Countryside Parks & Gardens

Snelsmore Common

Snelsmore Common in Newbury is a heathland site with a series of valley mires, surrounded by woodland. It is an important area for ground nesting birds such as Nightjar and Woodlark and is also a SSSI.

Cattle and Exmoor ponies graze here. It is therefore important to stay on paths and keep dogs under close control. This will avoid damage to rare plant communities and disturbance of wildlife and livestock.

There are many footpaths and tracks on the site as well as a bridleway and a right of way for horse riders and cyclists. An area is set aside for picnics and there are toilet facilities.

Car parks are located off Wantage Road (B4494), Newbury.

Greenham & Crookham Common Newbury

After many years as a military site, Greenham and Crookham Common has been restored and reopened to the public. Paths and marked walk routes allow you to explore the heathland as well as taking you round old bomb sites, taxiways and the perimeter of the cruise missile silo enclosure.

The area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and cattle and Exmoor ponies graze here. It is therefore important to stay on paths and keep dogs under close control. This will avoid damage to rare plant communities and disturbance of wildlife and livestock.

Highclere Castle Gardens

Set within a Capibility Brown inspired park, Highclere Castle's gardens are hidden from view. Gravel paths guide the visitor, past the tropical house housing citrus fruits, grapes and a eucalyptus grown from seed by the 7th Earl, to the Monk's Garden and beds planted with roses, scented geraniums, lavender and pinks and walls lined with espalier medlar, quince and fig trees.

Behind the towering yew hedge is the White Garden, added in 1987, where a gate in the wall brings you to the exquisite Secret Garden with its colourful curving herbaceous borders and serpentine paths designed by James Russell in the mid-1960s.