Rena and I visited Bedelands Nature Reserve for the first time in late May 2016, less than one month after I adopted her for a group walk organised by the West Sussex Greyhound Walking Group.
Bedelands Nature Reserve
Hankley Common south (Pitch Place)
Hankley Common is a 560-hectare nature reserve near the village of Elstead in Surrey comprising lowland heath and woodland. The site is part of the Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Swinley Forest
Swinley Forest comprises 2,600 acres of Crown Estate land straddling the Surrey-Berkshire county boundary. It boasts woodlands, streams, grasslands and ponds.
Puttenham Common
Puttenham Common is a private estate of woodland, heathland, grassland, wetlands and ponds managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Elstead Common (from Thursley Moat Pond)
Elstead Common is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as are neighbouring Ockley and Royal commons (Walks with Rena post for the latter is here). All are managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust on behalf of the MOD. Elstead and Ockley commons are recognised as some of the finest remaining lowland heath in the south of England and are awash with heather, gorse and bracken. The woodlands on its perimeter are primarily made up of birch and Scots pine.
Chantry Wood
Chantry Wood, just to the east of Guildford town centre, sits on the same greensand ridge that forms part of the North Downs as neighbouring St Martha’s Hill (Walks with Rena post here) and comprises 80 hectares of woodland and grassland.
Ashtead Common
Ashtead Common, owned by the City of London Corporation, is regarded as a prime example of relic wood pasture, valued for its historic landscape and important habitat. Its 495 acres are a mosaic of woodland, grassland, scrub and various wetland habitats including ponds, streams, ditches and springs.
Waggoner’s Wells
Waggoner's Wells in Hampshire consists of three man-made ponds/lakes, which were created in the 17th century by the Hooke family of Bramshott. With evidence of ironmaking in the area, it's believed they were originally intended as hammer ponds, which would have provided water to power machinery used to produce iron, but they appear never to have been used. It's been suggested that they instead served as fish ponds.
Royal Common, Forked Pond and Thursley Nature Reserve fringes
Royal Common, just outside Elstead, is part of the Longmoor Training Area owned by the Defence Estates, which also covers large parts of Hankley, Elstead and Ockley commons. Public access is allowed across the Defence Training Estate provided you adhere to the Surrey Commons Military Lands Byelaws 1978. Army training here (when it takes place) revolves around logistics and minor infantry manoeuvre exercises and you're unlikely to come to any harm, but make sure you follow the instructions of troops if you do encounter any.
Horton Country Park
Between Epsom, Ewell and Chessington, Horton Country Park is a local nature reserve covering 150 hectares, parts of which are used as a golf course, a children’s adventure farm (Hobbledown) and an equestrian centre. It’s a patchwork of fields, hedgerows, woods and ponds and considered to be of great wildlife and historical interest.
Walks with Rena 