"The Chalfonts" means three separate villages: Chalfont St Peter, a large village with a busy High Street next to Gerrards Cross; Chalfont St Giles, the smaller, older-looking one around a green, with Milton's Cottage; and Little Chalfont, a twentieth-century village that grew up around what is now Chalfont & Latimer station. Only Little Chalfont has a railway station, and there is no train between the three. This guide covers what each village is like, the places worth visiting and how to get between them.
- Chalfont St Peter is the largest of the three; its High Street and Market Place serve the everyday needs of the area.
- Chalfont St Giles has the green, a 12th-century church, Milton's Cottage and the Chiltern Open Air Museum just outside the parish.
- Little Chalfont's Chalfont & Latimer station, in London fare zone 8, has Metropolitan line and Chiltern Railways trains.
- By road Heathrow is around 25–40 minutes from Chalfont St Peter, 27–42 from Chalfont St Giles and 30–45 from Little Chalfont.
What are the three Chalfonts like?
Chalfont St Peter
Chalfont St Peter is the big one. Gerrards Cross began as a hamlet in its parish before becoming a parish in its own right, and the two now run together as one built-up area of 19,622 people, according to Wikipedia. Much of the old centre was replaced in the 1960s by concrete flats, offices and shopfronts, so it is a practical village rather than a picture-postcard one. It is also home to the Epilepsy Society's Chalfont Centre, a 100-acre site on Chesham Lane founded in 1894, and it has its own open space at Gold Hill Common.
For food and drink, the Greyhound Inn and the White Hart are both on the High Street, the Jolly Farmer is on Gold Hill West, Crumbs is a well-liked coffee shop on The Broadway and Sweet Vision bakes in Market Place. All were trading in September 2026.
Chalfont St Giles
Chalfont St Giles is the village people picture when they hear the name: a green, a duck pond fed by the River Misbourne, and a parish church of Norman origin dating from the 12th century with early 14th-century wall paintings. Film fans may recognise it as Walmington-on-Sea in the 1971 Dad's Army film, per its Wikipedia entry. Merlin's Cave sits on the village green, and the Feathers and Durans Kitchen are on the High Street.
Little Chalfont
Little Chalfont did not exist before the Metropolitan Railway. A station called Chalfont Road opened on 8 July 1889, was renamed Chalfont & Latimer in 1915, and the name "Little Chalfont" first appears in parish council minutes on 15 January 1925, per Wikipedia. It became a parish in its own right only in 2007, about two miles east of Amersham. For food and drink there is The Metropolitan pub on Chalfont Station Road, the White Lion on White Lion Road and Ego at The Pomeroy.
What is worth visiting in the Chalfonts?
Milton's Cottage
John Milton moved to this Grade I listed timber-framed house at 21 Deanway, Chalfont St Giles, to escape the Great Plague of 1665 and completed Paradise Lost there. Milton's Cottage currently opens Wednesday to Sunday, plus bank holiday Mondays, from 2pm to 5pm with last entry at 4.30pm (correct as of September 2026). Because it opens in the afternoon, lunch on the green first works well.
Chiltern Open Air Museum
Just outside the Chalfont St Giles boundary at Newland Park, the Chiltern Open Air Museum has rescued and rebuilt 38 historic buildings on 45 acres, from the Iron Age to the mid-twentieth century, with a working historic farm. In 2026 it opens Friday to Monday from 10am, and daily in school holidays; from 25 October it closes at 4pm. Upcoming dates include Harvest Weekend on 26–27 September, a Diwali celebration on 17 October and the Halloween Spectacular on 30 October.
Jordans
Jordans, close to Chalfont St Giles, has the Quaker Meeting House built in 1688, where William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, is buried. The nearest station is Seer Green and Jordans on the Chiltern line, about 1.2 miles away.
How do you get around the Chalfonts without driving?
This is where the Chalfonts catch newcomers out. The villages are close on a map, but there is no railway between them, and the nearest main-line stations sit outside two of the three.
| Village | Nearest station | Trains |
|---|---|---|
| Chalfont St Peter | Gerrards Cross | Chiltern Railways to Marylebone from 19 minutes; also Oxford and High Wycombe |
| Chalfont St Giles | Chalfont & Latimer or Seer Green and Jordans | Metropolitan line and Chiltern (Chalfont & Latimer); Chiltern Main Line (Seer Green) |
| Little Chalfont | Chalfont & Latimer, in the village | Metropolitan line to Baker Street and beyond; Chiltern to Marylebone and Aylesbury |
So a Chalfont St Peter resident heading for the Metropolitan line, or a Little Chalfont resident catching a fast Chiltern train from Gerrards Cross, has a cross-country drive first. The same applies to evenings: dinner at Merlin's Cave for someone living near Gold Hill Common, or a Sunday at the Jolly Farmer for friends in Little Chalfont, means someone driving the lanes afterwards. Short local runs like these are what our village pages cover. See our pages for Chalfont St Peter taxis, Chalfont St Giles taxis and Little Chalfont taxis.
Visitors can do the same in reverse. The Chiltern Open Air Museum itself recommends a short taxi ride from Chalfont & Latimer station, because the nearest bus stop is about half an hour's walk from the entrance. A pre-booked car meeting the train, with the return booked for closing time, turns a public transport day out into a straightforward one.
How do the Chalfonts connect to the airports?
Heathrow is the nearest airport from all three. By road it is around 25–40 minutes from Chalfont St Peter, 27–42 minutes from Chalfont St Giles and 30–45 minutes from Little Chalfont. The Chalfonts are also close to M25 Junction 17 at Maple Cross. Our Chalfont St Giles to Heathrow and Little Chalfont to Heathrow pages have the detail, and the Chalfonts to Gatwick: your transfer options compares the longer trip south.
Living in the Chalfonts: the journeys that come up
For residents, the regular trips are predictable once you have lived here a few months. Chalfont St Peter families often do school runs towards Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield; our Chalfont St Peter school run page explains how a regular booking works. Chalfont St Giles, with its church and green, is a popular setting for weddings, and guests staying elsewhere need getting there and back; see wedding cars in Chalfont St Giles. If you are still deciding where to live, our South Buckinghamshire transport guide compares the Chalfonts with the neighbouring towns.
Planning a day in the Chalfonts
- Morning: the Chiltern Open Air Museum, if it is a Friday to Monday or a school holiday.
- Lunch: Chalfont St Giles High Street or the green.
- Afternoon: Milton's Cottage from 2pm, then the Quaker Meeting House at Jordans, a short drive away.
- Evening: dinner at the Greyhound Inn or the White Hart in Chalfont St Peter, with a car home booked in advance.
Families with children can add child or booster seats on request, and a group of up to seven fits in the Mercedes-Benz V-Class. If you are visiting from Gerrards Cross, our car-free Gerrards Cross guide links a day in the Chalfonts with a day in town.