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Iconic hillside lion to be restored by zoo

Sam Read
BBC News, Bedfordshire
ZSL An aerial view of the large white chalk lion which is cut into a green hillside. At the top of the hill trees can be seen and a small building. On the chalk lion, the dots of people can be seen, but they are very small because the picture is taken from a drone high in sky.ZSL
Volunteers regularly scale the steep slope to remove weeds

A hillside lion that is seen as a regional landmark is due to be restored using 1,100 tonnes of chalk.

The animal near Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire is thought to be the largest hill figure in England.

The zoo said maintaining the lion was an "enormous" job because of weed growth, but that new chalk would make the task easier.

Volunteer Anne James, who helped remove weeds, described the project as "fantastic".

SAM READ/BBC Head and shoulders shot of Anne James, wearing a green t-shirt which says Whipsnade Zoo and volunteer on it. She is holding the handle of a rake. She is smiling at the camera. Behind her, blurred out, is the white chalk ground and people working on it. There is a black bucket behind her in the foreground.SAM READ/BBC
Anne James lives in Hemel Hempstead and says the lion has been an important part of her life

Ms James, 74, regularly takes a rake to the steep slope to remove unwanted plants, and was volunteering there on Thursday.

Her mother saw construction of the lion in the early 1930s and her children "loved it".

After two years of volunteering to clean up the lion she said "everybody is saying how wonderful it is to see it again".

SAM READ/BBC A woman in a blue fleece is crouched down with a trowel removing a weed. She is on a steep slope of white chalk. Some people can be seen standing in the background. There is a overcast cloudy sky in the background.SAM READ/BBC
Volunteers use trowels, rakes, axes and hoes to remove weeds

In 2023, the former Mayor of Dacorum Gbola Adeleke said he was concerned the figure was not being maintained properly and he offered to buy it.

The zoo said it was not for sale.

Horticulture team leader Ben Mawhood said maintaining the lion was an "enormous" job.

He said the work "got a lot harder" in the 1980s when the area was declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which meant pesticides could not be used and weeding must be done by hand.

SAM READ/BBC David Jones is kneeling on white chalk holding a pick axe with an orange handle. He is looking at the camera. He is wearing a green t-shirt that says ZSL on it and a purple cap on backwards. In the background green fields can be seen.SAM READ/BBC
David Jones started volunteering after looking at the lion from nearby Ivinghoe Beacon

Volunteer David Jones, 75, said the lion was an "iconic part" of his life and a year ago the lion looked "green" because of the number of weeds.

He said the lion should look "brilliant" once the work was completed.

New chalk was last added in 2018 and the zoo said it wanted the lion to look "spectacular" for next year's 200th anniversary of the Zoological Society of London, the charity that runs the zoo.

The 147m-long (483ft) structure was designed by RB Brook-Greaves and was covered in World War Two to prevent it from assisting German pilots with navigation.

The new chalk is due to be laid this summer.

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