On the Real Watership Down
On Watership Down
A place you can never grow tired of.
‘The wind ruffled their fur and tugged at the grass, which smelt of thyme and self-heal. The solitude seemed like a release and a blessing. The height, the sky and the distance went to their heads and they skipped in the sunset.
‘O Frith on the hills!’ cried Dandelion. ‘He must have made it for us!’
‘He may have made it, but Fiver thought of it for us,’ answered Hazel. ‘Wait till we get him up here! Fiver-rah!’
Chapter Eighteen—Watership Down
The eight rabbits from the 1978 film take in the view from the top of Watership Down.
I have become very comfortable trekking up to Watership Down by following the Wayfarer’s Walk from the lane to Cole Henley. It doesn’t matter the time of year, the view from the western part of the down is my favourite. This isn’t where Dandelion shouts his immortal words about the vista below him to Hazel (Chapter Eighteen, Watership Down) but I firmly believe it to be the most beautiful part of the hilltop. Up here you realise just how pretty this part of the North Wessex Downs is, especially in the late summer month of August when the fields of wheat and barley all around you have been harvested. The patchwork of yellow, green and light brown may be a cliché to throw out there, but is still extremely attractive.
The panorama from the western part of Watership Down. August 2025.
In the field to your west is the Watership Down triangulation pillar. It apparently used to be adorned with rabbit related graffiti and the like, but on all my visits since 2021 it has been the same as any other trig point. It’s still worth looking over to it though as behind it you can see Hare Warren Down and, in the distance, Beacon Hill on the other side of the A34.
Once you come to the top of the slope and it flattens out, you are immediately struck by the towering presence of the transmitter mast on Cottington’s Hill. It looms behind the beech hanger. Some say it detracts from the ‘natural beauty’ of Watership Down, but I don’t buy that. It’s just a very thin, tall line in the distance. I’ve actually appreciated it on my travels as a handy reference point from which to get my bearings.
The sun comes down over Hare Warren Down, Ladle Hill and Beacon Hill. Watership Down, August 2025.
It is inevitable that the next thing you notice will be how equestrianism has shaped the top of the down. Alongside the footpath are a scattering of wooden fences for horses to jump. From time to time I’ve seen lone riders and even the occasional group take them on. These hurdles aren’t bothersome and add to the character of the place. However, to come to the elephant on the hilltop … the downside to all of the ‘horseyness’ is that the front of the northern escarpment is entirely fenced off. Yes, the northern escarpment, the place where you want to go to get the best view of the fields below you. The place where Dandelion shouted, ‘Come and look! You can see the whole world.’ It all sits behind wire fences and gates.
A 360 degree view from the top of Watership Down.
The land behind the fence is owned by Park House Stables in nearby Kingsclere and is used as a gallops area for horses. The gallops receive a passing mention in Chapter Thirty Nine, The Bridges as Hazel scrutinises the landscape in Laverstoke Park from a punt. So, they’re nothing new, but in Chris Boyce’s photographs from the 1980s, a much narrower area is fenced off in a less intrusive manner.
Whilst I appreciate that the stables have used wire fencing that still allows visitors to get a fair view of the scenery up to Newbury (particularly at the extreme western end of the down), the enclosure can make it feel as if the Watership Down of the novel and film have been stolen from your grasp. You end up feeling like the kid who couldn’t afford the money to watch his local football club play, so he’d watch through the fence with an obstructed view.
Thankfully, all is not lost and you can get a better view by walking through the gate and out onto the gallops…
Gallery
The lane to Nuthanger Farm, photographed from the western edge of Watership Down. April 2025.
Dusk on Watership Down. November 2024.
The down at the western end.
Walking uphill at the western end.
Towards Cannon Heath Down, the combe, Cottington’s Hill and transmitter. August 2025.
The triangulation post, Ladle Hill and Beacon Hill. August 2025.
