring Bank Holiday temperatures were rising again and families flocking to the seaside to take advantage of the sunshine.

**PERFECT TIMING:** another stunning sunset over Chesham *PICTURE: Leigh Richardson*

Back home the Chilterns basked in the warmer weather too, with the weather forecasters promising dryer and sunnier weeks to come.

As always, we’d like to give a very big thank you to all the keen local photographers who have allowed us to use their work this month. If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entry for July, contact editor@thebeyonder.co.uk on email or via our Facebook group page.

Hedgerows are rustling with new life

Posted on May 9, 2021May 9, 2021 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

LAST April our wonderful bluebell woods provided one enduring positive image of life during 40 days of lockdown.

**LIFE DURING LOCKDOWN:** bluebells in a Chilterns wood *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

As the pandemic swept the country and travel restrictions limited our movements to the byways around our homes, it was an emotional and confusing month for many.

**OPEN ASPECT:** walking near Coleshill *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Thankfully one year on, those glorious vistas of dancing bluebells are not the only symbol of hope to cling onto.

**GO WITH THE FLOW:** the River Chess near Scotsbridge *PICTURE: Debbie Chapman*

They still may be the ultimate symbol of the Chilterns countryside, but other colours are also fighting for our attention: the swathes of cherry and apple blossom, the cowslips dotting local fields or wild garlic springing up by a country roadside.

**SCENT OF SPRING**: wild garlic PICTURE: Lesley Tilson

Oil seed rape is beginning to flower, the creamy coloured leaves of the blackthorn have been joined by hawthorn blossom, and there’s a positive frenzy of activity among those colourful hedgerows.

**TINY TITBITS:** a mouse forages for food *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Between nest-building and feeding new families, our garden birds are frantically busy with their household chores.

**HOME COMFORTS:** a jay searches for nesting materials *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

There are all those young mouths to feed, tasty morsels to discover and take back home to deliver.

**MOUTHS TO FEED**: a robin picks up a tasty snack *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

It’s not just the birds who are on the lookout for food either: our resident mammals can also sometimes be spotted out and about on breakfast duty.

**ON THE PROWL**: a fox heads home with food for the family *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Living close to water we’re lucky enough to be treated to an array of delightful wildfowl too, all very individual characters.

**DRESSED TO IMPRESS:** a mandarin duck *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

But the circle of life can be cruel at this time of year. One day a proud mother duck appears at the door with 15 delightful fluffy chicks waddling in her wake.

**FLUFFY BROOD**: greylag goslings *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

But then we have to watch and wait as the family gradually gets whittled down in size by hungry herons and other local predators.

**FISHING EXPEDITION**: a pair of egrets *PICTURE: Nick Bell*

Soon there and nine…and then six…and then five. A week or two later and there are still a trio healthy looking ducklings snapping at insects on the pond, though their small size still makes them look a little too much like tasty snacks for mum to relax entirely.

**CHEEKY CHARACTER:** an inquisitive starling *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Close by, a cheeky starling has set up home in a neighbour’s eaves and has become a colourful and precocious addition to the characters round the feeders.

**SMART PLUMAGE**: a starling proves a confident new arrival *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Prone to strut about in his smart distinctive plumage like a Cockney costermonger donning their Pearly King outfit for the first time, he is disproportionately cocky for his size, elbowing the bulkier ducks and pigeons aside as if it is they who are intruding on his patch.

**THRIVING:** the speckled wood butterfly *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

April sees the emergence of a whole array of insects, reptiles and butterflies, like the striking orange tip butterflies which have spent the winter months as a chrysalis hidden among last year’s vegetation, or the speckled wood, which seem to have been thriving in both numbers and distribution over the past 40 years as a result of climate change.

**DISTINCTIVE WINGS:** the orange-tip butterfly *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Now they’re on the wing, feeding on spring flower nectar and looking for a mate, another welcome splash of colour in a landscape that has fully awoken from the drab, dreary days of winter.

**FLORAL DISPLAY**: the landscape wakes up after winter *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

If the colours provide splashes of detail worthy of close inspection on those backroad rambles and woodland wanders, they also provide a striking backdrop of hues for distant vistas too, the green shoots and bursting buds a welcome reminder that spring has once again returned with a vengeance.

**SPRING IN THE AIR**: the view near Coleshill *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

There may still be a chill in the morning air, but the morning dog walk is no longer a battle against the elements, and now there’s something new and exciting to discover at every turn in the path.

**INTO THE WOODS:** an early morning walk *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

For the earliest risers there are sneaky glimpses of the natural world preparing to meet the day…deer browsing in the woods or a fox returning proudly back to its den with its prey.

**STRANGER DANGER:** a muntjac senses an intruder *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

In April 2020 Melissa Harrison wrote movingly of the bittersweet emotions associated with witnessing spring at the height of lockdown, a theme echoed in her podcast of the same name.

**COLOUR CONTRASTS**: a peacock butterfly *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

“For some, spring is making confinement feel worse,” she wrote. “But I find it immensely comforting to sense the seasons’ ancient rhythms, altered but as yet uininterrupted, pulsing slow beneath our human lives.

**SWEET MELODY:** linnets need seeds throughout the year *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

“Onwards spring romps, as miraculous and dizzying as ever, whether humans are there to witness it or not.”

**SNAPPY DRESSER**: the colourful goldfinch *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Luckily, this year it is indeed possible to witness it again at close hand, not just in our own immediate corner of the woods, but with the freedom to travel a little further afield, even if our awareness of the pandemic dangers is as real as ever.

**LITTLE BEAUTY:** the holly blue butterfly *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Last year we could not stray far, and it helped to focus our minds on the beauty of the natural world that we so often take for granted.

**LOCKDOWN LIMITS:** the pandemic cast long shadows *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Once more offered the freedom to travel a little further in search of the natural wonders around us, it’s a time to appreciate the true wonder of that annual “miraculous” reawakening.

**SPRING AWAKENING:** the green-veined white butterfly *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

“There is a silent eloquence/In every wild bluebell,” wrote a 20-year-old Anne Bronte all those years ago – and from Ashridge to Cliveden, Hodgemoor woods to Watlington Hill, those vivid symbols of nature’s beauty that were so very precious 12 months ago remain as eloquent as ever, carpeting woodland floors across the Chilterns.

**ELOQUENT SYMBOL:** Chilterns bluebells *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

As always, we’d like to give a very big thank you to all the keen local photographers who have allowed us to use their work this month. If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entry for May, contact editor@thebeyonder.co.uk on email or via our Facebook group page.

Step this way for outdoor adventures

Posted on May 7, 2021July 16, 2023 by andrew in News

THE Chilterns Walking Festival returns this month with a programme of more than 80 walks and outdoor events.

Running from May 22 until June 6, the walks help people explore the landscape, villages, nature and heritage of the Chilterns.

The activities and events are designed to appeal to different age groups, interests and levels of fitness, from those wanting to sample local drinks and produce to families finding out more about local heritage or explore nature reserves, churches or film locations.

All walks must be pre-booked at www.visitchilterns.co.uk/walkingfest and numbers are limited to make them Covid-safe.

Highlights include bushcraft events and nature-spotting walks, a chance to step back in time on a Hedgerley Deep Time Walk or costumed Tudor walk and opportunities to explore some old drovers routes, enjoy a George Orwell or Charles Dickens literary tour or some local produce tasting.

Whether it’s mastering tree identification, practising map and compass navigation, or having a go at Nordic walk, while healthy options include mindfulness walks, gentle Nature Connectedness sessions, a challenging trail run or a beautiful 25-mile walk around the Chess Valley.

Chilterns Conservation Board People & Society Officer Annette Venters said: “After months of lockdown we are delighted to be offering such a full programme of events. It will be a chance to explore and enjoy the beautiful landscape of the Chilterns in small groups, led by experienced guides.”

Details of all guided walks, events and activities available in the spring programme can be found at www.visitchilterns.co.uk/walkingfest. Most are free, though some require a small fee.

The festival is being sponsored by Brakspear, a family owned and run Henley brewer and award-winning pub company which has been at the heart of British life for over 200 years. Many of the company’s 132 pubs are located in picturesque rural and town centre settings across The Chilterns. www.brakspear.co.uk.

Deadly locations lure the tourists

Posted on April 6, 2021July 16, 2023 by andrew in News

THERE are more dark deeds afoot this weekend in Britain’s deadliest county when Midsomer DCI John Barnaby is back on the murder trail.

The Stitcher Society is the second of six feature-length episodes making up Season 22 of the popular crime drama, with Neil Dudgeon enjoying his tenth year in the starring role.

