Greenham Common
Newbury
Children will enjoy visiting the control tower on this walk.
The paths of the old airfield are straight, flat and well surfaced.
The Basics
Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Distance: 4.6 km / 2.9 miles
Terrain: Flat, firm paths.
Pushchairs: This route is suitable for pushchairs.
Dogs: Dogs are welcome on this walk, but check signage for areas where they can roam freely and areas where birds are nesting.
Refreshments: Greenham Control Tower Café.
Toilets: There are toilets at the control tower.
Public Transport: There is no public transport to this location unless you enter via Greenham Business Park.
Parking: Greenham Control Tower car park off Burys Bank Road, free (Postcode: RG19 8BZ - W3W: ///force.energy.smiles)
There are great views of the common from the control tower
Greenham Common is a thriving open space full of yellow gorse and shallow pools. There are signs all over the common of its previous life as an RAF base and its controversial role it played in the Cold War. At the beginning of the walk, you can visit the aircraft control tower run by a team of knowledgeable volunteers. There is plenty to learn inside about aviation history, as well as panoramic views and a café on the ground floor. Other points of interest around the common include the ‘fire plane’ and the cruise missile bunkers. The site is entirely flat with long, straight and well surfaced paths that also make this an outstanding place for off-road family cycling.
The Route
After exploring the control tower (Tues-Fri 10-3, Sat 9-4, Sun 10-4, free - donations welcome), go through the main gate and head out onto the common. Turn immediately right. Follow the compacted gravel path past pools, benches, gorse and heather until it begins to bend to your left.
Stay with the path as it bends, and then ahead of you, six huge mounds that were once used as bunkers to house cruise missiles during the Cold War will come into view. The bunkers are still off limits to the public. Star Wars fans may recognise them as a filming location from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Bear left when you reach the bunkers and walk directly beside the fence.
Just after the end of the fence and the car park, look for a path on your right. This path will be slightly less well surfaced and will have the common to the left and trees in a deep gully to your right. Keep straight and then follow this path and it begins to bend off to your left. Soon after the bend, you will spot the ‘fire plane’ standing in a pool of water. This replica plane was used by fire crews during their training. Keep the plane to your right and complete the curve by heading back in the direction of the main path.
At the main path, turn right and walk in a straight line. Along this section, Greenham Business Park will be behind the embankment to your right.
Continue until you reach a wide intersection with a large tarmac area in the middle. Turn left here and walk across the tarmac. When you reach the compacted gravel path on the other side, turn left and walk back to the control tower.
There are lots of other paths you can explore into Crookham Common if you want a longer walk, and with bikes, you can cover a distance of minimum 6 kilometres on straight, flat well-surfaced, off-road tracks.
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Did you know?
In 1981, angered by the UK’s decision to house cruise missiles, a group of women marched to Greenham and set up the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp. In the years that followed they staged, protests, demonstrations and many sabotage attempts. In 1987 US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and eventually the missiles were removed from Greenham. The women stayed, however, and used the base as a continuing protest against nuclear weapons. The last of the women left in 2000 and the site no longer belongs to the military.
If you enjoyed this walk…
…try this one at Blackbushe Airport where more disused runways make excellent bike tracks.
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