The Iron Tree
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‘I’ve got a plan,’ said Hazel. ‘If it works, it’ll finish Woundwort for good and all. But I’ve no time to explain. Every moment counts now. Dandelion and Blackberry, you come with me. You’re to go straight up out of this run and through the trees to the down.
‘Then northwards, over the edge and down to the fields. Don’t stop for anything. You’ll go faster than I shall. Wait for me by the iron tree at the bottom.’
Chapter Forty Four — A Message From El-ahrairah.
Fleeing Cowslip’s insane death cult, the rabbits head south. Although it is a good three miles to the base of Watership Down. Adams moves rapidly through this leg of the journey, making reference (Chapter Eighteen, Watership Down) to the group wandering ‘fearfully in the deep woodlands west of Ecchinswell’ and being attacked by rats in ‘a Starveall, or lonely barn’.
We subsequently learn that ‘When Fiver said the iron tree was harmless they believed him.’ Having passed under or near to this pylon, the rabbits come to the foot of Watership Down’s northern escarpment.
This is a good point to examine the landscape immediately underneath Watership Down given that so many of the book’s most important moments occur here. The location is dominated by what Adams describes as ‘the great field at the foot of the escarpment’ (Chapter Forty Five, Nuthanger Farm Again). This is a large arable field crossed by a line of pylons that come in from Kingsclere to the north-west and exit in the south-west corner, before ascending onto Ashley Warren Down and heading due west over the A34.
The field’s north-western corner sits next to a crossroads. One lane runs north to Ecchinswell, south up to the ridge dividing Watership Down from Ashley Warren Down and on to Cole Henley. The other lane is busier, coming from Sydmonton in the west to Kingsclere in the east. It is on this latter road — roughly at the midway point of the great field’s length — that an unsigned turning marks the entrance to the lane that leads up to Nuthanger Farm.
The iron tree features in the film representation of Fiver’s vision after Hazel is shot … ‘Bright Eyes’ and all.
Back to the great field and its pylon line. In the book, Adams makes specific references to one particular pylon without always being completely clear as to which. The most helpful reference comes in Chapter Forty Five as Hazel, Dandelion and Blackberry emerge from ‘the belt of hawthorn and dogwood where the pylon stood’. This sounds very much like the westernmost of the trio of pylons. By my initial reckoning, this was, I thought, the same pylon identified by Chris Boyce on his 1983 visit to the field.
However, doubts soon began to appear in my thoughts as Hazel, having crossed the field with his two companions, has Blackberry lie low on the nearside grass bank opposite the narrow lane up to Nuthanger Farm. Blackberry then says, ‘But as far as I can see, I may have to run from here to the iron tree without a check. There’s no cover.’ Would, I reasoned, Blackberry be making reference to Boyce’s pylon or the one that was right behind him in the field? The central pylon of the three. It was a logical doubt given you can pretty much draw a straight line from Nuthanger Farm to the end of the lane, onto the central pylon and up to the beech hanger on Watership Down. Also, I had memories from the film of Blackberry (rather than Dandelion) running straight over the road and into the field at the end of the lane. Perhaps it’s telling of my human thought processes that a straight line seems the most obvious route for a anthropomorphic rabbit to take whilst being pursued by a rather angry dog! However, as the novel doesn’t give us a hole in the hedgerow, a dog isn’t going through!
So how did Blackberry get into the field? Re-reading Chapter Forty Seven, The Sky Suspended, the text states ‘Blackberry hopped deliberately into the road and sat up. Seeing him, the dog yelped and thrust its weight against the hedge. Blackberry ran slowly along the road towards a pair of gates that stood opposite each other further down. The dog stayed level with him. As soon as he was sure that it had seen the gate on its own side and meant to go to it, Blackberry turned and climbed the bank. Out in the stubble he waited for the dog to reappear.’
Despite having driven down the Sydmonton to Kingsclere road on a fair amount of occasions since 2020, I had no recollections of there being ‘a pair of gates that stood opposite each other further down [westward] from the lane to Nuthanger Farm. Google Street View came to the rescue and I was able to identify two blocked gaps in the hedgerows from an image taken in 2010. Blackberry knew exactly what he was doing, the entrance here to the great field was in direct line with the iron tree. Chris Boyce was right and I should never have doubted him.
The old gateways on the Kingsclere to Sydmonton road. The pylon on the right is the one in line with Nuthanger Farm, not the Iron Tree.
Another difference between the film and the book is that the latter has both Dandelion and Blackberry luring Bob the dog across the great field and up onto Watership Down. In the movie, Blackberry passes a metaphorical baton to Hyzenthlay at the base of the iron tree before he hides against one of its legs. You can see poor Blackberry shaking in fear with the dog almost upon him before Hyzenthlay disturbs some partridges and attracts Bob’s attention.
Blackberry heads to ground at the iron tree whilsy Hyzenthlay gets ready to lure the dog up onto the escarpment.
Gallery
The iron tree at sundown.
The treeline and Watership Down seen from the iron tree.
Looking along the pylon line from the iron tree.
Looking up inside the iron tree.
Fiver’s vision of the same scene, as shown in the film.
Access to the location
Let’s be honest, the iron tree probably should not be publicly accessible. I took the photos on this page at sunset during a wonderfully pleasant Sunday evening in March 2025. I parked up in the entrance to the field on the quiet lane coming down the escarpment from Cole Henley, passed between the hedge and the metal gate, and made my way down the tractor paths with my camera. I left with nothing but a few images. If you do ever seize the moment to park here also look across to the field on the other side of the lane. There always seem to be fallow deer, pheasants and partridges quietly going about their business as Frith goes down behind Ladle Hill. Just be mindful that these fields are part of a working farm, and whilst the workers may be used to sightseers, they still need to come and go from their fields.