[1][2] Because of its elevation, Dunstable Downs hosted a station in the shutter telegraph chain which connected the Admiralty in London to its naval ships in the port of Great Yarmouth during the years 1808 to 1814.

For those who wish to climb the hill from the base, it is possible to do a circular walk from the village of Whipsnade by following the Icknield Way Path and Chiltern Way, both of which are marked on Ordnance Survey maps.

First described by antiquarian William Stukeley in the 18th century,[5] the site contained burials from the late Neolithic to Saxon eras prior to excavation.

[8] The downs are home to a wide variety of wildlife including many rare wild flowers, such as the bee orchid, and butterfly species, like the marbled white and the chalkhill blue.

Areas of the west-facing slope were notified in 1987 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) called Dunstable and Whipsnade Downs.