
Great things to see and do from Chiltern Hundreds busesBuckinghamshire
Beech woods with a carpet of bluebells or gold leaves in the autumn pass by the windows of the Chiltern Hundreds buses. These six bus routes connect High Wycombe, Amersham, Beaconsfield, Uxbridge, Slough and other towns, each with its own attractions: theatres, swimming pools, cinemas and shopping centres. But the Chiltern Hundreds buses, which run Monday to Saturday, can also transport you to rural escapes and hidden treasures, woodland walks and waterside strolls. Visit the cottage where poet John Milton lived or ancient Chenies manor with a garden full of roses. See Bekonscot model village or the Chiltern Open Air Museum – all without getting in a car.

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1. Milton's Cottage
The old cottage where John Milton lived and finished his epic poem Paradise Lost is a hidden gem of a museum right next to a bus stop. The poet moved here from London in 1665, escaping the Great Plague; his friend Thomas Ellwood hired the cottage for him, calling it “that pretty box in Giles, Chalfonte”. Milton’s Cottage is currently open on Wednesday to Sunday afternoons (book ahead) and has interesting displays about all stages of his life and work.
- Get there on bus 104 from outside Gerrards Cross station or from Beaconsfield. From Beaconsfield, you need to walk a couple of minutes to Maxwell Road to catch the bus. The journey takes about 20 minutes from either station.
- Get off at the bus stop called Milton Hill in Chalfont St Giles, which is almost outside the cottage.
- Don’t miss the cottage garden, which echoes Milton’s descriptions of Eden with flowers and fruit trees copied from his verse.
- There are plenty of places to eat and drink: Milton’s Indian restaurant right opposite to the pub, cafés, a bakery, and a deli on the nearby village green.
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2. Chiltern Open Air Museum
Well worth the wooded walk from the nearest bus stop, this veteran collection of reconstructed local buildings has granaries and apple stories, lambing fields and cattle byres. The Chiltern Open Air Museum is a beautiful place for a stroll. Besides thatched barns, cottages with patchwork bedspreads and flowering gardens, there’s a brick toll house from High Wycombe, a prefab bungalow from Amersham, wartime Nissen huts, and even an Edwardian cast-iron public loo.
- Get there on bus bus 106 or bus 107 from outside Amersham station. Get off at the London Road stop. Walk a few steps further in the direction the bus was going and turn left up a path signed Chiltern Way. Follow the signs along pretty paths for twenty minutes to arrive at the entrance to the museum.
- Refreshments include tea, cake and sandwiches from Skippings Barn.