Coombe Hill
trig point theft and vandalism
A couple of days after we visited Coombe Hill for our
beautiful Buckinghamshire feature (see centre pages) we
were informed the trig point had been vandalised. Below is a
message from National Trust Countryside Manager Neil Harris:
their theodolites. They had to carry
all the building materials up the hills
themselves. In tribute to them, and to
all the people who enjoy walking up to
the Coombe Hill trig point, we’d like to
move on from this theft and vandalism.
I was alerted to the destruction of the
trig point at Coombe Hill by a member
of the public. We immediately went
up to Coombe Hill to see if we could
recover the toposcope (the brass
orientation plate on the top of the
pillar displaying notable landscape
features) Unfortunately, it had been
stolen.
The former trig pillar was not as
accessible as we would have liked and
the Chilterns Countryside ranger team
have been thinking about how we
can make Coombe Hill trig point even
better. Should we continue the all-
weather path to that point for buggy
and wheelchair users, should we create
a tactile landscape map for the vision
impaired?
I’m saddened by the theft of the
toposcope which was added by the
National Trust in the late 1950s. The
trig point has always been a draw for
walkers who come to see the view and
for nearly 70 years the toposcope has
shown them the sights they can see
from this vantage point. There’s an
amazing view over Aylesbury Vale and
on a clear day you can see as far as
the Cotswolds.
I also think back to those pioneer
map-makers of the early 20th century
who built the trig pillars as bases for
We’d like to hear people’s thoughts for re-building so that
we can begin fundraising. Send us your ideas by email to
[email protected]
34 |
hiyabucks.com