Southwood Country Park

About

The park covers 57 hectares of open space and is split into two areas, the east and west sides.

The eastern side of the park covers 27 hectares of natural land including wetlands and the course of the Cove Brook. It also includes the café and field centre, a large playground and car park. There is a combination of older formal and informal paths. We plan to provide more formal paths, similar to the paths on the western side, as we develop the park. These constructed stone all-weather paths are designed for shared use for walking, cycling and to be more accessible if you have a disability.

Covering around 30 hectares, the west side of the park offers informal paths and a 2.4-kilometre formal circular route, linking the Kennels Lane car park with the café / field centre and a path to Southwood Woodland. This side is more characterised by wet grassland and wooded areas and with the neighbouring Southwood Woodland forms some of the headwaters for the Cove Brook with the tributary running along the northern boundary into the eastern side and the Cove Brook itself.

The site is attractive for dog walkers and links to the Southwood Woodland and neighbouring Hartland Country Park and onwards to Fleet Pond and the Basingstoke Canal allow for lengthy walks in a natural environment. We have given consideration towards the safety of dogs by providing dog-proof fencing, protecting boundaries of the park with roads and kissing gates at entrances.

The park is what is known as Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) and is the former Southwood Golf Course. Being a SANG means the land is permanently protected as green public open space, so it can never be built on.

Please visit their website for further details.

There are also regular Wellbeing Walks starting from the Southwood Country Park cafe - for details please see https://www.rvs.org.uk/individual-support/wellbeing-walks/

About Rushmoor Borough Council

Rushmoor Borough Council services include: Council tax, Democratic services, Community parks & leisure services, Environmental health, Housing & benefits support, Parking & roads, Planning & building control, Business & licensing, Town centre regeneration & development. Full details about council services are on the website.