Wellesley Woodlands
- Free parking (1.9m height restrictions at some of the car parks)
- Bins
- Benches
- Surfaced paths including a 1km easy-access trail
- Extensive woodlands with network of waymarked routes
- Incorporating a long stretch of the Basingstoke Canal towpath
- Walks of various length, with longer routes of 10km or more possible
Where you’ll find it…
This is huge place, with several free car parks in the Aldershot area:
Bourley Road, nearest postcode GU11 1PT. Grid reference SU 85615 51455. What3Words: eagles.office.shares.
Fleet Road, nearest postcode GU11 2HL. Grid reference SU 85153 52468. What3Words: nerve.horses.crass.
Laffan’s Road, nearest postcode GU11 2HJ. Grid reference SU 86190 52327. What3Words: sorters.couches.hogs.
Camp Farm Road, nearest postcode GU11 2PF. Grid reference SU 87902 52248. What3Words: improving.papers.lanes.
Update June 2022: Plans are progressing to replace the surface at the Fleet Road car park.
N.B. We’ve given the nearest postcodes, but recommend using the links to look up the exact location. The centre of a postcode may be up to half a mile from your destination.
What you’ll find there…
Wellesley Woodlands
Wellesley Woodlands is a fantastic greenspace for the Wellesley development in Aldershot. Once a military training area, the woodlands have been transformed by the Land Trust, Grainger plc and the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership into an inviting public space. Take a look at the dedicated Wellesley Woodlands website for a detailed map showing all the trails and car parks. There’s a lot to explore, including Duke’s Wood, Lake and Canal Side, Heather Hill and Thorn Hill. Each with its own distinct character.
The whole area is open to the public, for everyone to enjoy. There are well surfaced paths suitable for walkers, runners, cyclists, wheelchairs and buggies. And a wheelchair-friendly footpath, spanning more than 1km, laid out along the Basingstoke Canal from the Laffan’s Road car park.
Sir Arthur Wellesley
So why Wellesley? The woodlands and the development are named after Arthur Wellesley, better known as the 1st Duke of Wellington. He of Battle of Waterloo fame, the Iron Duke himself. A leading military figure with a string of victories to his name, he also served as Prime Minister and was Commander in Chief of the British Army. An appropriate choice then for Aldershot, Home of the British Army.
A colossal statue of Arthur Wellesley, mounted on his faithful charger Copenhagen, stands on Round Hill in Aldershot, just off the A325 Farnborough Road, next to the Claycart Road car park.
Gallery…
If you’d like to contribute to this gallery, we’d love to hear from you. Please send us your pictures via Facebook, Twitter or email.
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- Wellesley Woodlands, June 2022.
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- Claycart Bridge built in 1915. Near the Fleet Road car park, June 2022.
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- The view from Claycart Bridge near the Fleet Road car park, June 2022.
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- A stretch of the Basingstoke Canal, June 2022.
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- Open space at Puckeridge Hill, next to the Fleet Road car park, June 2022.
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- Relics of the past are encountered in Wellesley Woodlands, here an old firing wall. June 2022.
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- And red paint marks the route of an assault course, once used for training here. Photo June 2022.
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- Chalk Farm Lake, Wellesley Woodlands (c) Andy McKenna
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- Wellesley Woodlands (c) Andy McKenna
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- Open space at Wellesley Woodlands, February 2019.
