On the Real Watership Down
O Frith on the Hills!
‘Now all this time, El-ahrairah was dancing and mating and boasting that he was going to Frith’s meeting to receive a great gift. And at last he set out for the meeting-place. But as he was going there, he stopped to rest on a soft, sandy hillside. And while he was resting, over the hill came flying the dark Swift, screaming as he went,” News! News! News!” For you know, this is what he has said ever since that day. So El-ahrairah called up to him and said, “What news?”
“Why,” said the Swift, “I would not be you, El-ahrairah. For Frith has given the fox and the weasel cunning hearts and sharp teeth and to the cat he has given silent feet and eyes that can see in the dark and they are gone away from Frith’s place to kill and devour all that belongs to El-ahrairah.” And he dashed on over the hills. And at that moment El-ahrairah heard the voice of Frith calling, “Where is El-ahrairah? For all the others have taken their gifts and gone and I have come to look for him.”
Chapter Six—The Blessing of El-ahrairah
Shepherd’s Cottage and Richard Adams
As late autumn drew in at the end of 2024, the shortening daylight, rain and blustery wind meant that my visits to Watership Down became less frequent than I wished. Sometimes I would do no more than drive down the lane that cuts into the Down’s western slope before heading on north towards Burghclere.
The Northern Edge of Caesar’s Belt
My destination is where the treeline meets with the Cole Henley Road, not too far south of Cannon Heath Farm. It was just to the east of there that Holly and the other emissaries to Efrafa crossed on their way south. Whilst I’m not going that far, I will find my way to the spinney where the rabbits listen to Dandelion tell the story of El-ahrairah and the Black Rabbit of Inlé.
Back to the Great Arch
Of all the man-made features within Watership Down, I am always most drawn to the Great Arch, the railway underbridge west of Overton and south of Efrafa. My recollections of it stretch back 47 years to the time I first saw the film at the cinema. I was fascinated by the arch’s red bricks and the train tracks it supported. That was enough for me, though I liked it that the bad rabbit got jumped by the bird here as well.