Part 6: The last Line of Defence
Swinley MTB Trails If you feel like raising your pulse and testing your skills, Swinley Forest just south of Bracknell (OS grid ref: SU 877 661) offers 24km of green, blue and red rated, all-weather mountain bike routes. There’s a café, bike shop and bike hire centre on site too, and the forest itself is a wildlife Special Protection Area with populations of rare nesting birds.
Caesar's Camp This late Bronze Age/Iron Age castle sits on a natural defensive promontory halfway between Farnham and Aldershot, and is ringed with multiple ditches and banks to create formidable fortifications. Recent military and quarrying activity have chewed up some of the defences, but it’s still worth a detour off the route, particularly if you fancy enjoying some great views of the surrounding countryside.
Farnham Castle Farnham Castle is a classic ‘shell keep’ motte and bailey castle with a well-preserved central wall and causeway, and a palace hall built into the outer ring. It was built and occupied as an admin base and staging post by the politically powerful bishops of Winchester and Guildford who continued to use it until 1956. It also served as a centre for camouflage research in WWII. It’s recently been revamped as a beautiful wedding and conference venue, but guided tours are still available. 69
