Coombe Hill, Buckinghamshire

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Coombe Hill is a hill in The Chilterns, located next to the hamlet of Dunsmore, Buckinghamshire, England, near the town of Wendover, and overlooking Aylesbury Vale. It is not to be confused with another Coombe Hill on the flank of Haddington Hill, some four kilometres to the north-east.

The majority of the hill is owned by the National Trust; near the summit is a monument, erected in 1904, in memory of the men from Buckinghamshire who died during the Second Boer War. The original gold plaque and decorations were stolen in the 1980s and were replaced with a stone plaque and iron flag with the remainder of the decoration being created from bronze. The monument was badly damaged by a lightning strike in the early 1990s and spent several months in repair. It has now been equipped with conductors to prevent the mishap happening again. The monument and a few square metres of surrounding land is owned by English Heritage.

The hill once formed part of the Chequers Estate but was given to the National Trust by the UK government when they were given the Estate in the 1920s.

Flora and fauna

Coombe Hill is home to much interesting wildlife — including red kites, yellowhammers and firecrests — as well as the rare Chiltern gentian.

Origin of name

The word coombe is of Brythonic origin and means "hollow".

Trivia

Coombe Hill is one of the highest points in this part of England, and offers some of the best sledding in the area when the winter snow occasionally falls.

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