The Pegsdon Hills straddle the Herts/Beds border. I walked across them today under cloudy skies setting off from Hitchin, Hertfordshire. I followed the same route I took last week to Knocking Hoe [see entry dated 2nd. June] then carried along the Chiltern Way another mile or so which took me to Pegsdon.
 In fact the "county line" hereabouts is the Icknield Way, that ancient track between Wiltshire and the North Norfolk coast. It follows the chalk escarpment that encompasses the Berkshire Downs and the Chiltern Hills and passes over the Pegsdon Hills where it descends into the flatlands of East Anglia.

 Like Knocking Hoe the Pegsdon Hills are a surviving example of unimproved grassland. No doubt they owe their survival to the steepness of the terrain which makes it unsuitable for ploughing.

 I was always struck by a grainy photograph that used to be on display in Hitchin Museum dating from the late 1800s. The image is of a shepherd on the Pegsdon Hills and one imagines that he and the landscape wouldn't have looked have looked any different a century or two earlier.   

 I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy hiking across rugged terrain (and I certainly felt out of practice doing it!). There is some nice walking to be found in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire but this range of hills looks and feels rather different. 

 I was reminded that I have often thought I should make a particular study of the flora here (and at Knocking and the nearby Barton Hills) because they are noted as being special places for common and uncommon wildflowers. Many rarities are to found that have been largely extinguished from the surrounding countryside which is intensively farmed.

 I made for the trig point which denotes the highest elevation for miles around. Interesting fact: these hills are a section of the watershed between the Thames Basin and the Wash. So on one side of this spot rainfall drains towards London and on the other side towards the north-west corner of East Anglia.

 As I sat down on the trig point to eat my sandwiches the sun broke through. I lingered awhile gazing towards the horizon then picked up the Icknield Way to take me homewards.