ISSUE 236 • SUMMER 2020 www.chilternsociety.org.uk Butterflies in decline The Chilterns on film Small businesses, big hearts CAMPAIGNING • CONSERVING • PROMOTING ISSUE 236 • SUMMER 2020 www.chilternsociety.org.uk In this Butterflies in decline The Chilterns on film Small businesses, big hearts CAMPAIGNING • CONSERVING • PROMOTING Small tortoiseshell butterfly (Photo: George issue Stebbing-Allen) NEWS & VIEWS 3 Editor 4 UNPRECEdENTEd TIMES From the Chairman, Simon Kearey 4 Heritage Festival UPdate 5 SMAll BUSINESSES, BIG HEARTS Tribute to local suppliers 12 FAREwEll AFTER FIVE yEARS 6 Vicky Askew looks back 13 BlINd wAlKERS APPlAUd SOCIETy CHIlTERNS VOlUNTEERS ON FIlM Howard Dell reports 16 MAKE A dIFFERENCE Volunteering opportunities 24 DON’T lOSE yOUR wAy! News of a vital footpath project 28 HS2 UPdATE Project given the green light 32 LETTERS 34 ECHOEd lOCATIONS Help to record the sounds of the 16 Chilterns MAKE A HERITAGE dIFFERENCE 6 THE CHIlTERNS ON FIlM Bob Stuart explores the BFI’s National Archive 10 TAKING A POSITIVE lINE The Editor visits Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway 30 HIddEN CORNERS OF TRING John Hockey goes exploring on foot 33 AlEHOUSE TAlES From Helen Matthews of the Save Our 22 Pubs Group MANIFESTO FOR CONSERVATION CHIlTERNS wIldlIFE 23 ClOUdS ANd SIlVER lININGS News from Ewelme 2 Chiltern 236 At the time of writing From the Editor Richard Bradbury There is, for obvious reasons, a delay between the copy deadline for each issue of Chiltern and ENVIRONMENT its publication date. That’s why you’ll sometimes find included in an article the phrase ‘at the time of writing’, because circumstances may change in the interval between the piece being 29 NO lET-UP FOR FARMERS written and its appearance in the magazine. Suddenly, however, the phrase has acquired a whole Work goes on despite the pandemic, new meaning as we try to adjust to the realities of Covid-19. writes Gill Kent Outside the window it’s strangely quiet and still through – or perhaps that’s not entirely accurate: many is having of the man-made sounds are suppressed, incalculable WILDLIFE or indeed absent. Nature, meanwhile, is implications celebrating the arrival of spring: the birds are in across the 22 MANIFESTO FOR CHIlTERNS full voice; nest building is well under way; trees globe, and will wIldlIFE and shrubs are rapidly turning green; flowers continue to do 26 BUTTERFlIES IN dEClINE and blossom are bringing spectacular colour so for a very A call to arms from George back into the landscape. I’ve never appreciated long period; Stebbing-Allen as much as I do now the glorious spectacle but I would the four flagpole cherries in our front garden like, briefly, give us at this time of year. For those of us to focus on a with easy access to the natural world this is consequence LEISURE truly an opportunity – albeit one imposed on that in this us by a cruel disease – to pause and revel in life and death 8 DOwN By THE RIVERSIdE our immediate surroundings, because, for the situation may Photo: Richard Bradbury Cycle routes along Chiltern waterways moment, places further afield are beyond our seem trivial, but is nonetheless significant 14 HURlEy wAlK reach. for a great many people. In the Chilterns, as Thankfully, at the time of writing, we can elsewhere, much of the work of voluntary 18 GETTING PERSONAl still enjoy the Chilterns as long as we behave organisations like ours is essentially at a Barry Hunt introduces a new feature on responsibly and don’t stray too far from home standstill. You’ll notice that this is a slimmed the Photogroup’s website or stay out too long. In one sense, ironically, down issue of Chiltern, reflecting the 19 PHOTOGROUP COMPETITION this puts us in a better position than we were impact of the pandemic on our activities. when a previous plague stalked the UK – I The summer 2019 magazine included an 20 COMFORT FOOd? refer to the last outbreak of foot-and-mouth eight page pull-out giving details of the Martin Pearson extols the virtues of disease, which virtually closed the countryside Society’s Heritage Festival. Sadly, because home-cooking for several months. A crucial difference there’s a possibility that the 2020 Festival 21 RECIPE between the two events is, of course, that this may have to be cancelled, the decision has Lamb pilaf with home-made chapatis time it’s human beings who are dying, not been taken not to include the programme livestock – although it’s sobering to remember here. (More information on p4). One can 35 Walks PROGRAMME that foot-and-mouth resulted in the death only feel sympathy for the dedicated team 36 IMAGES OF SPRING of 6 million cows and sheep, and devastated of volunteers and staff who planned it, and