Witley Common
Witley Common is an area of woodland and heath close to Witley in Surrey.
The land shows the marks of ancient ages: Bronze Age burial mounds are found here. It has been used as common land by many generations over the centuries — particularly for grazing, turf-cutting and, during the 16th and 17th centuries, for iron workings.
Witley Common played its part during the First and Second World Wars when the land was used by the army as a training camp (Witley Camp) with up to 20,000 soldiers based there at one point. In the late 1940s, it was gradually restored to its pre-war condition.
Today the common is managed by the National Trust, to provide a mixture of habitats for wildlife, with birch, oak and pine woodland, as well as open heathland. Birdlife includes nightjars and nightingales
It also forms part of a wider designated 'Site of Special Scientific Interest'.
Witley Centre
Witley Common contains a nature information centre, known as The Witley Centre, run by the National Trust.
Built and managed by the National Trust, the centre features a countryside exhibition. The Witley Centre often hosts school groups and children's holiday activities. The area is populated by many rare species and has a broad range of deciduous and evergreen varieties of trees. The area is a water catchment for the upper reaches of the River Wey.
Outside links
- Location map: 51°9’14"N, -0°40’30"W
- Witley and Milford Commons – National Trust
- Ornithologist review