I remember the copy of Watership Down that sat heavily on a shelf in my secondary school library. Occupying a sturdy slipcase, the book cover was emblazoned with the beautiful painted artwork of John Lawrence. I never looked inside and today that is something I regret: the Lawrence drawings and paintings I have seen online are stunning.
I’ve been on top of Watership Down just after the sun went down in autumn, and briefly saw some stars. But I’d never watched the sun go down behind Ladle Hill from the Down. It was something I’d hoped to see at various points since last autumn, but opportunity never presented itself, or cloud cover, rain and strong winds made things impossible.
Ladle Hill is just a fringe location in Watership Down, mentioned in Chapter Fifty, And Last, simply as the hill behind which the sun goes down. From the upper western edge of the Down, close to the triangulation pillar, you can look over to Ladle Hill and relive that moment.
The walk from the Sandleford Warren site to the site of the River Enborne crossing is one of my favourites across the entire Watership Down landscape. It was a route I followed again in late February 2026.
It was a largely uneventful stroll but reminded me of a niggling detail that had previously come to light last summer: it is slightly challenging to reconcile Richard Adams’ description of where the rabbits enter the woods in relation to the current geographical reality.
Cannon Heath Down and Watership Down: February 2026Sunday 22nd February 2026Whilst compiling this entry I decided to look at a 1968 land usage survey from Ordnance Survey. The overgrown combe where General Woundwort assembled his Efrafans prior to the assault on...
On the second night of their journey away from Sandleford Warren, Hazel’s rabbits make their way through the trees, craters, heather and heathland of Newtown Common in northern Hampshire. After an exhausting, tense and troubled night, they finally emerge into open fields close to High Wood and the surroundings of Cowslip’s snared warren.
Looking north from the top of Watership Down, up and over Nuthanger Farm, the most noticeable feature in the middle distance is a sizable cluster of light coloured industrial units some four miles away. These modern structures were not present when Richard Adams wrote Watership Down. Instead, the buildings that previously stood on the site were enclosed behind security fencing and barbed wire. They served as the main accommodation, technical and administrative units for United States Air Force (USAF) personnel on the southern flank of the infamous RAF Greenham Common airbase.