Barton Hills, Bedfordshire

Barton Hills rise south-east of Barton-le-Clay in Bedfordshire, part of the Chilterns. A chalk stream begins at Barton Springs at the hill’s foot, and in summer Dartmoor ponies graze the slopes. Hiking routes are marked on maps at the entrances. The hills contain a national nature reserve managed by Natural England and designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The reserve’s steep, well-grazed slopes form classic downland habitat. Sheep were absent from about 1930 until the 1980s, allowing woodland to spread on the western hillside near the stream. The hills are the main Bedfordshire site for pasqueflower, with over a thousand blooms in some years. Field fleawort and a dwarf hairy violet also grow there. Footpaths lead through the recreation ground or along Old Road to the southern edge. East of the main reserve lies Barton Gravel Pit, a nature reserve run by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. The pit sits near the county border with Hertfordshire.