Chiltern Hills

Chiltern Hills
Chiltern Hills
	Near Nettlebed, Oxfordshire
Highest point
Peak	Haddington Hill
Elevation	267 m (876 ft)
Dimensions
Length	74 km (46 mi)
Width	18 km (11 mi)
Area	1,700 km2 (660 sq mi)
Geography
	Location of the Chiltern Hills AONB in England
Location	South East of England; East of England
Country	United Kingdom
Counties	Bedfordshire; Buckinghamshire; Hertfordshire; Oxfordshire
Range coordinates	51°40′N 0°55′W / 51.667°N 0.917°W
Geology
Rock type	chalk downland

The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England,^[1] located to the north-west of London, covering 660 square miles (1,700 km²) across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch 45 miles (72 km) from Goring-on-Thames in the south-west to Hitchin in the north-east. The hills are 12 miles (19 km) at their widest.

In 1964, 833 square kilometers - almost half of the Chiltern Hills - were designated by the Countryside Commission^[2] as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) under the powers established by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949.^[3]

The north-west boundary of the Chilterns is clearly defined by the escarpment. The dip slope is by definition more gradual and merges with the landscape to the south-east.^[4] The south-west endpoint is the River Thames. The hills decline slowly in prominence in north-east Bedfordshire.^[5]^[6]

^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chiltern Hills" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 163.
^ Poore, Duncan; Poore, Judy (1992) [1987]. Protected Landscapes in the United Kingdom. Countryside Commission Publication, volume 362. Cheltenham: Countryside Commission. p. 39. ISBN 9780861703241. Retrieved 10 April 2025. Chilterns
Designated 1964 833sq km
Confirmed 1965
Variation confirmed 1990
^ Ratcliffe, John; Stubbs, Michael (1996). "Specialist town planning controls". Urban Planning And Real Estate Development. London: The UCL Press. pp. 144, 146. ISBN 9781135363185. Retrieved 10 April 2025. National Parks are designated by the Countryside Commission in England [...] under powers contained in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. [...] AONBS are also designated by the Countryside Commission [...]. Thirty-nine such AONBS have been designated in England and Wales [...] Examples include the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire and Bodmin Moor in Devon.
^ Cite error: The named reference HeppleDoggett was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ The Changing Landscape of the Chilterns Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Chilterns AoNB, Accessed 19 February 2012
^ Chiltern Society, The Chilterns Archived 7 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine.

[EB1911-1] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chiltern Hills" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 163.

[2] Poore, Duncan; Poore, Judy (1992) [1987]. Protected Landscapes in the United Kingdom. Countryside Commission Publication, volume 362. Cheltenham: Countryside Commission. p. 39. ISBN 9780861703241. Retrieved 10 April 2025. Chilterns
Designated 1964 833sq km
Confirmed 1965
Variation confirmed 1990

[3] Ratcliffe, John; Stubbs, Michael (1996). "Specialist town planning controls". Urban Planning And Real Estate Development. London: The UCL Press. pp. 144, 146. ISBN 9781135363185. Retrieved 10 April 2025. National Parks are designated by the Countryside Commission in England [...] under powers contained in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. [...] AONBS are also designated by the Countryside Commission [...]. Thirty-nine such AONBS have been designated in England and Wales [...] Examples include the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire and Bodmin Moor in Devon.

[HeppleDoggett-4] Cite error: The named reference HeppleDoggett was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[changelandscape-5] The Changing Landscape of the Chilterns Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Chilterns AoNB, Accessed 19 February 2012

[6] Chiltern Society, The Chilterns Archived 7 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine.

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