River Blackwater, Hampshire
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The River Blackwater is a tributary of the River Loddon and, indirectly, of the River Thames. It rises at Rowhill on the outskirts of Aldershot between Aldershot and Farnham in the English county of Hampshire and runs in a northerly direction to join the Loddon near the village of Swallowfield in the county of Berkshire. Along part of its length, the river forms the boundary between Hampshire and the county of Surrey and between Hampshire and Berkshire.
Rowhill is an isolated remnant of the extensive heathland that once surrounded Farnborough and Aldershot. What is left of the heathland is used by the British Army for training exercises.
The Blackwater Valley forms a green corridor. The peace and quiet of this green corridor has been destroyed in recent years by the construction of the Blackwater Valley Relief Road, a motorway in all but name. A cycle route runs alongside the River Blackwater for most of its length.
The Basingstoke Canal runs east west from the Greywell Tunnel at Greywell to the River Wey. It crosses the Blackwater Valley on an embankment. The River Blackwater used to flow under the embankment in a tunnel. Following the construction of the relief road, the Basingstoke Canal now crosses the River Blackwater via a spectacular aqueduct. Bats, a protected species, that used to live in the Greywell Tunnel, now live in a nearby bat house.
The new aqueduct affords views of the surrounding countryside. In the distance to the south is the Hog's Back. This is where the North Downs narrows. It runs between Farnham and Guildford. Guildford lies in a gap in the North Downs, cut by the River Wey. The Hog's Back Brewery, a small local brewery, lies just off the Hog's Back.
External links
- Blackwater Valley Environmental Justice (http://bvej.freewebsites.com/)
- Fighting injustice in the Blackwater Valley and across the world (http://bvej.o-f.com/)
- Surrey/Hampshire County Boundary (http://www.heureka.clara.net/surrey-hants/)