The Chiltern Hills Click on thumbnail to see full picture This vista of the Chilterns in Hertfordshire shows the rolling downland, the steep escarpments and low-lying clay vales characteristic of chalk landscape. . Beech trees are native to southern England.  As they favour light, well-drained soils, they are commonly found growing on areas of chalk.  Many of the famous Chiltern beechwoods were planted to provide material for the furniture industry centred on High Wycombe As chalk soils are thin, trees may have only a tenuous foothold in the ground.  Here, a beech tree has been blown down to expose its shallow root system This picture shows the steep slope of a chalk escarpment at the head of a dry valley.  The lighter patches on the far side, near the centre of the picture, are scars where soil creep has caused the surface of the shallow soil to tear, exposing the chalk underneath This is an excellent example of a dry valley, showing the sinuous meandering of a normal river channel.  It is thought that this was formed during the last Ice Age when the ground was frozen and so impermeable.  Large meltwater streams could then have eroded the surface to produce what is now a dry valley This more distant view towards the escarpment at Ivinghoe Beacon shows people walking the Ridgeway, a public footpath that runs the length of the Chiltern Hills.  (The dry valley in the previous picture is in the centre of this picture)