Chess Valley, England

Over the past weekend my wife and myself attended a family function at Latimer in S.E. England.This is a village close to Chesham and about 30 miles NW of London.

During our stay the opportunity arose to undertake a walk centred around the Chess Valley. The valley and river have been extensively restored of late to mitigate extensive environmental damage.The valley now provides a habitat for an abundance of wildlife. This includes the restoration of the river and reintroduction of grayling (fish) which had been wiped out by pollution. The river is, technically, a rare chalk stream which is now considered a precious resource.

Here is a map of the locality 


 This valley has a considerable historic legacy-from the Roman period to medieval and on to World War 2.

After the walk, whilst relaxing in the evening, we were treated to a somewhat bizarre flypast of powered paragliders. Images of this event can be seen at foot of this post.

By 325AD there was an impressive Roman villa along the valley bottom. This featured baths, decorative gardens and colourful mosaic floors. 

Valley Bottom 

Roman mosaic from the site. 

 

The first record of a manor at Latimer was in 1194. In 1615 this manor was sold to the Cavendish family who held it for 350 years. 

Here is an image of the (1830s) manor which is now a comfortable 4 star hotel. During WW2 the building was occupied by the military and used for intelligence gathering from German prisoners who were held there.Intelligence gained included the German rocket site at Peenemunde which was heavily bombed by the R.A.F on the night of August 17-18 1943.

 Local landscape 

Another view of the valley

Local woodland

Powered paragliders.

Here is a paraglider en-route to the Moon


Overall, a successful day.

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