Amersham is two towns in one. Up on the hill is the modern town, built around the station at the end of the Metropolitan line in the early twentieth century, the heart of what was marketed as Metro-land. Down in the valley of the Misbourne is Old Amersham, a beautiful street of coaching inns, timber-framed houses and Georgian façades, with a seventeenth-century market hall on its arches. The contrast is striking.
The town has a darker history, too. In the sixteenth century, several local people were burned at the stake for their Lollard beliefs, and a memorial on the hillside above the old town remembers them. Today, the town is prosperous and peaceful, surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.
As a start and fuel stop, Amersham is practical. There are service stations on the main roads and plenty of cafés and shops in both parts of the town. From here, the roads lead into the Chilterns, with narrow lanes winding through beech woods, past flint cottages and over steep hills. The A413 and A404 are the main routes, but the minor roads are more interesting, if slower.
Traffic can be heavy around Amersham, especially at rush hour, and the lanes are narrow, with blind bends and steep gradients. Watch for cyclists, horses and walkers. The beech woods are beautiful in spring, when bluebells carpet the ground, and in autumn, when the leaves turn gold.