**CRIME SCENE:** Neil Dudgeon and Nick Hendrix investigate *PICTURE: ITV/Mark Bourdillon*

Tension mounts after a local outcast controversially acquitted of a brutal murder years previously returns to the area – and a death on the village green means Barnaby and sidekick DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) are called in to investigate before the body count starts to rise.

Locals may not be expecting an early solution to the mystery – since the show launched 24 years ago the area has witnessed more than 400 deaths.

Renowned for its dark humour, stunning scenery and high-profile guest stars, the show is not only the country’s longest-running crime drama but also its most popular drama export.

**ON THE CASE:** DCI Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter *PICTURE: ITV/Mark Bourdillon*

Chilterns residents get an additional delight from spotting local venues used as a backdrop for the series, as Joan Street can testify – over the past 20 years she has chronicled more than 120 locations on her Midsomer Murders website.

Says Joan, who lives in London: “I was inspired to start the site having recognised some of the locations in a very early episode called Written in Blood. Initially it was only going to be a website for the locations but somehow or other it grew and grew!

“I launched the first pages way back in 1999, never envisaging the series would still be going on in 2021. It was a bit of fun but gradually almost became like a second job. Midsomer’s popularity increased every year with more and more locations being used; something that fascinated many viewers.”

**LOCAL LANDMARKS:** historic pubs across the Chilterns have featured in the series

It wasn’t long before the site had more than a million hits, with more than 2,300 members joining a forum linked to it.

“A friend and I used to go out on weekends trying to track down some of the locations used,” Joan recalls. “We were very naive at first but soon learnt that a lot of detective work needed to be done in advance to find them. The quirkiness of Midsomer was also a huge appeal. We became totally addicted.”

The series became such a worldwide success that a series of guided and self-guided tours have been launched across the region showing tourists favourite locations, from Henley and Marlow to Thame and the Hambleden Valley.

**WINNING FORMULA:** Season 22 launched on April 4 *PICTURE: ITV/Mark Bourdillon*

Joan admits: “Prior to Midsomer I’d never visited any of the places used in the Chilterns. It was a voyage of discovery. I now know almost every town and village and we both ended up loving the area.”

The latest episode sees the detectives return to The Lee near Wendover, scene of numerous earlier investigations over the show’s 24-year history.

The picturesque village was Badger’s Drift in the very first pilot episode back in 1997, when the Cock & Rabbit village pub was rebranded the Rose and Chalice.

This week the famous village green was the location for more murder and mayhem, this time as Tamworth Springs, home to an ill-fated social and health club for recovering heart bypass patients.

The Stitcher Society is broadcast on Sunday at 8pm on ITV. Midsomer Murders is made by Bentley Productions, part of ALL3Media.

Picture of the week: 29/03/21

Posted on March 28, 2021March 28, 2021 by andrew in Art & Photography

“I CAN barely remember a time when I didn’t paint, or wasn’t thinking about painting,” says Sue Graham.

Last week the Chilterns artist took us to the west coast of Scotland as she reflected on the challenges of a year like no other, and the need to put a remarkable family rewilding adventure on hold because of the pandemic and ongoing hospital treatment for cancer.

But this week’s picture choice takes us to the other end of the country and a hamlet on the edge of Dartmoor called Water.

**BABBLING BROOK:** Water, Dartmoor, oil on canvas board by **Sue Graham**

“Some of my favourite paths wind through it, crunching along stream beds, splashing through rivulets,” says Sue. “And everywhere there’s the music of water, gurgling, burbling, dripping. Such a life-affirming place.

“Parts of the trail are not quite stream, not quite path: my walking boots make a resonant crunching splash. There’s a half-derelict cottage on the edge of the path. It has the best location.”

Closer to home, another location with a story to tell is Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.

“This painting marked a bit of a stylistic turning point for me in that it was my first mixed-media piece: I used spray paint, paint diffuser (that’s like a right-angled straw with a hole that you blow into), acrylic ink and acrylic paint,” says Sue.

**SOUNDS OF SUMMER:** Henley on Thames, Swifts by **Sue Graham**

Known for her colourful, expressive and atmospheric paintings in acrylics and oils, Sue frequently finds inspiration in natural landscapes and soundscapes.

“There is nothing (other than blackbird song, maybe) that brings me into a state of summery bliss than the screaming sounds of swifts. It’s the sound of childhood summers, of long evenings, of softness in the air, of possibilities as yet undreamed of.

“In this painting I tried to evoke that sense of ethereal joy: to honour the beauty of the bridge at Henley, without being over-literal in its depiction – photographs can do that better. I wanted to convey the the flow of the Thames and capture the sweetness of an early morning in summer, with the human world not yet making its presence felt, just the flow of water below with swifts wheeling overhead.”

After the chill, a first hint of spring

Posted on March 4, 2021March 2, 2024 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

FLOODS, snow and sub-zero temperatures all helped to make February a month of contrasts in the Chilterns, but a welcome flurry of warmer days finally helped to herald the first true signs of spring.

**HAZY DAYS:** the view from West Wycombe Hill *PICTURE: Siddharth Upadhya*

With the country still in lockdown and wintry walks the only escape for many, footpaths that were not totally submerged soon became muddy quagmires.

**BRIGHTER OUTLOOK:** West Wycombe wakes up *PICTURE: Siddharth Upadhya*

But with tree branches bare and vegetation withered, it’s a good time of year to pick out birds as the dawn chorus begins to pick up volume – and equally good for that infuriating task of litter picking before the foliage really begins its resurgence.

**MORNING CALL:** birdsong is becoming gradually louder *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

As the first flowers poke through the soil crust, weekend wanderers are on the lookout for snowdrop displays and on crisper mornings there are some spectacular sunrises to capture, perhaps made all the more dramatic thanks to sand storms in the Sahara.

**SKY HIGH:** stunning cloud patterns outside Amersham *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Photographers across the Chilterns were up with the lark, the woods echoing to the rat-a-tat of woodpeckers and whistling of red kites, the mornings getting brighter after Candlemas Day and the dull greys and browns of winter beginning to be offset with hazel catkins twitching like lambs’ tails, and even the odd crocus or daffodil.

**ON THE LOOKOUT:** a kestrel hunts for food *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Ducks and wildfowl may have been enjoying the wet weather but as the big freeze arrived, the number of birds on the feeders dramatically increased and hungry badgers and foxes also got a little braver in their search for an easy snack.

**WATERLOGGED:** dusk falls on Stoke Common *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

Over on the heathland at Stoke Common, the gorse has begun to provide a profuse and colourful backdrop of yellow flowers (recalling those glorious foraging recipes of Rachel Lambert), but elsewhere colours are still muted, at least until the last few days of the month.

**SPLASH OF COLOUR:** gorse flowers on Stoke Common *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

February is the shortest month, when hibernation is coming to an end and spring slowly starts to assert itself as insects start to emerge from their slumbers and the early shoots of crocuses and daffodils spring up to join the snowdrops.

**POLLEN COUNT:** bees are up and about again *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Young bees are spiralling around on orientation flights, while older bees are busy bringing in the nectar, their legs pleasantly dusted with pollen.

**HERE COMES THE SUN:** clouds over Cookham *PICTURE: Nick Bell*

Other insects, birds and mammals are active too, and our Picture of the Week has reflected the skills of a couple of local Beyonder stalwarts, Nick Bell and Graham Parkinson, whose photographs have brought so much variety to the website in recent months.

**CLEVER CORVID:** crows are known for their intelligence *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

From curious crows to grazing deer and rasping stonechats, the pictures help to bring local wildlife a little closer to us all, while the broader range of visitors to garden feeders provides another opportunity to study colourful plumage in more detail.

**STUDY IN SCARLET:** pheasants are dressed to impress *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Take a deep breath and head off to the woods to revive body and soul: without their summer coats, the trees are a study in themselves, fluffy lichen and moss coating the bark and new growth beginning to bud and bulge everywhere.

**FRESH SHOOTS:** the signs of spring are impossible to ignore *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

On dreary days the landscape may appear dull and bleak, but what an extraordinary rainbow of colours are out there for those prepared to get up early and venture off the beaten track, or wait patiently for the light to be just right.

**FIERY GLOW:** more startling skies around Amersham *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Those noisy birds are getting their breeding plumage and nest building will soon start in earnest. For anyone tempted by the prospect of nettle soup, tea or even beer, now’s the time they are said to be at their best: young, tender and ripe for the picking.

**SPRING IN THE AIR:** on the hunt for nectar *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Dandelions are a vital source of nectar for bees and early insects out of hibernation, while daffodils are starting to provide that dramatic show of colour, “fluttering and dancing in the breeze” as Wordsworth put it.

