Whitchurch Town Council Whitchurch Town Seal "Sigal Magn Villae et Burghi de Whitchurch"

Geography

Whitchurch is located in a shallow bowl in the landscape of the upper valley of the River Test, one of England's finest trout rivers.

About an hour from London's Waterloo Railway Station by train, Whitchurch has excellent rail and road connections. The M4 motorway passes just to the north and the M3 to the south. The transcontinental highway, the A34, skirts the town. These good communications befit a town that prospered in the age of the stagecoach and was originally located where ancient routes crossed at a point where the River Test was fordable.

Modern Basingstoke lies to the east with its offices, shops and industry, historic Newbury is to the north, Andover and Salisbury to the west and Winchester to the south. All of these bustling towns and cathedral cities are no more than a short car journey from a quiet and relaxing base in Whitchurch.

The countryside around Whitchurch is for the most part undulating, chalk and flintstone of the North Downs but to the north and west is an area of outstanding natural beauty including Beacon and White Hills. From the top of Beacon Hill there is a stunning view of Highclere Castle, home of the earls of Carnarvon.

The land is traditional sheep country that helped create the wealth of medieval England and the magnificence of the cathedrals of the sees of Winchester and Salisbury. Rather than sheep the area is now perhaps more readily associated with the rabbits of "Watership Down", as created by local author, Richard Adams, who still lives in Whitchurch.

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For more information on Whitchurch Town Council or its services please contact Catherine Burt, Clerk to the Council, Whitchurch Town Council, The Town Hall, Newbury Street, Whitchurch, Hants, RG28 7DW, E-mail: whitchurchtowncouncil@whitchurch.hants.gov.uk

Comments or feedback on this web site should be sent to Whitchurch Town Council, whitchurchtowncouncil@whitchurch.hants.gov.uk

This page last updated on 22 October 2004

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