Watership Down, Hampshire
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Watership Down is a hill, or down, in Hampshire, England. It rises fairly steeply on its northern flank, but to the south the slope is much gentler (an escarpment). grid reference SU497570 (http://www.rhaworth.myby.co.uk/oscoor_a.htm?SU497570_region:GB_scale:25000).
The Down is best known as the setting for Richard Adams' 1972 novel about rabbits, also entitled Watership Down. The area is popular with walkers and cyclists — a bridleway runs along the ridge of the Down — and it lies at the south-eastern edge of the North Wessex Downs Area of Natural Beauty. Other nearby features include ancient tumuli and earthworks, including the well-known Beacon Hill.
Watership Down is accessible via the picturesque village of Kingsclere. Steep, narrow, winding roads meander throughout the neighbouring landscape, and add atmosphere for those who trek up the hill to find the down that inspired the book. Visitors who make the pilgrimage discover that there is little publicity available about the area. There are no signposts nor guide boards on the Down itself, and there is no official guide or visitor information. This is partly because much of the area is privately owned (by Lord Lloyd-Webber), and partly because one of the main themes of the book itself was against development, building and roads. The unique sense of place expressed in the novel can still be found at the unspoiled Watership Down today.
External links
- Hampshire Council Watership Down cycle trail (http://www.hants.gov.uk/cycling/routes/watershipdown.html)
- Photographs of Watership Down (http://www.mayfieldiow.freewire.co.uk/watershp/watermain.htm)
