About the parish

Halton Parish is a traditional Chilterns strip parish, long and narrow, stretching from RAF Halton’s Airfield in the north to Halton and Wendover Woods high in the Chilterns to the south. Historically, the strip afforded parishioners a mix of arable land, upland pasture and woodland. The Parish divides into four distinct, but intrinsically related areas:

Wendover Woods owned by Forestry England is a large area of native woodland, offering a great range of biodiversity. It is a well-used recreation area consisting of managed woodland with car parks, nature trails for walks, mountain biking, and horse riding, with BBQ areas and a café. It is the highest point in the Chilterns marked by a cairn summit. It is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a nationally protected landscape. It is also an historic area with a Neolithic Long Barrow at Haddington Hill and an Iron Age Hill Fort at Boddington Camp. Passing along the southern edge of the Parish is the ancient Ridgeway, a National Trail which is a nationally significant recreation resource. 

RAF Halton Camp sits below the woods and is part of the Metropolitan Green Belt (MGB),  and is bisected by one of the oldest roads in the United Kingdom, the Upper Icknield Way (B4009). It is an MOD base which is marked for closure and redevelopment in 2027. It is a designated site within the Vale of Aylesbury Plan and will require a separate strategic planning document. It is also a designated site within the Aylesbury Garden Town Masterplan and will be subject to MGB and Garden Village policies.  RAF Halton consists of a mixture of buildings built from the 1800s onwards, some of which are listed, and it has large areas of open green sports fields. As RAF Halton was a Home for Sport, it is a valued recreational resource, with many local civilian clubs making use of the facilities, including the Halton Tennis Centre. The Officers’ Mess - Halton House was a Rothschild mansion, and it is a Grade II* listed building surrounded by Grade II* listed historic parkland, which abuts the village. 

Many of the houses in the village are very distinctive, as they were built for staff of the Rothschild family and are set within the designated Conservation Area. The Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal passes through the centre of the village, this disused canal has become a charming haven for wildlife. The tow path is well used by walkers and cyclists as it meanders from Halton to Wendover in the south and Aston Clinton and Green Park to the north. Travelling along Halton Lane, the nature of the buildings begins to change, with three areas of housing provided for RAF personnel, and at the edge of the village bordering Wendover there is Moorpark. The majority of this housing was built during the twentieth century; starting during the inter-war period. The MOD housing is within the MGB and Moorpark is in a Chilterns setting, bordering farmland, woodland and the canal.

The village farm sits to the north, and comprises a mixture of arable and livestock land adjacent to the Airfield. RAF Halton Airfield is a very active and popular recreation area, encompassing Gliding Clubs and an Aeroplane Club. Along with the farm it provides the only green space that separates the three villages of Halton, Weston Turville and Aston Clinton. It abuts the MGB; the Village Conservation area; is within a Chilterns Setting and is an important view from the Chiltern Hills across to the Vale.