The house and apartment are located on the edge of Little Gaddesden, in the Chiltern Hills. The back garden leads onto wild flower meadows which slope down to the Golden Valley, part of the Ashridge Estate. The village has a well stocked shop and sub-post office, a Grade 1 listed medieval/ Victorian church as well as the popular Bridgewater Arms.

We have direct access through our own back garden gate onto the National Trust’s 5,000 acre Ashridge Estate.  Ashridge House itself is only 1/2 a mile or so away,  just on the other side of Golden Valley. It has a stunning arboretum and gardens, the Bakehouse café, the Acres formal restaurant and events running throughout the year.

Local walking

• Ivinghoe Beacon and the start (or maybe the end) of the Ridgeway footpath
• Ashridge Boundary Trail – 17 miles, moderate with some steep sections
• National Trust open access land, including the Golden Valley
• Dockey Wood a famous nearby bluebell woodland (best in early Spring)
• The Hertfordshire Way footpath
• The Bridgewater Monument with stunning views over the Vale of Aylesbury,  a National Trust Visitor Centre and Café and a network of footpaths
• The towpaths of the Grand Union canal run through Berkhamsted and  link to its Wendover Arm as well as nearby reservoirs

Cycling, on or off-road

For road bikers, the 281km Chilterns Cycleway passes by the top of our drive. The notorious Tom’s Hill section rising 63m in 850m up the escarpment from Aldbury to the Ashridge Estate is close by. The Ashridge Estate also has 30 miles of bridle paths which are accessible to off-road bikers and further afield Wendover Woods has some challenging downhill paths.

Golf

Ashridge Golf Club and Berkhamsted Golf Club are both nearby.

Horse Riding

Book with Ashridge Horse Trekking. Their stables are a 5 minute walk away from us at Home Farm.

Further Afield

The bustling market town of Berkhamsted (either a 10 minute drive or a very pretty hour’s walk across the Ashridge Estate) has many excellent restaurants and pubs. There are street markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays, independent shops including Home & Colonial Antiques, a Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, the Grand Union Canal as well as the fabulous Art Deco Rex Cinema (best book in advance).

• Berkhamsted Castle, historic site of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle, the site of the English surrender after the Battle of Hastings 1066
• Aldbury, a picturesque village with a good pub (15 minute drive)
• Whipsnade Zoo a great day out at London Zoo’s country cousin (15 minute drive)
• Gliding on Dunstable Downs
• Explore the Making of Harry Potter Experience (25minute drive)
• Waddesdon Manor and garden, one of the Rothschild estates (30 minute drive)
• Natural History Museum, Tring  (20 minute drive)
• College Lakes Nature Reserve birdwatching across wetlands and grasslands (15 minute drive)
• St Albans Cathedral in the centre of the market city of St Albans – (25 minute drive)
• London 30-40 minutes on the train from Berkhamsted