Circular Walk Whipsnade Leaflet

anemones in the spring. the in anemones

cherry, beech and hazel with displays of bluebells and wood and bluebells of displays with hazel and beech cherry,

for relaxation with a dew pond at its centre. its at pond dew a with relaxation for

akhr.Temr pnwoln ra nld a,wild oak, include areas woodland open more The lackthorn. b

emembrance, cloisters for meditation, and a cloister garden cloister a and meditation, for cloisters emembrance, r

dense scrub areas with a mixture of hawthorn, elder and elder hawthorn, of mixture a with areas scrub dense

chancel for public worship, chapels for private prayer and prayer private for chapels worship, public for chancel rassland, scrub and woodland, and mainly consists of consists mainly and woodland, and scrub rassland, g

h lnig r adott omanv,tasps and transepts, nave, a form to out laid are plantings The much of the site. The Heath offers an interesting mosaic of mosaic interesting an offers Heath The site. the of much

scrub to benefit as many species as possible. as species many as benefit to scrub

he decline of sheep grazing, trees and scrub have colonised have scrub and trees grazing, sheep of decline he t

rassland open, allowing a varied mix of grassland and grassland of mix varied a allowing open, rassland g

hipsnade Heath was once an area of open heath but since but heath open of area an once was Heath hipsnade W

funded by the Trustees of Whipsnade Tree Cathedral. Tree Whipsnade of Trustees the by funded

grazing part of the Downs and volunteers help to keep the keep to help volunteers and Downs the of part grazing

charge. Owned by the National Trust it is managed and managed is it Trust National the by Owned charge. Whipsnade Heath Heath Whipsnade

some grasses and flowers. Fortunately, again sheep are sheep again Fortunately, flowers. and grasses some

osts services, and is permanently open to the public without public the to open permanently is and services, osts h

rassland communities, and resulted in the disappearance of disappearance the in resulted and communities, rassland g

medieval cathedral. It is not consecrated, but occasionally but consecrated, not is It cathedral. medieval character.

overgrown and scrub began to invade threatening the threatening invade to began scrub and overgrown

eiainadi eindt ac h rudpa fa of plan ground the match to designed is and meditation he habitat gives the Green its distinct ‘commonland’ distinct its Green the gives habitat he t

ceased altogether; this meant that the Downs became Downs the that meant this altogether; ceased

he Tree Cathedral is a tranquil place for worship and worship for place tranquil a is Cathedral Tree he T The meadows are a most attractive part of the Green and Green the of part attractive most a are meadows The

radually sheep grazing declined, and after World War ll War World after and declined, grazing sheep radually G

grasses. Tree Cathedral Tree

razing has resulted in an increase in scrub and rougher and scrub in increase an in resulted has razing g

and alive with wild flowers and insects. and flowers wild with alive and

World War and the decline in traditional hay making and making hay traditional in decline the and War World the pulpit inside is 17th Century. 17th is inside pulpit the

anaged by large flocks of sheep; this kept the downs open downs the kept this sheep; of flocks large by anaged m

undergone changes, particularly since the end of the Second the of end the since particularly changes, undergone from 1590 whilst the nave is more recent dating from 1719, from dating recent more is nave the whilst 1590 from

Chalk grassland is a very rare habitat that was traditionally was that habitat rare very a is grassland Chalk

ypical of many of the Chilterns Commons the Green has Green the Commons Chilterns the of many of ypical T bandfo h eli h il eidtecuc,dates church, the behind field the in dell the from obtained

interest in its use. its in interest entioned in 1228, the tower, built from bricks possibly bricks from built tower, the 1228, in entioned m

culpted the dry valleys and rounded hills that we see today. see we that hills rounded and valleys dry the culpted s

area of open access land with a strong local community local strong a with land access open of area The church of St Mary Magdalen at Whipsnade was first was Whipsnade at Magdalen Mary St of church The

ebd hnsalvl eladbcm r ad erosion land, dry became and fell levels sea When seabed.

