Whitehill, Deadwater Valley
A short history Whitehill
Visitors have been coming here for over 10,000 years! Hunter/gatherers from the Mesolithic period have left behind flint tools. Bronze Age people have dotted the area with 42 tumuli and the Romans have left the remains of a road from Chichester to Silchester. Edward I hunted in the Royal Woolmer Forest in the 13th Century.
In 1863 the Ministry of Defence purchased much of the land to create two military camps at Longmoor and Bordon and became the major landowner.
In 1929 the civil parish of Whitehill was formed. This united the two military camps and the village of Whitehill with the hamlets of Hollywater, Deadwater and Broxhead.
Key
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- Route
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- Temporarily closed
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- Restricted use
Directions
From the Forest Community Centre, cross the car park, continue into Varna Road and cross Chalet Hill to the alleyway and enter the pinewoods. Cross the footbridge on the left, continue up the slope to a track. Take the diagonal path down to another track, continue right and cross the ditch, (stepping blocks).
After the last garden keep left, going down to the riverbank. Turn upriver and carefully negotiate the sloping bank. Fork right into Jubilee Park and keep parallel to the river. Cross Mill Chase Road, turn left and re- enter the Nature Reserve by the sign.
Follow the path over a stile and a concrete footbridge. Pass under the power lines, cross a channel and turn right for the Short Walk. Pass an outfall and turn right up a steep path to a stile. Cross Condé Way and turn right. Turn left into Apollo Drive and back to the Community Centre.
For medium and long walks, continue upstream across two bridges and a culvert and turn left away from the main track until a path across the route .
For the medium walk (2.75 miles), turn right, up a hill to a cross-path and turn right. Turn left towards Knox’s Pond and follow the boardwalk clockwise until you reach a large fishing stand. Leave the pond via a track to your left into a car park. Cross Condé Way and turn right and return as for the short walk.
For the long walk (3.5 miles), turn left at the cross-path and then cross the drive. Follow the track up the hill to Alpine Road. Climb the steps on the left and follow the track climbing to the right. Cross the stile into Walldown and follow the track through heathland. Cross the stile and go down the hill. At the bottom, turn left then turn right through rhododendrons. Turn left in the drive, then right and follow the track back to join the medium walk.
