Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs Dunstable and Whipsnade. The slopes have a typical chalk downland flora, and there are also habitats of scrub and tall herbs. The site is also important for butterflies. There is access from the Chilterns Gateway Centre on Whipsnade Road. Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs is a 73.4 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dunstable in Bedfordshire. It was notified in 1987 under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the local planning authority is Central Bedfordshire Council. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and part of it is owned
Whipsnade Zoo enclosure is a surviving feature from the earliest days of the zoo. The collection of animals was boosted in 1932 by the purchase of a collection from a defunct travelling menagerie and some of the larger animals walked to the zoo from Dunstable station. The distinctive white lion hill figure was completed in 1933. During the Second World War, the zoo acted as a refuge for animals evacuated from the Regents Park London Zoo. The celebrity giant pandas Ming, Sung and Tang were among these animals but were soon returned to London to boost morale in the capital. During 1940,