**FRESH START:** familiar paths start to look more appealing *PICTURE: Graham Parkinson*

Butterfly fans might even spot their first yellow brimstone, one of the first to fly in the spring, stealing a march on other species by over-wintering as an adult, often perfectly camouflaged among clusters of ivy leaves.

Almost a year after the first dramatic lockdown, it’s been a tough time for many and we’re not out of the woods yet. But nature has a way of keeping our spirits high – and thanks to our snap-happy band of explorers, we’re delighted to be able to share so many uplifting images of the glorious Chilterns landscape.

**GOING GREEN:** new growth can be seen everywhere *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

As always, we’d like to give a very big thank you to all the keen local photographers who have allowed us to use their work this month. If you would like to contribute any pictures, favourite moments or seasonal suggestions to our calendar entry for March, contact editor@thebeyonder.co.uk on email or via our Facebook group page.

Picture of the week: 28/12/20

Posted on December 27, 2020June 6, 2021 by andrew in Art & Photography

NO single picture of the week this week – just a sincere Christmas “thank you” to all those local artists whose talent has been in the spotlight in our weekly feature during the past few months.

Since August we’ve been able to focus on the work of a dozen different creative folk working in a variety of different formats, from oils and watercolours to photography, linocuts and textiles.

From the Oxfordshire studio of Anna Dillon to the Hertfordshire home of Sabbi Gavrailov, we have met creative folk of all ages and backgrounds.

Mill End, River Thames **by Katie Cannon**

The formats and materials may vary enormously, but what all our guest artists have in common is a love of local landscapes and wildlife, which frequently provide them with sources of inspiration.

Sue Graham in her Buckinghamshire studio

In some cases that inspiration has proved a life-changing experience, as for Sue Graham, whose reflections on the disappearing dawn chorus ended up with her family buying a croft and planting hundreds of trees on a remote Scottish island.

Red Woods, a reduction linocut by **Rosie Fairfax-Cholmeley**

Other artists whose work is inextricably bound up in local landscapes include Jane Duff, a volunteer for The Earth Trust and an avid supporter of their efforts to create new wetlands and improve water ecosystems, and Rosie Fairfax-Cholmeley, who with colleague Robin Wilson has a permanent base among the trees of Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire.

A Walk in the Woods **by Rachel Wright**

From windmills to bluebell woods, local landscapes provide a visual escape for many artists, whether working in textiles like Rachel Wright or acrylics like Christine Bass, who spends many hours outside among the whistling red kites before developing paintings from her drawings back in the studio.

If Chilterns landscapes from Ivinghoe Beacon and Pulpit Wood to Hertfordshire parks have provided many of the settings featured in the weekly articles, there have been occasional forays further afield too, with Tim Baynes providing an online escape from lockdown restrictions with his portraits of Kent marshlands and West Wales shorelines.

There has even been a chance to learn the secrets of fairground art in the company of Joby Carter from Carters Steam Fair, whose family were the subject of a recent profile feature on our People & Places page.

Hand-painted steam gallopers at **Carters Steam Fair**

We’ve already had plenty of nominations of artists across the Chilterns whose works should feature in future instalments of the series, but keep them coming.

Times are tough for artists in the current climate and we’re eager to do all we can to help promote such a vast array of local talent – particularly in a year when so many of the local open studios events have had to be cancelled.

Thank you to all those who have supported the feature and especially to those talented individuals whose art gives so much pleasure to so many.

To nominate an artist or painting we might feature in the future, simply drop a line to editor@thebeyonder.co.uk with a link to the work and the reason for your choice.

Picture of the week: 14/12/20

Posted on December 13, 2020July 14, 2023 by andrew in Art & Photography

THIS week’s picture is a stunning Chilterns landscape taken from a winter exhibition organised by Herts Visual Arts featuring the work of more than 40 artists from across Hertfordshire.

The hand-signed oil painting is by self-taught artist Sabbi Gavrailov, who lives with his wife and two sons in Hemel Hempstead and only fully rediscovered his love of art earlier this year.

Over the Chiltern Hills by **Sabbi Gavrailov**

A keen photographer and cyclist, Sabbi is originally from Bulgaria, where he studied architecture and civil engineering before settling in the UK in 2003 to pursue a career in luxury hotels and hospitality.

A fascination with digital photography over the past decade has helped to encourage his love of local landscapes, but despite always wanting to become an artist one day, the opportunity had never really presented itself.

One of Sabbi’s extraordinary high-definition photographs

“When I was young, art was everything to me,” he says. Then in April, when his father died from cancer back home in Bulgaria, it seemed to unleash a creative outpouring of emotion.

“I must have produced about 50 paintings in the past five months,” he admits with a smile, having startled friends with the ease with which he began producing everything from classic portraits to eye-catching landscapes, using single strokes of a palette knife with feeling and precision.

Often using his own high-definition photographs as a source, he was soon hard at work, putting down some of the roots of his inspiration to the fact he spent his childhood and teenage years in a small town which has extraordinary artistic connections.

Brezovo is the birthplace of two iconic Bulgarian artists: Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, who died in 1976 and is known for his portraits and landscapes depicting the Old Town of Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city, and village life in the region, and Mincho Katsarov, an artist celebrated in France but virtually unknown in his home country.

Whether or not there is anything in the Brezovo water to explain Sabbi’s artistic endeavours, there’s been no stopping him this year.

“The devastating event of my Dad’s death has triggered an overwhelming desire to paint again,” he confesses. “It’s like something I have never known or done before in my life.”

As well as using his digital photographs and cycling trips into the Chilterns countryside as a starting point for his art, he has produced still lifes, portraits and seascapes too.

“I see no sign of stopping, quite the opposite,” he says. Spurred on by his friends’ enthusiasm for his work, he has become an active member of Herts Visual Arts, where he now has a gallery in addition to his own art website and social media links on Facebook and Instagram.

With some of his paintings available as originals and others as high-res prints, he has also been undertaking commissions.

“My college years gave me a different perspective on art while I studied architecture. Then I got drawn to digital photography very quickly and I felt the need to educate myself further to get the most out of it.

“I got my diploma in digital photography and this opened a different world, through the lens. Now inevitably the painting and photography for me go hand in hand,” he says.

“I constantly experiment with different styles of painting and push myself to learn new techniques. I love to paint portraits, seascapes and landscapes. I feel the power of nature and human expression around me: it is the greatest inspiration one can find and I express it through my paintings.”

Picture of the week: 07/12/20

Posted on December 6, 2020July 14, 2023 by andrew in Art & Photography

ANCIENT landscapes provide the inspiration for many of our favourite artists, and Anna Dillon is no exception.

“As someone who enjoys long-distance walks, travel and exploration I am determined to visit and paint as many landscapes as possible within my life,” she says.

That sense of exploration is reflected in her output, which includes collections ranging from First World War battlefields in France to Irish coastlines, and encompasses dozens of vibrant paintings portraying half a dozen different English counties from Cornwall to the Cotswolds.

But our choice for this week’s featured picture takes us to a painting entitled Whipsnade, showing the view from Ivinghoe Beacon looking out towards the famous chalk lion which has overlooked the Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire since 1933 and was restored in 2018.

Born in Wallingford, Anna trained as an illustrator at Falmouth School of Art in Cornwall and ditched her job as a graphic designer in 2009 when she decided to paint for a living. “It was the best thing I have ever done,” she says. “I feel lucky and my passion for the landscape gets deeper each year as I learn.”

From her Oxfordshire studio she shows off some of the works which have been taking shape during months of lockdown, including a new series of Chilterns landscapes and aerial views for a collaboration with drone pilot Hedley Thorne.

The locations of each painting and photo connect with local history to provide a narrative which the pair hope will give valuable insights at their Airscapes exhibition planned for 2021, providing a ‘birds-eye’ view of the Oxfordshire and Berkshire countryside.

Lockdown has also provided opportunities to explore the local landscape on foot, and Anna incorporates notes from her walking diary to accompany some of the paintings, like that from Lodge Hill, north of Bledlow Ridge in Buckinghamshire.

It’s October and the elements are against her, she recalls, with strong winds and flurries of rain.

“Walking through the outskirts of Chinnor, the track becomes lined with beech trees in wonderful colours of yellow and orange. As I shuffle through the fallen leaves The Ridgeway takes a sharp turn right into a large, expansive and attractive piece of downland called Wain Hill as I cross into Buckinghamshire,” she writes.

