Randonnées Barton Hills

Designated a Site of special Scientific Interest, the Barton Hills contain a wonderful variety of orchids and other flowers typical of chalk grassland, a wealth of butterflies both common and rare, buzzards, red kite and small mammals. Look carefully and you might find the pasque flower, which flowers between late April and early June. The reserve also includes some important beech and ash/maple woodland, with significant numbers of large-leaved lime. The woodlands provide some stunning autumn colours.
At the base of the hills are some delightful springs which once fed local watercress beds, and which are well-worth seeking out. John Bunyan described the hills as his ‘delectable mountains’, and while his use of the word ‘mountain’ is open to some debate, the word delectable seems most apt.
There are extensive views to the north encompassing most of the Central Bedfordshire Greensand ridge. At the west end is Woburn Park (a radio mast is just visible); in the middle (northwards) is Ampthill and Flitwick and at the east end is Sandy Heath with its TV transmitter.