atural Beauty (AONB), and is much valued locally as an as locally valued much is and (AONB), Beauty atural N

the remains of microscopic plants and animals on the on animals and plants microscopic of remains the

h hlenHlsadteCitrsAe fOutstanding of Area Chilterns the and Hills Chiltern the ame of ‘Wibba’s Snaed’. ‘Wibba’s of ame n

approximately 70 million years ago by the accumulation of accumulation the by ago years million 70 approximately

This is part of a network of 213 Commons found throughout found Commons 213 of network a of part is This piece of the woodland giving the parish the 13th Century 13th the parish the giving woodland the of piece

The chalk was formed at the bottom of a shallow, warm sea warm shallow, a of bottom the at formed was chalk The

parish was still wilderness. A settler named Wibba cleared a cleared Wibba named settler A wilderness. still was parish Whipsnade Green Green Whipsnade

teno,ide uigte1t etr uho the of much Century 12th the during indeed otternhoe, T

and scrub. and

in 1086 from Eaton Bray and Studham and possibly and Studham and Bray Eaton from 1086 in perished during the First World War. World First the during perished

steep escarpments, fine views and areas of open grassland open of areas and views fine escarpments, steep

Survey and was possibly an amalgamation of lands recorded lands of amalgamation an possibly was and Survey lber A t Bransom as a memorial to three friends who had who friends three to memorial a as Bransom t

The downland landscape is very distinctive with rolling hills, rolling with distinctive very is landscape downland The

he village of Whipsnade was not named in the Domesday the in named not was Whipsnade of village he T y b assisted Blyth ell K Edmund y b 1930 in an beg Planting

Dunstable Downs Dunstable

Whipsnade

grassland with the opportunity to see a variety of flowers and wildlife. and flowers of variety a see to opportunity the with grassland

This walk covers a variety of terrain including heathland, chalk quarries and downland as well as well as downland and quarries chalk heathland, including terrain of variety a covers walk This

hours / ie 2 Time:

Miles/7.2 km Miles/7.2 / 4 pprox A 2 1

CIRCULAR WALKS Tips for enjoying your walk Planning Your Walk Parts of the walk can become muddy especially after heavy Whipsnade The Car park at Dunstable Downs is the suggested starting rain, so strong waterproof footwear is recommended. Take point and the route is described in an anti-clockwise care where conditions are rough and do let someone know 1 direction. However, you can begin at any point and walk in where you are going. Please be aware that much of the walk Approx 4 /2 Miles/7.2 km 1 either direction. is unsuitable for wheelchairs and difficult for pushchairs. Time: 2 /2 hours Refreshments, Parking and Toilets Did you enjoy the walk? The Chilterns Gateway Centre at Dunstable Downs has If you have any comments about the walk or encounter any adequate parking, toilet facilites and refreshments available problems please contact the Rights of Way Section, throughout the year during the opening times displayed. Countryside Access Service, Central Bedfordshire Council, Parking is also available at the Tree Cathedral car park, PO Box 1395, Bedford MK42 5AN or email please be aware that this car park is locked at 7pm. There is [email protected] also limited parking at Whipsnade Heath car park. This is one of a series of circular Public Transport walk leaflets produced by Central For information contact Traveline 0871 200 22 33. The Bedfordshire Council. For further closest train station is at Luton, on the Bedford to St. information and availability please Pancras Thameslink Line contact Traveline or contact us on 0300 300 8085 www.thameslink.co.uk 0 1 Other walks 0 2 L Ordnance Survey Maps I Find out about more of C N U

The route is covered on Ordnance Survey Explorer map 182 Bedfordshire’s walking and riding O C E available from local bookshops and some petrol stations. WHIPSNADE

routes as well as nature reserves R G I H

and country parks by visiting S D R

Countryside Code O

www.letsgo.org.uk F D Be safe – plan ahead and follow any signs E G For other activities and attractions in the Chilterns countryside log on to B L

www.chilternsaonb.org.uk A

G Leave gates and property as you find them R T N E

G Protect plants and animals, and take your litter home C : S O

G Keep dogs under close control T O H

G Consider other people www.nationaltrust.org.uk P www.countrysideaccess.gov.uk Printed on paper made from 75% recycled post consumer waste