Newlands Corner
Coordinates: 51°13′58″N 0°30′28″W / 51.23278°N 0.50778°W
Newlands Corner is a picnic site and beauty spot on a ridge of the Albury Downs, part of the North Downs
Features
The site reaches 567 feet (173 m) with hill-grazed grass slopes below interspersed with trees on the A25 about 4.5 km (3 mi) east of Guildford in Surrey with car park and on footpaths and cycle paths in all directions. Together with the Silent Pool (2 km (1.2 mi) to the east) it forms part of the privately owned, Duke of Northumberland's, Albury Estate SSSI. Surrey County Council have an Access Agreement with the Albury Estate, signed in 1994 and amended in 2007, which provides for public access to the area under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. Surrey County Council's management responsibilities for the site, mainly relating to access, have been contracted to the Surrey Wildlife Trust.[1] Responsibility for conservation of the site remains with the Albury Estate.
There are areas of chalk grassland and woodlands. Visible are some of the greatest prominences of the Western Greensand Ridge and the site lies on the North Downs Way. There are 129 ancient yews with a girth over 3.5m (over approx 500 years old) with some over 6m girth (probably at least 1000 years old) on the northern wooded slope. Some trees are so old the centre is hollow and the whole tree can be walked through. [2]
Newlands Corner was a key location in the crime writer Agatha Christie's disappearance in December 1926. Her car was found in a bush overhanging a chalk pit at Newlands Corner, at the bottom of the south side of the hill. She was found some days later having checked in under an alias at a hotel in Harrogate. As a result, Newlands Corner is the setting of the climax of the final scene of the Doctor Who episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp".
Drove Road at Newlands Corner is also a regionally good site in the county for amateur astronomy, a close dark sky site to the centre of London within the satellite towns belt so none of which is as pronounced as the 'Dark Skies Park' of Kielder Forest within the Northumberland National Park. With a downhill slope facing south, the viewer faces many constellations such as Orion and Gemini in winter. Once or twice a year the Guildford Astronomical Society and other local societies hold public events at Newlands Corner with about 25 telescopes and 150 members of the public in attendance .
Future Plans
In October 2015, Surrey County Council announced the first stage of plans to cut funding of Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) which has resulted in new plans to bring in car parking charges and further plans to develop the site. The plans have spawned an online petition, drawn criticism[3] from the local residents and parish councils in the area, and a “Save Newlands Corner” website.[4]
Gallery
-
Panorama view south
-
Panorama view south west
-
Panorama view south east
References
- ↑ "Newlands Corner & Silent Pool". Our Reserves. Surrey Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
- ↑ http://www.ancient-yew.org/userfiles/file/NewlandsCornerMerrowDowns.pdf
- ↑ "Newlands Corner plans branded 'disgusting and great shame': YOUR views on parking charges". Get Surrey. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ↑ "Save Newlands Corner". Retrieved 14 October 2016.
