With fine elevated views across the wider landscape, woodland copses, and a new species-rich meadow, Runfold Ridge is an attractive site for local people and wildlife.
Open access
Free car park. Opening times 6am – 8pm all year
Bears Restaurant at The Packhouse is open 9am-5pm on weekdays, and 10am-5pm on weekends.
The land forms the slopes to the Hogs Back and is moderately steep in parts. There are no surfaced paths.
Maintained footpaths - unsurfaced
Well-behaved dogs welcome
Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership
Tongham Road,
Runfold,
Surrey,
GU10 1PJ
The name Runfold has its roots in Saxon English and links to many Surrey towns and villages with a similar ending. “Fold” relates to the clearance of forest for grazing sheep and cattle. The nearby village was a farming community with many surrounding fields used for growing brewers hops in the past.
The Hog’s Back ridge formed part of a line of Second World War defences against a potential land invasion of London, known as the Runfold-Aldershot-Ash stop line. Anti-tank ditches from the 1940s remain in the surrounding area and a pillbox for guarding land and firing weapons can be seen on site.
This 12-hectare Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) was established in 2020. The purpose of this and other local SANGs is to avoid increased recreational pressure on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) from new residential development by providing alternative recreational areas that offer a similar experience to the SPA.
The land was formerly agricultural fields that came out of arable production in 2019. Following establishment of the SANG the site is being managed in accordance with a SANG management plan for the benefit of people and wildlife.
Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership (BVCP) looks after the site on a day-to day-basis and runs community events.
Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership Ranger Team
Email: blackwater.valley@hants.gov.uk
Tel: 01252 331 353
