Chalk Track Walkers

We are back on Ivinghoe Beacon in Bedfordshire today, on the edge of the Chiltern Hills. Barely a hill, but it’s the nearest thing to free-standing high ground in my area of Middle England. It’s composed of chalky ground, so the paths stand out against the green of the grass. I’ve posted a number of times from here including Ploughed Up recently, and Lambing – a tale of two seasons. There was also another post titled Chalk Track Walker that was not identified as coming from the Beacon (but was) and featured a walker who was inserted during processing.

Today the walkers are real and unadulterated.

As we were descending off the top (same day as the image in Ploughed Up was taken) I spotted this couple walking up and immediately thought of catching them as they crested a little ridge on the undulating walk. So I stopped and waited and shot this image.

As this is one of our favourite destinations to visit when we feel the need to stand on elevated ground I thought it was time to show the view of the Beacon from close to the car park.

Not much of a walk and no great height gain, but from the top you look out over a vast flat plain bounded by smaller hills on two sides including Dunstable Downs. Very peaceful apart from the fact that it lies under a flight path into Luton Airport, but one’s hearing in time just blots out that noise.