| Dunstable Downs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 243 m (797 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 105 m (344 ft) |
| Parent peak | Haddington Hill |
| Listing | County Top |
| Coordinates | 51°51′51″N0°32′11″W / 51.864243°N 0.536344°W /51.864243; -0.536344 |
| Geography | |
  Dunstable Downs Dunstable Downs inBedfordshire | |
| Location | Chiltern Hills, England |
| OS grid | TL008194 |
| Topo map | OSLandranger 166 |
Dunstable Downs are part of theChiltern Hills, in southernBedfordshire, England; and are located near (and named after) the town ofDunstable. They are achalkescarpment forming the north-eastern reaches of the Chilterns. At 243 m (797 ft), Dunstable Downs are the highest point in the county of Bedfordshire.[1][2]
Because of its elevation, Dunstable Downs hosted a station in theshutter telegraph chain which connected theAdmiralty in London to its naval ships in the port ofGreat Yarmouth during the years 1808 to 1814.[3]
Whipsnade Zoo has cut an enormouslion shape into the chalk on the side of one of the hills. The lion can be seen from the B489 (Aylesbury toDunstable road).
The downs are used bygliders,kite fliers,hang gliders andparagliders in the area because of their height. TheLondon Gliding Club is based at the foot of the downs.
Much of the downs is managed by theNational Trust as part of the Dunstable Downs & Whipsnade Estate property.
Central Bedfordshire Council and the National Trust commissioned Archetype architects to build avisitor centre known as the Chilterns Gateway Centre, on the very top of Dunstable Downs. The summit is right next to the B4541 road that crosses the hill, and so an ascent of the hill requires nothing more than getting out of a car at the highest point and walking across to thetrig point.
For those who wish to climb the hill from the base, it is possible to do a circular walk from the village ofWhipsnade by following theIcknield Way Path andChiltern Way, both of which are marked onOrdnance Survey maps. This circuit can be extended to take in the northern top of Five Knolls. The hill can also be ascended fromDunstable to the north.The Icknield Way Trail,[4] a horse rider and off-road cycle route, has been established following a similar route to theIcknield Way Path which passes over the Dunstable Downs.
The Five Knolls Barrow Cemetery is located at the northern tip of the Dunstable Downs. First described by antiquarianWilliam Stukeley in the 18th century,[5] the site contained burials from thelate Neolithic toSaxon eras prior to excavation. They include the "Five Knolls Woman", aged between 35 and 40 years, buried on her side with a flint knife.[6] Amother and child, buried with a number ofechinoid fossils were also found, dating approximately from the early Bronze Age.[7] The site is also known for thedeviant burial of executed Saxon criminals.[8]
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The downs are home to a wide variety of wildlife including many rare wild flowers, such as thebee orchid, and butterfly species, like themarbled white and thechalkhill blue.
Areas of the west-facing slope werenotified in 1987 under theWildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) calledDunstable and Whipsnade Downs.Blow's Down is a continuation of the Dunstable Downs escarpment on the eastern side of Dunstable. It is also an SSSI and most of it is managed by theWildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (as Blow's Downs).
