Dunstable Downs are part of the Chiltern Hills, in southern Bedfordshire in England, located near the town of Dunstable. They are a chalk escarpment forming the north-eastern reaches of the Chilterns. At 243 m (797 ft), Dunstable Downs are the highest point in the county of Bedfordshire.
Toddington is a large village and civil parish in the county of Bedfordshire, England. It is situated 5 miles north-north-west of Luton, 4 miles (6 km) north of Dunstable, 6 miles (10 km) south-west of Woburn, and 35 miles north-north-west of London on the B5120 and B579. It is 0.5 miles from Junction 12 of the M1 motorway and lends its name to the nearby motorway service station. The hamlet of Fancott also forms part of the Toddington civil parish.
Whipsnade is a small village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, about 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) south-south-west of Dunstable on the top of the Dunstable Downs, which drop away steeply to the south of the village.
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fourth largest town in Bedfordshire and along with Houghton Regis forms the westernmost part of the Luton/Dunstable urban area.
Blow's Down is a 33.1-hectare (82-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dunstable in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1989 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. The site forms around half of the 62.3-hectare (154-acre) Blow's Downs nature reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. It has a maximum elevation of 212 m.
Dropshort Marsh is a 2.7-hectare (6.7-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Toddington in Bedfordshire. It was notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1985, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. The site is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
King's Wood is an area of ancient woodland in the parish of Heath and Reach in Bedfordshire, England. The wood lies north of the village of Heath and Reach and east of Great Brickhill and with neighboring Bakers Wood forms the largest area of ancient woodland in Bedfordshire. Much of the wood lies within Kings Wood and Rushmere National Nature Reserve, jointly owned and managed by the Greensand Trust, Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, Central Bedfordshire Council and Tarmac Aggregates. Kings Wood and many parts of the National Nature Reserve are part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest named Kings and Bakers Woods and Heaths, which also includes Rammamere Heath in Buckinghamshire and Shire Oak Heath in Bedfordshire.
Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit is a 79-hectare (200-acre) nature reserve in Pegsdon in Bedfordshire. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The site is on the border between Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, and it covers Pegsdon Hills and part of the adjacent Deacon Hill in Bedfordshire, and Hoo Bit in Hertfordshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and part of the site is designated by Natural England as the Deacon Hill SSSI.
Totternhoe Knolls is a 13.1-hectare (32-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Totternhoe in Bedfordshire. It is also a local nature reserve, and part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site is owned by Central Bedfordshire Council and leased to the National Trust. Most of the site is maintained jointly by the National Trust and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN), and is part of the WTBCN Totternhoe nature reserve, which also includes Totternhoe Chalk Quarry and Totternhoe Stone Pit. The SSSI also includes Totternhoe Castle, the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle which is a Scheduled monument.
Totternhoe Chalk Quarry is a 13.4-hectare (33-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Totternhoe in Bedfordshire. Part of it lies in Totternhoe nature reserve, which is managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The site is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Kings and Bakers Woods and Heaths is a 212.8-hectare (526-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) between Heath and Reach in Bedfordshire and Great Brickhill in Buckinghamshire. The site is mainly in Bedfordshire but includes Rammamere Heath in Buckinghamshire. It was notified in 1984 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authorities are Central Bedfordshire Council and Aylesbury Vale Council. Part of it is a National Nature Reserve, and part of it is a nature reserve managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. it is also a Nature Conservation Review site.
Deacon Hill SSSI is a 35.4-hectare (87-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Pegsdon in Bedfordshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it is part of the Pegsdon Hills and Hoo Bit nature reserve, managed by Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.
Knocking Hoe is a 7.7-hectare (19-acre) National Nature Reserve and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Pegsdon in Bedfordshire. It is mentioned in A Nature Conservation Review. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is managed by Natural England.
Barton Hills are situated southeast of the village of Barton-le-Clay in the English county of Bedfordshire. They are part of the Chilterns and hiking routes are marked on maps at the entrance to the hills. From the foot of the hillside, a spring marks the start of a chalk stream river. During the summer, Dartmoor ponies roam the hills.
Telegraph Hill is a nature reserve near Lilley in north Hertfordshire. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). According to the Chilterns AONB, the hill is owned by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust; a notice on the site says that it is managed by the trust, but it is not listed on the trust's web site as one of its reserves.
Houghton Regis Marl Lakes is a 20.1-hectare (50-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Houghton Regis in Bedfordshire. It was notified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1988.
Smithcombe, Sharpenhoe and Sundon Hills is an 86.1-hectare (213-acre) Site of Special Scientific Interest in Sharpenhoe in Bedfordshire. Most of it is a National Trust property comprising Sundon Hills, Moleskin and Markham Hills, Sharpenhoe Clappers and Smithcombe Hills. It is part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and Sharpenhoe Clappers is protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Sundon Chalk Quarry is a 26.2-hectare (65-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Upper Sundon in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1989 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. The site is privately owned but there is free public access.