sections of the farming community. In 2020, for volunteers everywhere who are unable, by contrast, farmers are one of those groups at present, to channel their enthusiasm and who are still hard at work – the fruits of their energy into the causes they believe in. labours are, after all, crucial to the rest of us, I hope they stay healthy, and that before as Gill Kent’s article on p29 reminds us. too long they’ll be able to pick up where they scan here for www.chilternsociety.org.uk We’re all aware that what we’re going left off. dEAdlINES REPROdUCTION OF IMAGES It is not possible to guarantee that items received after The photographs in this publication must not be the deadline will be included in the next issue, unless a reproduced elsewhere, except with the express prior arrangement has been made with the Editor. permission of the photographer via the Editor. If you do not wish your photographs to be used in other SENdING COPy ANd PHOTOGRAPHS Published quarterly by The Chiltern Society Society publications, please make this clear when you Please email text as Word attachments. Pictures should send them. Editor: Richard Bradbury • 01494 793049 be sent as jpg attachments. High resolution images Email: [email protected] are required for publication, although low resolution The Society does not necessarily accept images can be sent as samples in the first instance, if responsibility for the views of contributors or the AdVERTISING: Sophie Elkan preferred. Please indicate the quality of images sent, claims of the advertisers. Email: [email protected] entitle your pictures and delete any numbers. dESIGN & TyPESET: Clickdraw • 01392 841100 PRINT: Hartgraph • Amersham on materials dEAdlINE FOR issue 237 (SEPTEMBER 2020) produced by environmentally friendly processes. Items to the Editor by: Monday 29 June • Published: Saturday 29 August email: [email protected] 3 SOCIETY NEWS Unprecedented times our team and members of the public. You might have imagined that green spaces would provide the support that many people craved in this exceptional situation – unfortunately, however, even these have to some extent only been accessible by people who live locally. Nevertheless I hope that all those living in close proximity to the Chilterns have been able to take advantage of our remarkable landscape. The situation does provide a unique opportunity for many families who may never have set foot in this terrain to experience what it has to offer, and it may lead to them developing a life-long passion for the natural environment. Time doesn’t stand still, so plans for the future are still progressing and we look Walkers near Ayot St Lawrence (Photo: Colin Drake) forward to holding a range of events later in the year, as well as the AGM in the autumn. From the Chairman Simon Kearey We hope to see some of you there. Our new membership campaign had a successful Well, these are very unprecedented times, as has been said publicly recently. I couldn’t launch earlier in the year and we’re making agree more. preparations to develop this further, especially once the current restrictions are lifted. There’s been a ‘call to arms’ for the Chiltern been looking forward to attending events, It’s been mooted that we should all take Society and its members to step up to the courses and a whole range of other exciting lessons from the enforced changes as a result current challenges facing all of us, not least projects planned for this year. In common of Covid-19 and that perhaps things may HS2, urban development and chalk stream with other organisations we’ve had to review never be the same again. In some respects management, and we’ve been working to put these along with the rest of the Society’s this can be seen as exciting, particularly given those plans in place. programme, to ensure that we follow some of the positive impacts on the natural In that regard, I’d like to take this government guidelines while at the same environment. opportunity to apologise to all those who’d time protecting the safety and wellbeing of Stay well and safe. Chilterns Heritage Festival 19 September-4 October 2020 At the time of writing, given the ongoing Covid-19 situation, we’ve decided against publishing the full Chilterns Heritage Festival programme in case it doesn’t go ahead. We are, of course, closely monitoring advise members and supporters to check government guidelines, and very much hope our website (www.chilternsociety.org.uk) that we’ll be able to deliver the programme for further updates. A final update will be due to be published a few weeks before the as planned, if it’s reasonable to do so. We provided in the next issue of Chiltern, which is Festival is scheduled to take place.