The Woods and the Crossing
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Hazel suspected that if Fiver felt they ought to cross the river, it might be dangerous not to. But how were the others to be persuaded? At this moment, as he was still wondering what to say to them, he suddenly realized that something had lightened his spirits. What could it be? A smell? A sound? Then he knew.
Near-by, across the river, a lark had begun to twitter and climb. It was morning. A blackbird called one or two deep, slow notes and was followed by a wood-pigeon. Soon they were in grey twilight and could see that the stream bordered the farther edge of the wood. On the other side lay open fields.
Chapter Seven — The Lendri and the River
After moonrise, Hazel, Fiver, Pipkin, Bigwig, Blackberry, Silver, Buckthorn, Hawkbit, Dandelion, Speedwell and Acorn assemble to leave Sandleford Warren. After a scuffle with three Owsla members, including Captain Holly, the rabbits slip away into the night. They flee to the south-east keeping the brook to their left and travelling along its southern bank.
On a visit to Sandleford Warren in April 2025, a dog walker approached me, interested in why I was taking photos. He explained he couldn’t understand why the rabbits hadn’t chosen the northern bank as the rabbits would have avoided the Enborne — the narrow river that is the county boundary between West Berkshire and Hampshire — by crossing over on the bridge on the B4640 (old A34 at the time the novel was written) just north of The Swan Inn at Newtown. Of course, I politely smiled, but I wanted to suggest that hindsight is a wonderful thing, particularly if any traveller has no knowledge of the world outside of their home. To me, it also makes sense that the rabbits followed the southern side of the brook, it meant they could not be outflanked by any pursuers. Perhaps I think about these things too much.
Reaching the end of Dirty Ground Copse (out of shot on the right). The treeline follows the brook, curving to the south.
I followed the route taken by the rabbits, beyond Dirty Ground Copse and along the brook treeline as it curved southwards. With the ground becoming increasingly boggy, soaking my feet and almost causing me to lose a shoe, I moved up inside the field, pressing on. I passed through a broken treeline and over the rough track, unaware at the time that I was now trespassing on land outside of Sandleford Park.
The brook disappeared into denser woodland where it feeds into the River Enborne. It was here, among the dead leaves, holly and ‘grassless woodland’ (Chapter Five, In the Woods) that the exhausted rabbits sat and listened to Danedelion tell his first story of El-ahrairah, the rabbit trickster (Chapter Six, The Story of the Blessing of El-ahrairah).
a pathway through the woods. The Enborne is off to the left, out of frame. note the holly tree on the right.
The rabbits are unexpectedly startled by a lendri, badger, and flee through some ilex (holly) bushes in Chapter Seven, The Lendri and the River. Then they come upon their biggest obstacle to date:
‘Hazel came out on the farther side of the ilexes and followed the path round a bend. Then he stopped dead and sat back on his haunches. Immediately in front of him, Bigwig and Dandelion were staring out from the sheer edge of a high bank, and below the bank ran a stream. It was in fact the little river Enborne, twelve to fifteen feet wide and at this time of year two or three feet deep with spring rain, but to the rabbits it seemed immense, such a river as they had never imagined. The moon had almost set and the night was now dark, but they could see the water faintly shining as it flowed and could just make out, on the further side, a thin belt of nut-trees and alders. Somewhere beyond, a plover called three or four times and was silent.’
In Chapter Eight, The Crossing, we learn the rabbits are positioned on the top of a sandy bank, ‘a good six feet above the water. From where they sat, the rabbits could look straight ahead upstream, and downstream to their left. Evidently there were nesting holes in the sheer face below them, for as the light grew they saw three or four martins dart out over the stream and away into the fields beyond.’ Here, the group eventually decide they must cross, though the tired Fiver and the wounded Pipkin (he has a thorn in his paw) are unable to do so. It is only when Bigwig alerts the others to a loose dog in the woods that Blackberry discovers a piece of wooden board. This is used as a makeshift raft for the two smaller rabbits whilst the others swim to safety.
Bigwig is telling you that you need to get across! There’s a dog on the loose and it’s coming your way!
In the woods, I made my way to the point where the brook meets the Enborne. From there I followed it west, probably much too far, in an attempt to find a location that fitted the description given in the novel. I also used Chris Boyce’s photos from 1982 as help. For all of my searching back and forth, from and returning to the meeting point of the stream and river, I never felt entirely satisfied with any particular point. Through the years, the sandy banks have become overgrown with grass, nettles and wildflowers. Plants overhang the banks, which weren’t anywhere near as elevated as I expected. It’s a beautiful wild place. I decided I needed to take a photo of a possible crossing place, and I recall reading somewhere — I honestly don’t recall where — that a fallen tree had come down on, or been dragged over the water there. Whether it is the actual location, I’m not certain. But it’s lovely nonetheless.
West Berkshire on the left, Hampshire on the right. The bank lifts significantly to the left, out of shot.
Access to the location
You can follow the rabbits’ departure route from Sandleford Warren up to the track (an open byway) that separates Sandleford Park from private land. The wood and River Enborne are, as I learned after my visit, on private property. Sorry!