Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire: 'Rare chalk grassland humming with butterflies, wildflowers and grazing cattle'

The view from Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire, is Friday's Secret Britain selection.

The view from Coombe Hill to Beacon Hill and Aylesbury Plain beyond.
The view from Coombe Hill to Beacon Hill and Aylesbury Plain beyond.
(Image credit: Alamy)

On a clear day, you can see to the Cotswolds and the North Wessex Downs, but we’ll settle for the beautiful Aylesbury Vale in summer, with rare chalk grassland humming with butterflies, wildflowers and grazing cattle. You also might spot Beacon Hill to the south, with its distinctive clump of trees.

The highest point in the Chilterns, 852ft above sea level, Coombe Hill is crowned with a Boer War monument dedicated to the men of Buckinghamshire.

The Boer War Monument at sunset, Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire.

The path downhill affords a glimpse of Chequers, donated for the Prime Minister’s use by Lord and Lady Lee of Fareham in 1918, the same year they gave Coombe Hill (once part of the Chequers estate) to the National Trust.

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Annunciata Elwes
Annunciata Elwes (née Walton) joined Country Life after founding a literary and music festival at Milton Manor, Oxfordshire, and working at The Sunday Times Travel Magazine.