“The track steadily climbs on to Lodge Hill where the grass on the track is like a green, velvet covering. The views from up here are spectacular with a 360 degree panoramic of the Chilterns.”

Frequently Tweeting about her enjoyment of the local countryside, from frosty walks by the Thames to visits to the “mother of all hillforts” at Maiden Castle, she has developed her style using bold and strong colour which reflect the form, contours and light of the land, using thin layers of oil paints built up gradually and slowly.

Original paintings might sell for up to £2,500 but many of her original paintings are also available as limited-edition Giclee prints and greetings cards.

Inchombe Hole, Buckinghamshire by **Anna Dillon**

One suitable seasonal walk portrays Incombe Hole at the end of December and forms part of her extraordinary Ridgeway series of oil on board paintings, of which prints are available.

“To my right I can see Dunstable Downs and behind me is the famous Whipsnade Lion,” she writes. “I bought my first house not far from here in a village called Slip End on the edge of Bedfordshire. The sun sets on an inspiring walk and the last day of a brilliant year.”

Further afield, her Battlelines Redrawn project started as a study of how some of the wartorn battlefields of the First World War in France and Belgium have regenerated over the last century and exploring poetic connections with the chalk landscapes of the North Wessex and Berkshire downs.

She also cites war artist Paul Nash as a particular inspiration and his special affinity for the wooded hills in South Oxfordshire called The Wittenham Clumps has been reflected in many of her own paintings.

Spiders’ webs and misty mornings

Posted on December 3, 2020December 30, 2020 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

IT’S been a month of first frosts and misty mornings, fading fungi and the smell of fireworks.

**WINTRY WEB:** Willow Wood, Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

It began with a final blaze of autumn colour in the run-up to Bonfire Night and Armistice Day, and ended with an icy blast, a reminder that winter is definitely on the way.

**BLAZE OF COLOUR:** Burnham Beeches *PICTURE: Olivia Rzadkiewicz*

November is a ‘game of two halves’ in many respects, starting with a fortnight of burnished golds, yellows and russet hues before the trees get stripped bare by fierce winds and driving rain, and we enter an altogether bleaker period of the year.

**BURNISHED GOLD:** Burnham Beeches *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

Wordsmith, author and friend Alan Cleaver, better known in his neck of the Lake District by his Twitter monicker @thelonningsguy and for writing about the “corpse roads” of Cumbria, reminds us that Cumbrian farmers identify a fifth season of the year covering the dull, drab fortnight or so before winter properly sets in.

**INTO THE SUNSET:** Willow Wood, Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

“Back End” is the term they use, and it somehow perfectly encapsulates this sullen no man’s land between autumn and winter, the ‘scrag end’ of the year.

Writing in his blog back in 2013, Alan wrote: “It’s such a blindingly obvious fact to most Cumbrians that you really do wonder how the rest of the world copes with a mere four seasons.

**LOST SEASON:** ‘Back End’ sees the last of the leaves falling *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

“We’ve just entered the ‘lost’ season of Back End. It comes between autumn and winter when autumn’s lost its glory but winter is yet to bite. There’s some dispute but most people will place it around the first two weeks in December.”

No one is quite sure of the precise timing of this season, he concedes: “But we want to keep the rest of the world guessing. We’ve revealed there’s a fifth season – now let them work out when it is!”

**INTO THE WOODS:** misty walks mark the end of November *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

As literary translator Antoinette Fawcett put it a couple of years later, “backend” is a “blunt-sounding word, plain and to the point. and…firmly associated with the northern counties of England”.

Northern roots or not, it’s perfect for summing up the dank, drab, lifeless feeling of some days in late November, when the light feels bleached and the undergrowth sodden. But not all days are like that – and chilly glimpses of winter sunshine uncover some hidden attractions.

**FROZEN IN TIME:** morning frost reveals some stunning patterns *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

For a start, those crisper, clearer mornings reveal some stunning cloud patterns, glorious sunrises and mist-coated fields.

**MORNING MIST:** sunrise in Amersham *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

Evergreen trees and bushes provide a pleasant colour contrast and the array of berries provide rich pickings for native birds and migrants alike, like the wintering redwings arriving from Scandinavia, Russia and Iceland, or this tiny goldcrest, pictured at Burnham Beeches.

**SMALL WONDER:** a goldcrest at Burnham Beeches *PICTURE: Nick Bell*

Hawthorn, holly and mountain ash all provide valuable food sources for birds and small mammals during the winter months, along with blackthorn, juniper and dog rose.

**TWISTED TREES:** walking in Amersham *PICTURE: Lesley Tilson*

It’s that time of year when ladybirds huddle together in large groups and start looking for suitable sites to hibernate, sheltering under tree bark or leaf litter perhaps. Hedgehogs are seeking out a comfortable den after escaping the perils of bonfire night and badgers are pulling moss, leaves and bracken into their underground setts where they spend so much time snoozing.

**RED MIST:** sunset at Whiteleaf Hill *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

Out on the local lakes and quarries the wildfowl are squabbling, the migrants have arrived in force and under and around the feeders the usual array of tits, squirrels, pigeons and blackbirds have been boosted by the occasional less familiar markings of a magpie, nuthatch, pheasant or parakeet.

**SURPRISE VISITOR:** a parakeet drops in for a peanut Hill *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

Out in the woods the fungi may have faded but the mosses and lichens are creating a colourful carpet over the roots and branches, with many trees looking as if they are boasting furry green pyjamas.

**GREEN CARPET:** mosses and lichens coat the tree roots *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

December is almost upon us, with the forecasters warning of icy blasts, though with no immediate threat of snow on the horizon, here in the south at any rate. Does that mean we are still in the “backend” season, then? I guess we need our farming friends in Cumbria to let us know about that.

Picture of the week: 09/11/20

Posted on November 8, 2020November 8, 2020 by andrew in Art & Photography

THE incredible thing about this week’s Picture of the Week is that it is not a painting but a work of intricate embroidery, created by textile artist Rachel Wright.

“Embroideries enable me to draw and paint through the medium of fabric and stitch,” says Rachel. “My embroideries stand out because of the striking use of rich colour, which captivates and draws the viewer in. My aim is simply to delight the eye.”

Her Brill Windmill piece was part of a commission completed during lockdown earlier this year which also incorporated seven miniature pieces of the churches that form the Bernwode Benefice.

“The windmill part of the brief didn’t bother me at all as the subject matter was right up my street,” she says. “I loved creating the sky, giving a sense of drama with the feeling of wind and movement. The little churches were a much greater challenge. Working at such a small scale was new to me and trying to put in enough detail at that scale was tricky.”

Churches of the Bernwode Benifice **by Rachel Wright**

Rachel studied fashion and textiles at Birmingham City University and set up her own business in 1994, selling her work through various galleries and shops and exhibiting regularly.

“I grew up with art all around me because my father is a fine artist,” she says. “He paints in oil and watercolour and does wonderful wood engravings. We used to spend lots of weekends in galleries and museums. My dad was a huge influence on me. He taught me so much about drawing and especially how to observe. I think that’s why I have an eye for detail.”

Her particular love of textiles stemmed from sitting at her grandmother’s knee as a child. “She was always stitching or mending something and she had an old sewing box full of sewing curiosities, which I found endlessly fascinating and just loved to root through,” Rachel recalls.

“I loved to draw and paint when I was young but I wasn’t very good at mixing up paint colours. Fabrics are like a ready-made paint-box full of glorious colours, textures, patterns etc. I realised that I could paint with the fabrics, using them as my palette of colour and the stitching like the stroke of a fine brush to add in details.”

She takes her inspiration from landscapes and cityscapes and has a particular love of the sea, harbour towns, boats and lighthouses. But Chilterns landscapes have featured in her work too.

She explains: “I am inspired by the beauty we find all around us, by the forces of nature which shape our surroundings, carving out our coastlines, sculpting landscapes and twisting mighty trees and painting wondrous sunsets in the expansive skies above our heads.”

One particular picture was inspired by a walk with her son. “It was one of those blustery days in March when the clouds were racing across the sky urged on by the wind and the light on the landscape was changing second by second.

“We were on the Waddesdon estate and I noticed a clump of trees with a stripy ploughed field in front of them. Something about the light and the feel of the day made me give my phone to my son and ask him to try to capture what I’d seen. I knew I wanted to make a piece based on that day and this was the result.”

She works a lot from photographs – “often taken by my family because they are better with a camera than I am” – and sketches directly onto her base fabric, which is cotton calico.

“Once I have a basic sketch I begin to gather together a palette of fabrics, which offer me the colours, markings, textures etc that I will need. I start to cut tiny pieces of fabric, choosing them very carefully and begin to lay them down, painting with them in small areas.

