Watership Down, Hampshire

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Watership Down, seen from the northeast Watership Down From Northeast.jpg
Watership Down, seen from the northeast

Watership Down is a hill or a down at Ecchinswell in the civil parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green in the English county of Hampshire, as part of the Hampshire Downs. It rises fairly steeply on its northern flank (the scarp side), but to the south the slope is much gentler (the dip side). The summit is 237 m (778 ft) above sea level, one of the highest points in Hampshire.

The Down is best known as the setting for Richard Adams' 1972 novel [1] about rabbits, also called Watership Down . The area is popular with cyclists and walkers. A bridleway, the Wayfarer's Walk cross county footpath, runs along the ridge of the Down which lies at the south-eastern edge of the North Wessex Downs Area of Natural Beauty. Other nearby features include Ladle Hill, on Great Litchfield Down, immediately to the west. Part of the hill is a 10.37-hectare (25.6-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, first notified in 1978. The hill has a partially completed Iron Age hill fort on its summit, and the surrounding area is rich in Iron Age tumuli, enclosures, lynchets and field systems. Further to the west lies Beacon Hill.

Watership Down is accessible via the large village of Kingsclere.

Watership Down Stud is a horse-breeding establishment owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber and his wife Madeleine Gurdon, a former eventer, [2] who live nearby at Sydmonton Court.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walbury Hill</span> Hill in, and highest point of, the English county of Berkshire

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Hill, Burghclere, Hampshire</span>

Beacon Hill is near the village of Burghclere and Watership Down, in north Hampshire. The hill's name is derived from the fact that it was one of many Beacon Hills in England and beyond. This hill was once the site of the most famous beacon in Hampshire. It is 261 metres high and has one of England's most well known hill forts on its slopes, visible from the main A34 road which passes close by. From there, outstanding views of the surrounding area and much of Hampshire may be obtained. The site is open to the public and managed by Hampshire County Council. It is an 80.7-hectare (199-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest called Burghclere Beacon and a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Hill, Warnford</span>

Beacon Hill, Warnford is a 46.4-hectare (115-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Warnford in Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, and an area of 40.1 hectares is a national nature reserve. There is a round barrow cemetery dating to the Late Neolithic or Bronze Age on the hill, and this is a scheduled monument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Winchester Hill</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecchinswell</span> Human settlement in England

Ecchinswell is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green, in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 295.

Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green is a civil parish within the district of Basingstoke and Deane in Hampshire, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ladle Hill</span> Hill in Hampshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Frith</span> Iron Age hillfort in Hampshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolbury</span> Iron Age hillfort in Hampshire, England

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Hare Warren is a hamlet in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. At the 2011 Census the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green. Its nearest town is Whitchurch, which lies approximately 4.5 miles (7.0 km) south-west from the hamlet. The hamlet is situated in the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydmonton</span> Human settlement in England

Sydmonton is a small village, estate and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green, in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Newbury, which lies approximately 7 miles (11 km) north-west from the village. In 1931 the parish had a population of 139.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampshire Downs</span>

Old Burghclere Lime Quarry SSSI is a 4.61 ha biological Site of Special Scientific Interest at Burghclere in Hampshire, notified in 1979. The Lime Quarry was actively worked until the beginning of the 20th century, and since then has been left to nature, resulting in a unique mix of flora and fauna becoming established at the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydmonton Court</span> Country house in Hampshire, England

Sydmonton Court is an English country house in Hampshire. Built and developed over the centuries, it is surrounded by a 5,000 acre estate, in the parish of Ecchinswell, Sydmonton and Bishops Green, near Watership Down. The house has been listed Grade II* on the National Heritage List for England since 1984, and St Mary's church within the estate is also Grade II* listed. It is owned by the theatrical impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber and his wife, equestrian entrepreneur Madeleine Gurdon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Lawrence's Church, Ecchinswell</span>

St Lawrence's Church is a Grade II listed sacred edifice in Ecchinswell, Hampshire, England, in the rural deanery of Whitchurch, within the Diocese of Winchester, designed by Bodley & Garner, 1885–87, at a time when Ninian Comper was their articled pupil, 1883-1887. It has 200 sittings.

References

  1. Watership Down. Worldcat. 1972. OCLC   906087088.
  2. "Interview - In-Conversation with Simon Marsh (General Manager of Watership Down & Kiltinan Castle Stud)". Secretariat's World. Retrieved 18 October 2021.

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51°18′36″N1°17′17″W / 51.310°N 1.288°W / 51.310; -1.288