Lightwater

Lightwater

Lightwater war memorial and rose garden
Lightwater
 Lightwater shown within Surrey
Population 6,791 (2011 Census. Ward)[1]
OS grid referenceSU929621
DistrictSurrey Heath
Shire countySurrey
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Lightwater
Postcode district GU18
Dialling code 01276
Police Surrey
Fire Surrey
Ambulance South East Coast
EU Parliament South East England
UK ParliamentSurrey Heath
List of places
UK
England
Surrey

Coordinates: 51°21′02″N 0°40′02″W / 51.3506°N 0.6672°W / 51.3506; -0.6672

Lightwater is a town in the Surrey Heath district of Surrey, England, about 27 miles (43 km) south-west of London. Immediately surrounding towns and villages include Bagshot, Deepcut, Windlesham, Camberley, and West End, Woking. It is bounded to the north-west by the M3 motorway and to the north-east by the Lightwater bypass. To the south-east it is bounded by the "Red Road" (B311), while to the south-west there are vehicle-testing tracks owned by the Ministry of Defence.

History

An 1890 map of the locality.

Development

Prior to development, the natural vegetation was part of the Surrey heathland as seen in Bagshot and Chobham Common. The region has been inhabited since pre-historic times with tumuli in the heathland to the south of the village.

In modern times, Lightwater grew as a place with holiday homes in a chalet style for people living in London. Since 1960 it has grown rapidly, with housing estates proliferating in the area just north of Red Road and the military ranges around Greyspot.

Facilities

The town has full medical facilities and veterinary surgery, a library, pubs, a post office, a range of shops and a petrol station.

Transport

Despite Lightwater being larger in size, the nearest railway station is at Bagshot. This reflects the fact that Bagshot used to be a more important town as a staging post on journeys from London to Southampton and the West Country. Lightwater has grown in size as a dormitory settlement in recent times. In the adjacent 1890s map of the area, Bagshot is a notable town while Lightwater is noted as just a farm.

Lightwater Country Park

Lightwater has its own country park, with some 100 acres (0.40 km2) of heathland, complete with "nature trail", together with a leisure centre and visitors centre.

The park has a view point, called High Curley, which gives views of about 250 degrees. From this point Bracknell, Ascot Racecourse, the London skyline and Bagshot Park can be seen to the west of the M3.

Towards the north-east, planes landing at Heathrow can be spotted, together with the high -rise buildings of the City of London and Canary Wharf. To the east, the taller buildings of Woking are visible, as also the North Downs.

Sport

The local senior rugby club is Lightwater Rugby Club.[2]

The largest local junior badminton club, Swifts, is accredited as a Badminton England Premier Club and is based at Lightwater Leisure Centre.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Surrey Heath Ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "Lightwater Rugby Club".
  3. ↑ "Swifts Junior Badminton Club".
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