“Sometimes I use pins to hold them in place and then I begin to free motion stitch on my machine, a beloved old Bernina from the 80s.”

Dozens of works in her portfolio focus on animals and birds, as well as seascapes and landscapes – like one archetypal Chilterns view of bluebell woods near Christmas Common.

“This piece was also inspired by a family walk and I worked from photographs taken by my son on my phone again,” says Rachel.

“Apart from the obvious glory of the carpets of bluebells in the woods up by Christmas Common, I was drawn again to the light, dappled and soft as it filters through the bright spring green leaves on the branches.

“It is both exciting and terrifying to see a piece of work emerging, battling through the tricky stages when it really isn’t working until at some point it turns a corner and everything comes together and finally you have the piece that you imagined in your mind’s eye at the start of the whole process.”

Falling leaves and mushroom magic

Posted on October 30, 2020December 30, 2020 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

OCTOBER has been a spectacular month in the Chilterns – and you have been sharing some of your favourite images of local landscapes and wildlife during that time.

With Autumnwatch back on our screens and the woods ablaze with colour, families across the area have been getting outdoors at every opportunity to make the most of the seasonal spectacle.

**FALLING LEAVES:** a bench in Penn Wood *PICTURE: Andrew Knight*

And with half the country under strict lockdown restrictions, the natural world continues to provide a vital escape from the stresses and strains of mask wearing and social distancing – and for many, an absolutely essential boost to mental health.

**WOODLAND WANDER:** Hervines Park in Amersham *PICTURE: Lucy Parks*

**COLOUR CONTRASTS:** a footpath in Amersham *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

But which sights, sounds and smells best sum up the spirit of the month for you? We asked fellow Beyonders to help us expand our selection of favourite pictorial memories of the past month for our online Chilterns calendar and the response was rapid and generous, as you can see.

**LIGHT AND SHADE:** **Brush Hill** near Princes Risborough *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

This October was perhaps most memorable for its astonishing array of fungi – like these colourful but toxic fly agaric toadstools in Penn Woods (above) – prompting our appeal for help in identifying some of the less obvious local species.

**MUSHROOM MAGIC:** fungi flourishing at Whiteleaf Woods *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

It’s been a month of ripe berries and falling fruit, of eager foraging for humans and rich pickings for birds, insects and mammals, with trees and bushes bursting with tasty treats.

In kitchens across the Chilterns, pots and pans have been bubbling with jams and jellies, crumbles and preserves. Windows have been steamed up as cooks have dusted off their recipes for rosehip syrup, sweet chestnut stuffing or crab apple jelly.

**RIPE FOR THE PICKING:** rosehips can make tasty syrup *PICTURE: Olivia Rzadkiewicz*

The rich, rapidly-changing colours and glorious textures of October make it a favourite with photographers, especially deep in the woods where the green, yellow and russet hues contrast so beautifully with the rugged outlines of ancient bark.

**COUNTRY CROSSROADS:** footpaths meet at Latimer *PICTURE: Sue Craigs Erwin*

If the feature proves popular, it could be a regular monthly item, building into a year-round collection of shots capturing some of the natural wonders of our amazing landscape, like this stunning shot highlighted in our Picture of the Week feature.

**SUNSET SILHOUETTE:** stags locking horns at Grangelands *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

If you have a picture or two you would like us to feature, drop us a line by email to editor@thebeyonder.co.uk, join us in our Facebook group or contact us on Twitter @TheBeyonderUK.

Let us know a little bit about where the picture was taken and make sure you include your full name for the picture credit.

**FUNGI IN FOCUS:** mushrooms in Whiteleaf Woods *PICTURE: Anne Rixon*

**WATERLOGGED:** the River Thame flood plain at Aylesbury *PICTURE: Ron Adams*

Express delivery proves a surprise

Posted on September 23, 2020July 13, 2023 by andrew in Beyonder Blog

Guest writer Lucy Parks recalls the time rescue dog Yella began behaving oddly…

sudden arrivals spark a panic

I’D HAD Yella, my first dog, for a few weeks and we were both settling into our new routine. She was adjusting to life in the UK and I spent a lot of time on Google, checking that I was doing the right things, too.

Yella was six months old and in season when she came to me from Cyprus; she was growing nicely with good food, exercise and lots of love. We’d noticed that her teats had started to get bigger and, over the course of a few days, she started “nesting”, gathering all her toys into different places around the house. Google told me she was probably having a phantom pregnancy. I wasn’t overly concerned.

**NESTING INSTINCT:** Yella three days before the birth

I’d decided that I needed a local, part-time job and was delighted to secure a role as a veterinary receptionist at a practice just down the road. I started my new job on the Monday. By the Friday, I was getting worried about Yella.

She was getting fussy about eating, she didn’t want to go for walks and – when I got home from work on Friday lunchtime – she was clearly in distress, shaking and howling like a lamb being slaughtered.

I called the vet to make an appointment and tried to encourage Yella into the garden for a pee before we left. She wouldn’t pee, the howling got worse and, when she came back into the house, she started squatting on the carpet.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” I thought, “you poor thing – you must be in a bad way.” And then, before my very eyes, as she continued to squat, a tiny bag of puppy popped out of her. I uttered a profane expletive as I continued to stare at the small bag. What on earth to do?

I called my partner, who was driving to my house at the time: “Yella’s just had a puppy and I’m not even effing joking,” I said. “But I think it’s dead… oh no! It’s not! Gotta go.”

Yella had broken through the sac the puppy was born in, bitten the umbilical cord, eaten the placenta and was licking the tiny, mewling creature, no bigger than a hamster.

Through the haze of astonishment, practical issues kicked in. Right, we had an appointment to make. I scoured the house for a suitable receptacle for the puppy: yes, the recycling bin. I lined it with a towel, picked up the puppy and popped it in. Yella went nuts, trying to get to her baby in a bin. How on earth was I going to get them into the car?

I called the vets to let them know that Yella had delivered a puppy and that we might be a bit late for our appointment. Two minutes later, Holly the vet nurse called back: “Would you like me to come over?” Yes, please. “One more thing, Lucy: there might be more than one puppy.” What? WHAT? “Keep Yella and the puppy calm, if another comes out, you can help her by breaking the sac. Make sure they’re comfortable and warm. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

**UNEXPECTED ARRIVALS:** the two puppies

By the time Holly and my partner arrived at the house, Yella had delivered, cleaned up and was suckling a total of two puppies. For a street dog who was abandoned by her own mother at birth, she was doing an amazing job. I was a mess.

I’d gone from having one dog to three in eight weeks and one day. I was a new dog parent and now grandparent. I had no idea what was going on, while Yella’s maternal instinct had kicked in and she seemed to know exactly what to do.

Lucy Parks lives in Amersham, in the glorious Chiltern Hills. She adopted Cypriot rescue Yella in July 2018, her first dog. A journalist by trade, Lucy left corporate life in 2018 and set up her business, Parkslife, as a freelance journalist and artist. She’s also a veterinary receptionist, allowing her to indulge in her love of animals.

NEXT TIME: Yella and Lucy get to grips with motherhood.

Festivals put nature centre stage

Posted on September 21, 2020July 13, 2023 by andrew in News

NATURE is in the spotlight next month when a programme of outdoors events, walks and activities is being held across the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Chilterns Conservation Board hopes the nature-based activities will inspire families, young people and adults of all ages to get out and explore the AONB.

A new October festival marks a month-long ‘season of celebration’ aiming to bring communities together and inspire people to explore and enjoy the heritage and landscape on their doorstep.

Naturalist, TV presenter and environmental campaigner Chris Packham will be the keynote speaker at the first ever ‘Chilterns Champions’ conference, discussing the importance of citizen science and how everyone can get involved.

There’s a chance to explore a new heritage trail around the Wycombe Rye, get creative in art workshops with local wildlife champions the Chiltern Rangers and enjoy a range of walks, talks and local produce tastings.

The festival runs from October 1-31 and is also designed to help support communities and businesses following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also in October, the Chilterns Walking Festival is now in its seventh year and boasts more than 50 guided walks, activities and events over 16 days, running from October 17.

The walks, all guided by experienced leaders, provide opportunities to meet countryside rangers, farmers, archaeologists, historians, food producers and storytellers of the Chilterns.

Annette Venters, the Chilterns Conservation Board’s people & society officer, said: “We are delighted to be offering lots of new walks that showcase the best of our stunning landscapes, wildlife and local producers.

“There are still plenty of challenging hikes, but we’ve included a greater number of shorter walks too, with the emphasis on learning and discovery, meeting the people and producers of the Chilterns, and spending time in our inspirational landscape.”

