totternhoe knolls bedfordshire

[sunsetter]

well heres a few pictures of a little nature reserve thats right on my doorstep.
i often take an evening stroll up there to catch the sunset or just to take in the evening air, heres the entrance

[sunsetter]

the knolls are a series of hills surrounded by hills, which are connected to the chilterns, its managed by the national trust, and although not very large, it supports a lot of diverse wildlife



this is the path leading up to the area called the little hills

[sunsetter]

the whole area was once a roman fort, the part on the top is called the pinpoint, and has a triangulation point on top, ok let me puff my way to the top!




caught these unawares on the way up

[sunsetter]

heres the view of the pinpoint at the top of the hill



and the view of the little hills



and looking out over towards the nearest town of leighton buzzard

[sunsetter]

its not difficult to see why this was once a roman fort, what with a full 360 view which stretches fo rquite a long way in every direction



heres ivinghoe beacon

and the white lion which is part of whipsande zoo

[sunsetter]

ill be taking a walk up there tomorow night so more pics to come, for any further info look here Attractions - Totternhoe Knolls | The Chilterns AONB

ive lived around this way most of my life, its my home when in the uk and i dont know much about the place, bloody nice sunsets from up there though!

ok bedtime more tomorow

[redfoot the fence]

Beautiful pictures. Thanks.

[Happyman]

Know it well - lovely place - was living at Tring and had a bistro/wine(whine if you knew some of the regulars )bar in Rickmansworth for a while in the 80's.
Used to take the kids up there before dawn with a packet of dry cat food and watch the badgers come out for their brekkie !

The "Roman" camp on the kmoll used to be the control point for the intersection of the Icknield way that runs along the foot of Dunstable Down, and Watling Street, the modern A5.
There is no trace of it now.
What you see now are the remains of a Norman Motte and Bailey castle built circa 1080 AD for exactly the same purpose !!

Sorry to bang on about this place but I had just about forgotten it - my Mum was an archaeologist/ historian and when I was about 14 - over 50 bloody years ago- I spent a week there with her team from the British Museum on an exploratory dig looking for traces of the Roman fort!

A small section of the bank around the flat bit ( bailey) before the hill (motte) appeared to be part of the Roman defences reused!!
(3 coins and an iron pick from that period were found ( now in the British Museum somewhere !)

Thanks for reactivating my brain cell !!! ( Make that both cells )

Cheers

[Marmite the Dog]

Thanks for the pics. I was nearly homesick, but there was no pictures of proper beer, so I got over it pretty quickly.

[chitown]

^ Your just too picky. Head over to 7-11 and pick yourself up some of that fine Archa beer.......

[sunsetter]

Originally Posted by Happyman

Know it well - lovely place - was living at Tring and had a bistro/wine(whine if you knew some of the regulars )bar in Rickmansworth for a while in the 80's.
Used to take the kids up there before dawn with a packet of dry cat food and watch the badgers come out for their brekkie !

The "Roman" camp on the kmoll used to be the control point for the intersection of the Icknield way that runs along the foot of Dunstable Down, and Watling Street, the modern A5.
There is no trace of it now.
What you see now are the remains of a Norman Motte and Bailey castle built circa 1080 AD for exactly the same purpose !!

Sorry to bang on about this place but I had just about forgotten it - my Mum was an archaeologist/ historian and when I was about 14 - over 50 bloody years ago- I spent a week there with her team from the British Museum on an exploratory dig looking for traces of the Roman fort!

A small section of the bank around the flat bit ( bailey) before the hill (motte) appeared to be part of the Roman defences reused!!
(3 coins and an iron pick from that period were found ( now in the British Museum somewhere !)

Thanks for reactivating my brain cell !!! ( Make that both cells )

Cheers

thank you for the info, ive lived here all my life and my knowledge of the knolls was very vague, nice one

[sunsetter]

ok heres a few sunsets from the top

[Mathos]

Nice thread sunsetter and excellent photographs, keep it going pal.

[Happyman]

thank you for the info, ive lived here all my life and my knowledge of the knolls was very vague, nice one[/quote]


If you want more scenic ,quiet, historic places ( and some obscure things ) around there ,let me know !
can give you a load

Tours of Bedfordshire and Herts Co Ltd ( Based in Phuket ) That makes sense?




Cheers

[sunsetter]

thanks guys, im off to devon today so ill put this one on hold till i get back, ill be sure to do a thread about my trip, thanks for the encouragement.

bedfordshire tours from phuket, not a bad idea!

[sunsetter]

oh nearly forgot, this little owl uses the goal post in the park next door as a perch every evening

[sunsetter]

and that is the pinpoint on the top