Whitchurch & Ashmansworth

Whitchurch occupies a stretch of the River Test within Basingstoke and Deane and serves as a local centre for surrounding farms and villages. The Silk Mill sits on the river and retains water-driven machinery that reflects the town’s former role in ribbon and silk production. Paths run beside the Test and link riverside meadows to the town’s streets, where small shops and community facilities cluster near the riverbank. The pattern of mills, bridges and old mill channels shapes how the town meets the river at several low crossings.

A few miles to the south-west, Ashmansworth sits on the high chalk of the North Wessex Downs AONB and is noted locally as one of Hampshire’s higher villages. Parish lanes and public bridleways radiate from the village green and connect to ridge-top walks and farmland. Farms, hedgerows and downland pasture define land use, and seasonal changes in grazing and arable work are visible from the lanes. Local governance and village events centre on a small community hub rather than larger town services.