Find the full schedule of Chilterns Celebration events see www.chilternsaonb.org/ccc-fest. For walking festival details and bookings see www.visitchilterns.co.uk/walkingfest. Most events are free, though some require a small fee.

The Chalk, Cherries and Chairs Landscape Partnership Scheme is a five-year project which aims to connect local people to the wildlife and cultural heritage of the Central Chilterns.

The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was designated in 1965 and stretches from Goring in Oxfordshire to near Hitchin in Hertfordshire. It is one of 38 AONBs in England and Wales and has a resident population of 80,000.

The Chilterns Conservation Board is an independent public body set up to conserve and enhance the natural beauty and increase awareness and understanding of the Chilterns AONB.

Picture of the week: 21/09/20

Posted on September 20, 2020July 13, 2023 by andrew in Art & Photography

THIS week’s painting is a new work by Chilterns artist Sue Graham, who has often drawn inspiration from local landscapes.

A feature in April revealed how a series of paintings inspired by her love of the dawn chorus prompted her family to buy a croft and start planting hundreds of trees on a remote Scottish island.

One of her latest completed works takes its inspiration from a landscape at the other end of the country, in Cornwall.

**EXPLOSION OF LIGHT:** Sundown, St Ives, acrylic on board by **Sue Graham**

Sue explains: “In 2019 I decided to organise a group exhibition in St Ives, famous for its artist colony and a place I had always wanted to visit.

“It was a great week: off to have a beer and yoga on the beach every evening after I shut the exhibition doors, and wonderful company from my fellow artists. It was just a fabulous hard-working but energising experience.

“One evening I climbed up on the grassy slope above Porthmeor Beach as the sun was setting. The whole bay was lit up and the air itself seemed to glow.

“I wasn’t interested in catching a precise rendition in paint of St Ives viewed from the hill, more an expression of how it felt to be there at that moment: intoxicated by the sense of space, light, the natural world and infinite possibilities.

“I started painting this in August 2019 when I got home: it started well and then I got lost in it. So I put it away, then Covid came and cancer came and by the time I felt like painting again I pulled it out and by then somehow in my mind I had resolved how to make it work.

“It’s often best to put things away when they get stuck, though I did at one point almost chop it into pieces. This is painted on board: it’s a weird surface, ungiving and thirsty, but it makes for some great textures if you layer the paint and scrape it back again. That’s the technique I used for the foreground, which is my favourite part.”

Home is a landscape where the heart is

Posted on May 15, 2020July 11, 2023 by andrew in History and Heritage

THERE must be something enormously reassuring about having a centuries-old link to the land you live on.

Like those great old aristocratic English families whose estates have been passed down from father to son across the centuries, history oozing from every brick of the ancestral home.

Or hill farmers who can look back across the generations knowing every square foot of their local landscape in exactly the same way as their grandfather and great-grandfather once did.

In our fast-changing modern world, that certainty in one’s own identity must surely be comforting. But does it really matter that much?

We know identity has been a powerful theme in literature across the ages, and in a world of mass migration and climate change it will remain so in the future. But isn’t it possible for new arrivals to feel an immediate connection with their surroundings and be able to relate to their local landscape without those historical links?

Perhaps an awareness of history helps – and it’s certainly possible to soak up that sense of the past in the Chilterns countryside, however recently you have arrived…

Here, amid the rolling chalk hills and cathedral-like beech woods, the old days never seem too far away, and there’s always a strong awareness of people from the past who have walked this way before, from Iron Age families and Roman soldiers to 20^th-century chair bodgers working in the woods or passengers on a steam train thundering along the old Great Central Railway.

I’m reminded of that on a wander round our “patch” – necessarily curtailed in my meandering by the requirements of the coronavirus lockdown.

Although we have only been here a few years, those links with the past make us feel a lot less like strangers.

Our parish magazine recalls how early hunter-gatherers adept at curing and stretching animal skins may have used coracles on waterways like the Thames, where flint tools and Roman remains hark back to a time before the Norman invasion, when two manors became the focal points of local life.

A short wander along part of the Berkshire Loop of the Chiltern Way gives you glimpses of churches which have been holy places for a thousand years or more, of picturesque cottages in brick and flint, of deserted lanes where the sound of birdsong echoes above the cow parsley and wild garlic.

Sauntering down the Church Path footpath towards St Nicholas’ church at Hedsor on a fine spring evening, it’s not hard to imagine the Chilterns equivalent of Thomas Hardy’s Mellstock choir heading homewards with their instruments and lanterns for a celebratory pint or two.

Iron Age roundhouses and hillforts excavated in the Chilterns remind us how this part of England has been continuously inhabited for thousands of years, with more than 20 sites harking back to a more dangerous age where communities needed to keep their possessions and livestock safe from marauders.

The earthworks are virtually the only major constructions that have survived from this ancient time, although the Chiltern Open Air Museum has done its bit to recapture something of the atmosphere of life in those times.

The Romans trod these paths too, finding ways of crossing the Thames, while footpaths and bridleways often traverse routes well known as ancient droving routes along which thousands of cattle, sheep, pigs, geese and turkeys were once driven, or sunken lanes known as hollow-ways or holloways, thoroughfares worn into the landscape by cartwheels, hooves and feet across the centuries.

It’s a landscape of coaching inns and highwaymen tales and of ancient woodlands which supplied vast quantities of charcoal before canals allowed easier access to coal from the Midlands – and later allowed the furniture industry to flourish.

The carefully managed beech woods supplied excellent raw materials for chair-making for the rapidly-expanding industrial population of London and small workshops flourished in the villages around High Wycombe, with the Chiltern “bodgers” toiling in the woods to produce the millions of chair legs needed.

The bodgers and paper mills may be long gone, but the past is still very much alive in the landscape, with woodland still making up around a fifth of the AONB landscape, making it one of the most heavily wooded areas in England.

The influence of the industrial past is hard to ignore, from brick-making to chalk and gravel extraction, but in the depths of a bluebell wood it feels easier to relate to those varied individuals who walked these paths across the years, savouring the same ancient woodlands, downlands and commons.

London may not be far away – and of course the proximity of the capital contributed to the establishment of those small furniture factories, paper mills, orchards and watercress beds, as well as fuelling an influx of day trippers once the railways and Tube stations began to open.

So is it a problem not to have centuries of family tradition to fall back on to help appreciate this ancient landscape? Hopefully not. Like countless other newcomers, it’s been easy for us to fall in love with the Chilterns.

That’s as much to do with marvellous neighbours as the sweeping views, leafy lanes and wonderful wildlife, but it makes for a winning combination.

So thank you, all the locals, businesses and new friends who have made it so easy to love your “area of outstanding natural beauty” (and it is): there’s no place like home, they say, and this place certainly feels like home…from those sweeping views over the Vale of Oxford to the timeless paths meandering through the beech woods or the stolen glimpse of a tawny owl in the treetops.

Nature lovers needed now

Posted on February 8, 2020March 16, 2020 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

NATURE enthusiasts across the Chilterns are being invited to help monitor and protect local species on their patch.

A four-year citizen science project has started to recruit volunteers who can study how birds, butterflies and plants across the area are coping with climate and habitat changes.

**WHAT’S OUT THERE?:** a Duke Of Burgundy butterfly and cowslip *PICTURE: Roy McDonald*

The Tracking The Impact project is part of the five-year Chalk, Cherries and Chairs Landscape Partnership Scheme funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and spearheaded by the Chilterns Conservation Board.

Volunteers will survey the state of nature in the Chilterns and benefit from training courses in species identification and surveying techniques, with enthusiasts and experts joining forces to “own their patch”.

The data will then be used to track trends across the landscape and inform practical woodland, grassland and farmland habitat management projects.

To deliver the project the CCC has teamed up with Butterfly Conservation, British Trust for Ornithology, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Plantlife, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre.

Following on from the recent State of Nature report the project is calling for amateur surveyors to work with the experts across 50 1km survey squares to tell the story of the landscape, through understanding the relationship between different species groups.

**BIRD IN THE HAND:** a corn bunting *PICTURE: Roy McDonald*

The project will dovetail with existing national recording schemes (Breeding Bird Survey, Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey and National Plant Monitoring Scheme) to bolster coverage in a ground-breaking new partnership.

Unique to the project is its mentoring programme for those who can identify quite a few birds, butterflies or plants but want to learn more about surveying these local species.

The project will last initially for four years, starting in spring 2020. Volunteer surveyors are needed during the spring and summer.

