Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire: 'Rare chalk grassland humming with butterflies, wildflowers and grazing cattle'
The view from Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire, is Friday's Secret Britain selection.


On a clear day, you can see to the Cotswolds and the North Wessex Downs, but we’ll settle for the beautiful Aylesbury Vale in summer, with rare chalk grassland humming with butterflies, wildflowers and grazing cattle. You also might spot Beacon Hill to the south, with its distinctive clump of trees.
The highest point in the Chilterns, 852ft above sea level, Coombe Hill is crowned with a Boer War monument dedicated to the men of Buckinghamshire.
The path downhill affords a glimpse of Chequers, donated for the Prime Minister’s use by Lord and Lady Lee of Fareham in 1918, the same year they gave Coombe Hill (once part of the Chequers estate) to the National Trust.
Racton Folly, West Sussex: Flying bricks, faces in windows and a ghost tractor that sneaks up behind you
Our Secret Britain series continues with a look at a crumbling folly in Sussex.
Kingley Vale, West Sussex: The ancient, twisted yews that are the oldest living things in Britain
Today's Secret Britain spot is a mysterious and magical spot in West Sussex.
Pont Minllyn, Gwynedd: The ancient pack-horse crossing that's four centuries old
A bridge coming up for four centuries old is today's Secret Britain find.
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Annunciata is director of contemporary art gallery TIN MAN ART and an award-winning journalist specialising in art, culture and property. Previously, she was Country Life’s News & Property Editor. Before that, she worked at The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, researched for a historical biographer and co-founded a literary, art and music festival in Oxfordshire. Lancashire-born, she lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and a mischievous pug.
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