Newlands Corner is a nature reserve east of

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. It is owned by the Albury Estate. It used to be managed by the

Surrey Wildlife Trust Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) was founded in 1959 as Surrey Naturalists' Trust and it is one of forty-six The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trusts covering Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Alderney. ...

under an access agreement between the estate and

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority. The leader ...

, but is no longer managed by them.

Features

The site reaches with hill-grazed grass slopes below interspersed with trees. There are areas of

chalk grassland Calcareous grassland (or alkaline grassland) is an ecosystem associated with thin basic soil, such as that on chalk and limestone downland. There are large areas of calcareous grassland in northwestern Europe, particularly areas of southern Engl ...

and woodlands. Visible are some of the greatest prominences of the Western

Greensand Ridge The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand, is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it ...

and the site lies on the

North Downs Way The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in South East England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham in Surrey to Dover in Kent, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, through the Surrey Hills National Lan ...

. 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. Newlands Corner was a key location in the crime writer

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

'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 Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

. As a result, Newlands Corner is the setting of the climax of the final scene of the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' episode "

The Unicorn and the Wasp "The Unicorn and the Wasp" is the seventh episode of the fourth series of the revived British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was aired on BBC One on 17 May 2008. Set in an English manor house in 1926, shortly before the ...

". Drove Road at Newlands Corner is a good site in the region for

amateur astronomy Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the Naked eye, unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astr ...

as it is a dark sky site, close to London and its southern satellite towns. With a downhill slope facing south, the viewer faces many constellations such as

Orion Orion may refer to: Common meanings * Orion (constellation), named after the mythical hunter * Orion (mythology), a hunter in Greek mythology Arts and media Fictional entities Characters and species * Orion (character), a DC Comics c ...

and

Gemini Gemini most often refers to: * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Gemini (astrology), an astrological sign Gemini may also refer to: Science and technology Space * Gemini in Chinese astronomy, the Gemini constellat ...

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). The plans spawned an online petition, criticism from the local residents and parish councils in the area, and a "Save Newlands Corner" website. In July 2018, parking charges were introduced, although plans for development of a restaurant, shops, and coach park were halted.

Gallery

Image:Newlands corner snow panorama.jpg, Panorama view south Image:NewlandsPanSnow.JPG, Panorama view south west Image:Newlands Corner, Surrey - pan SE.jpg, Panorama view south east

References

External links

{{Surrey Wildlife Trust Surrey Wildlife Trust Hills of Surrey Parks and open spaces in Surrey