Our easy-to-use website contains details and locations of places to visit around this area. Please select from:

	Places to Stay: Bed and Breakfast Hotels and Guest Houses Pubs with Accommodation Self Catering
	Places to Eat and Drink: Cafes, Coffee & Tea Shops Pubs serving Food Restaurants and Bistros
	Places of Interest: Places to Visit
	Gardens Centres: Garden Centres/Nurseries
	Specialist Shops: Antiques & Restoration Arts and Crafts Fashions Gifts Home and Garden Jewellery Food and Drink Shops

Whipsnade

This small village with a charming, simple church is surrounded by common land on which stands Whipsnade Tree Cathedral (see panel below). After the First World War, a local landowner, Edmund Kell Blyth, planted a variety of trees that have grown into the shape of a medieval cathedral, with a nave, transepts, cloisters and chapels, and trees for the walls. Designed ‘in a spirit of faith, hope and reconciliation’ as a memorial to friends of Blyth killed in the war, it’s a curiously moving place. The tree Cathedral was acquired by the National Trust in 1960.

To the south of the village can be seen the white silhouette of a lion cut into the green hillside, which is reminiscent of the much older White Horse at Uffington. A magnificent landmark, the lion also advertises the whereabouts of Whipsnade Wild Animal Park, the country home of the Zoological Society of London. Whipsnade first opened its doors in 1931, attracting over 26,000 visitors on the first Monday, and in the years since, it has grown and developed and continues to provide fun and education for thousands of visitors each year. There are 2500 animals on show in the park’s 600 acres, and behind the scenes Whipsnade is at the forefront of wild animal welfare and conservation, specialising in the breeding of endangered species such as cheetahs, rhinos and the scimitar-horned oryx. There are daily demonstrations – penguin feeding, sea lions, free-flying birds – and other attractions include a railway safari, Discovery Centre, Children’s Farm and Adventure Playground. Feeding time for the animals is always a popular occasion, while humans who feel peckish can make tracks for the Café on the Lake or (in summer) the Lookout Café, or graze on ice cream and snacks from the many refreshment kiosks in the park.