To register an interest or find out more, contact the project lead, Nick Marriner, at nmarriner@chilternsaonb.org.

Chalk, Cherries & Chairs is an ambitious five-year scheme which aims to connect local people to the wildlife and cultural heritage of the Central Chilterns through 18 interweaving projects.

The Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) is one of 46 Wildlife Trusts working across the UK to protect .wildlife and special places for generations to come.

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is a UK charity that focuses on understanding birds and, in particular, how and why bird populations are changing.

Butterfly Conservation (BC) is the UK wildlife charity dedicated to saving butterflies, moths and our environment.

Listening to our landscape

Posted on February 5, 2020July 10, 2023 by andrew in People and Places

NOISE is all around us – and much of the time it’s not even the sort of sound we want to hear.

Even if it’s not the intrusive irritation of someone else’s music on the train or other people’s children arguing, we frequently want to tune out of the environment around us by plugging into a podcast or our favourite music.

But what about all the noise we are not listening to which might just have huge benefits for our mental health and wellbeing? That’s where Echoed Locations comes in, a project aiming to create the first ever sonic map of the Chilterns.

Initiated by the Chilterns Conservation Board as part of the Chalk, Cherries and Chairs Landscape Partnership, the aim is to establish a sound map of the Chilterns which can be used as a resource for years to come.

The project has designed sound recording workshops for local schools and community groups which focus first on attentive listening before moving on to practical recording techniques.

Elizabeth Buckley, communications and community engagement officer for the partnership scheme, explains: “It’s the seemingly ordinary sounds which make the Chilterns a unique and special place to live.

“Echoed Locations was developed because soundscapes are unique and important and inform how we feel about a place.”

The sounds they hope to collect for the project might range from birdsong in the local park to rush-hour traffic, a babbling stream or hoot of an owl at night. It might be a steam train in the distance, rain on a window pane or even a poem, song or interview.

“When you step off the bus as you arrive home, it is not just the smell of your neighbours’ garden or the sight of your front gate that makes you feel at home,” says Elizabeth (below).

“It is likely also the steady hum of a radio nearby, your mother’s voice calling you inside, far away traffic rumbling by.

“It is only when these sounds are lost from our day-to-day lives do, we really begin to listen. For example, when you arrive in a wood where no birds are singing, it feels odd and we notice the absence of a familiar sound. “

From the chatter of children walking to school to the buzzing of insects or hum of traffic, the project aims to encourage residents, visitors and especially young people to contribute to the sonic map.

Anyone can participate by adding audio recordings via the Echoed Locations website page and schools, local community groups and youth groups are encouraged to reach out to book a free sound recording workshop in 2020, although spaces are limited.

Volunteers willing to act as ‘Sonic Champions’ in High Wycombe, Amersham, Aylesbury and Princes Risborough (or the surrounding areas) will help promote the project and be given full training.

Contact Elizabeth on lbuckley@chilternsaonb.org to sign up for a sound recording workshop or as a volunteer, or with any other questions about the project.

Help chart the Chilterns sound

Posted on February 3, 2020July 10, 2023 by andrew in Nature and Wildlife

IT MIGHT be a barn owl, steam train or buzzing insect.

But whatever the sound, young people across the Chilterns are being encouraged to “listen to their landscape” in a unique project designed to promote mental health and wellbeing.

The ‘Echoed Locations’ project encourages 16- to 20-year-olds to get out into nature and urban spaces which are significant to them and contribute to the first sonic map of the Chilterns.

As part of the five-year Chalk, Cherries and Chairs Landscape Partnership Scheme funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and spearheaded by the Chilterns Conservation Board, the project will provide free sound recording workshops and online resources to empower youth groups and schools to map the sounds of the Chilterns.

Echoed Locations wants audio recordings from across the Chilterns, from the hoot of an owl to the first songs of the dawn chorus or the morning rush hour.

As the world becomes noisier and yet increasingly focused on the visual, Echoed Locations aims to reconnect people with their local wildlife and cultural heritage through the medium of sound.

Sometimes we can forget to listen to the world around us in an active way, and the project encourages residents to record the sounds around them and help create a sonic legacy of the Chilterns today.

Sound recording workshops help to hone people’s ability to disconnect from the hubbub and distractions of day-to-day life and enjoy the natural sounds all around them.

Volunteers willing to act as ‘Sonic Champions’ in High Wycombe, Amersham, Aylesbury and Princes Risborough (or the surrounding areas) will help promote the project and be given full training.

Contact Elizabeth Buckley on lbuckley@chilternsaonb.org to sign up for a sound recording workshop or as a volunteer, or with any other questions about the project.

Hidden history under our feet

Posted on October 28, 2019July 10, 2023 by andrew in History and Heritage

Guest writer Dr Wendy Morrison, project manager of Beacons of the Past, explains how local people can help uncover the secrets of our ancient Chilterns landscape

THE Chiltern Hills have been a focal point for people for thousands of years.

Any walk or ride through the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty will take you past sites and monuments that stretch across huge spans of time and yet have survived the ravages of millennia and subsequent human activity.

In between Ice Ages, the region was sporadically occupied by people in search of game to eat and flint for making tools. These ancient artefacts are found all over the Chilterns, left by hunter-gatherers from 150,000 years ago up until the last of the Ice Ages (c. 11,000 years ago).

The warming landscape was filled with herds of deer and horse which were the main diet for the Mesolithic (9000-4500BC) people. The chalk streams and valleys were the perfect place for these nomadic groups.

The first substantial human alterations to the Chilterns begin in the Neolithic (4500-2200 BC) when farming technology begins to be practiced. Although the homes people lived in have long disappeared, we can see traces of what they were up to at places like Waulud’s Bank, a monumental enclosure in Marsh Farm, Luton.

We also know some of the places they buried their dead, in long barrows at Halton, Gerrards Cross, and Whiteleaf Hill. Some of the trackways they used to get around the landscape are still in use today!

The introduction of metals in the Bronze Age (2200-800 BC) to the Chilterns opened up a lot of possibilities to the people living here.

We can see the field systems that outline their agricultural activities at Pitstone Hill as well as their cemeteries – collections of barrow mounds – at Dunstable Downs and at Ivinghoe Beacon, where the Chilterns’ earliest hillfort was built around 1100 BC and where an incredible bronze sword was found.

The enigmatic earthworks collectively known as Grim’s Ditch are seen at various points across the AONB but can best be visited along the Ridgeway National Trail between Nuffield and Mongewell. Although little is known about these features, this particular section of Grim’s Ditch has been dated to the Iron Age.

The period we call the Iron Age ushered in the ability to increase production of grain on the Chiltern fields. Iron tools meant that more difficult soils could be tilled, surplus crops could be grown, and the resulting prosperity mean that some people could show off their wealth and power through the construction of enormous earthworks.

Some of our Chiltern hillforts were certainly these kinds of expressions of power. Some, however, may have had more humble functions, such as places of refuge during conflict or enclosures for livestock.

In the Chilterns we have at least 20 hillforts, varied and unique, and with stunning views. Visit Pulpit Hill, Cholesbury Camp, Church Hill, or Medmenham Camp to take in a sample of these ancient monuments.

1431771782576-mg3249 (2) — **PULPIT HILL:** the Iron Age enclosure *PICTURE: National Trust / Hugh Mothersole*

The Chilterns are steeped in prehistoric remains, and a new LiDAR survey of the entire area is revealing hundreds of new features.

Beacons of the Past – a National Lottery funded project to discover more about the Chilterns Iron Age hillforts – flew a bespoke LiDAR survey of the Chilterns earlier in the year, the first of its kind in this area and the largest high-resolution archaeological survey ever flown in the UK.

_mg_4758a — **RAMPARTS:** traces of the past at Pulpit Hill
*PICTURE: National Trust / Hugh Mothersole*

Encompassing 1400 km², the survey is revealing hundreds of new archaeological sites across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire.

The project team are asking for the public’s contribution to view and interpret the results of the data gathered by the LiDAR visualisations; in many cases these will be people who may have spent decades exploring the Chilterns landscape or those who live in it, and who will bring a unique perspective to the project.

The team will offer comprehensive training and tutorials to teach LiDAR interpretative skills, allowing users to decipher the results of the data and enter the findings on an online portal at chilternsbeacons.org.

This will enable anyone in the world to discover new archaeological features in the Chilterns from their computer. Encouraging people from all walks of life to engage with a resource that is usually accessible to a handful of researchers will open up the landscape for greater understanding and appreciation, and when we appreciate and understand a place, we begin to take more active roles in caring for it.

Funded by a £695,600 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and a number of partners such as the National Trust, Chiltern Society and local authorities, Beacons of the Past is providing a real focus for community and public involvement through techniques such as remote sensing and survey, practical excavation, and research, as well as a programme of events and educational activities.

Results will be used to further engage communities with their heritage, through work in schools, with youth groups, public talks and workshops. The new discoveries will be made available to the relevant Heritage Environment Record officers in the four counties and will also help heritage managers, archaeologists and policy makers to consider how they look after the Chilterns landscape.

LiDAR, standing for “Light Distance and Ranging,” also known as Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS), is a survey technique that has been used by archaeologists for nearly 20 years. It has aided in the discovery of new sites and is particularly important for its ability to show archaeology beneath tree cover.

The Chilterns Conservation Board was set up following the passing of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, 2000, to conserve and enhance the natural beauty and increase awareness and understanding of the Chilterns AONB. The Board, which also aims to foster the social and economic well-being of local communities, is supported by Defra and all local authorities in the area.

For further information follow @ChilternsAONB, @Hillfortian, and @edpev7 or search #Chilforts. Dr Morrison can be contacted at wmorrison@chilternsaonb.org.

Stonor provides a saintly refuge

Posted on September 16, 2019July 10, 2023 by andrew in History and Heritage, STONOR PARK

THE SHEER sense of serenity you encounter at Stonor on a sunny day makes it hard to associate the place with persecution and torture.

But this extraordinary Oxfordshire home has some remarkable stories to tell and played a unique part in the history of English Catholicism.

Today, basking in the September sunlight, the only sound to be heard across the 1760 deer park is the clack of a cricket ball and occasional cries from approval from the small crowd round the green at the Stonor Cricket Club across the main Henley road, which overlooks the estate.

But although Stonor Park has been home to the same family for 850 years, it was let to the National Benzol Company during the war and was empty when the family moved back in 1945. Many family possessions were sold off during subsequent years of financial hardship.

It was only in 1978 that the current Lord Camoys was able to buy and start renovating the house, opening it to the public in 1979 and buying back many portraits, pictures and other possessions which had been sold.

It has been an extraordinary achievement, because there’s a wonderful sense of peace and warm about the manor house which the poet John Betjeman remarked upon – and the same sense of serenity can be found in the park and gardens.

Parts of the house date from the 13th century but the site has been inhabited for longer than that, as witnessed by the circle of standing stones by the front drive, deposited during the Ice Age and used as a pagan site of worship.

The family name (de Stonore in the 14^th century) comes from the stones – and the crest, appropriately, is a hill with prominent stones.

But while the children might want to explore the adventure playground out in the woodland, it’s inside the house and 13^th century chapel that the real story of Stonor Park unfolds.

This is where we first encounter those darker memories of centuries of persecution which followed the Reformation, when Elizabeth I was excommunicated by the Pope and unleashed a harsh crackdown against all those regarded as being guilty of heresy.

Any priest found on English soil was guilty of treason (as was anyone who harboured him), and that included a scholar by the name of Edmund Campion who had once found favour with the Queen as a young man.

Campion had been born in London and studied in Oxford before moving to Dublin, Douai and ultimately travelling on foot to Rome to become a Jesuit priest. He had been a professor in Prague before the Jesuit mission to England began and he arrived in London in June 1580 disguised as a jewel merchant, and began to preach.

He led a hunted life, administering the sacraments and preaching to Catholics in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Lancashire while he started to work on his Decem Rationes (“Ten Reasons”), arguments against the validity of the Anglican Church.

Upstairs in a hidden room behind a chimneybreast at Stonor is where he and his colleagues hid their printing press which was used to print the famous tract – 400 copies were distributed on the benches of the university church in Oxford, causing a great sensation.

The hunt for Campion was stepped up and the “seditious Jesuit” was arrested at a house in Berkshire and soon publicly hung, drawn and quartered in Tyburn in London in December 1581, at the age of 41.

Back at Stonor, Dame Cecily and her son John were taken to the Tower of London too, but Dame Cecily refused to conform to the Established Church – meaning that the tiny family chapel is one of only a handful in the country to have remained Catholic despite 250 years of persecution.

Several rooms in the main house are open to the public, including the Gothic Revival hall dating from 1350, the library, drawing room and bedrooms. Throughout, there are dozens of portraits, photographs and family artefacts, meticulously documented in a “hand list” of contents.

Outside there’s time to unwind in the tranquil gardens to the rear of the house or meander up to the terraces which provide views across the roofs of the house to the park beyond, where the fallow deer may be seen grazing while red kites and buzzards glide on the thermals overhead.

Although the house and chapel are only open on Sundays in September and are generally closed until April, there are a number of special events planned, from an autumn food festival in October to candlelit tours of the house decorated for Christmas.

For full details of prices, opening times and future events, see the main Stonor House website.

Cottages where history comes to life

Posted on July 26, 2018July 8, 2023 by andrew in CHILTERN OPEN AIR MUSEUM, History and Heritage

HISTORY comes alive at the Chiltern Open Air Museum – literally.

One minute you’re wandering past an 18^th century house wondering about its former residents and the next moment a lady in period dress has popped out to fill in some of the details and answer your questions.

She is one of a small army of committed volunteers at the museum who love nothing more than bringing the past to life in a very vivid and engaging way, whether that means baking bread in the Iron Age roundhouse or taking part in a school workshop about Victorian life.

It’s the perfect place for a school visit, of course – but what can ordinary families expect to find?

It’s the perfect antidote to anyone who finds traditional museums stuffy and offputting. There are no glass cases here, just a series of lovingly rebuilt authentic buildings dotted around the spacious 45-acre woodland site close to Chalfont St Peter and Chalfont St Giles.

It was founded in 1976 to rescue historic buildings threatened with demolition and so far more than 30 buildings have been saved and rebuilt on the site, with more in store, spanning hundreds of years of local history.

These range from medieval and Tudor barns to a toll house, forge, chapel, 1940s prefab and a working Victorian farm.

On a sunny day there’s plenty of time for a leisurely stroll around each of the different buildings – and there are a range of paths laid out in the woods for those wanting to get a little more exercise.

For older visitors there are vivid reminders of the Second World War and post-war housing crisis, with a “prefab” from Amersham vividly capturing life in the late 1940s, right down to the Anderson Shelter in the garden and pictures on the mantelpiece of the family who lived in the building from 1948.

Outside, despite the July heatwave there’s a flourishing and colourful vegetable garden and a Nissen hut salvaged from Bedfordshire fitted out as an RAF pilots’ briefing room, where guests young and old can try on military uniforms and gas masks.

Atmospheric audio tapes in some of the locations add to the period feel, while in others volunteers are on hand to provide more personal detail. Easy-to-read information boards provide an at-a-glance summary of key facts, with more information on the website and in a family guide available from reception for £3.50.

We get the personal touch at Leagrave Cottages, where a volunteer is on hand to show us round the building, which started life as an 18th century barn in Bedfordshire and was converted into cottages in the 1770s.

Interviews with the Marks family who lived in one cottage from 1913 to 1928 have enabled the museum to present one cottage accurately as it would have been in the 1920s. The other side is presented as it might have been in the 18th century.

From here, we continue to wander through different periods of Chilterns history – from the atmospheric Henton Mission Room built in 1886 in Oxfordshire to an 1830s cottage from Haddenham with walls made of a special type of local earth called wychert.

We still haven’t got to the working Victorian farm – complete with a small selection of rare-breed livestock – and by the time we have chatted with volunteers about iron age baking techniques it’s too late for an ice cream at the tea room, which closes at 3pm on weekdays.

There’s still plenty to see, though – the blacksmith’s forge, the industrial buildings and the 1826 High Wycombe tollhouse from the London to Oxford road which was home to a family of five in the 1840s.

This is perhaps the museum’s greatest strength: its focus on the houses and workplaces of ordinary people that have gradually disappeared from the landscape, particularly in an area on London’s doorstep where the pressures of redevelopment are particularly great and where much of this heritage would otherwise have been lost.

The charity relies very much on the support of more than 200 volunteers (and its association of friends) and those individuals we encountered were relaxed, helpful and not at all pushy. You take a tour here at your own pace and you don’t get history forced down your throat.

You can host a party here, take part in a variety of organised workshops and experience days, or even get married, should you fancy a civil ceremony in the roundhouse, toll house or tin chapel.

But most families will doubtless just enjoy the opportunity to ramble around the extensive site at their own speed, piecing together snippets of local history and appreciating some magical insights into the ordinary lives of people living in this landscape all those centuries ago.

Full details of prices, options and a calendar of forthcoming events are available on the museum website.