Welcome residents of Sandhurst! You live at the heart of the Blackwater Valley, a rich and varied landscape stretching out both North and South from your home town. There are meadows, woodlands and lakes to be explored, and a wide range of wildlife waiting to be observed!
Sandhurst has for a long time embraced the principles of Respect, Responsibility and Rights throughout its activities and we at the Blackwater Valley Countryside trust are fully bought in! We work with partners along the valley to protect and enhance our natural environment so that all of our communities may enjoy what it has to offer.
Our small grants scheme provides direct funding to volunteer organisations across the valley and we're able to amplify the impact of our membership by accessing grants from various funding organisations. We're grateful to all those who support us and allow us to continue to Make A Difference in Sandhurst and beyond!
If you are looking for places to visit with the kids, the dogs or just to decompress, there are plenty of sites easily accessible from Sandhurst:
Shepherds Meadow has pleasant walks along the Blackwater river and is filled with a variety of wildlife. We've recently helped with the grant application to install a new bridge over the river, working with Bracknell Forest Council. This will be completed later in the year!
Moor Green Lakes is a 90 acres site with circular walks around the lake front. For budding bird watches, the Moor Green Lakes group has a handy guide on what can be seen when here.
Hawley meadows and Blackwater park showcases what the area would have been like 100 years ago, with wet grasslands running along the river. It is an important flood defence in the winter but comes to life in the summer, with many rare plants providing rich hunting grounds for the pollinators! There are flat, circular walks to be had from the car park or from Blackwater station.
When going out in the valley, why not consider leaving the car behind? 
Our Rail to Trail walk takes in some of the sites accessible from Sandhurst, leaving the town on a gentle 6 mile stroll to explore the commons and return either via the Blackwater Valley path or on the train from Blackwater station.
Further afield there is more to be seen, with some of the sites being accessible from Sandhurst station. Check them out here!
Over the past 60 years, the valley has been transformed, from gravel pits and rubbish dumps to the thriving environment it is today.
This hasn't happened without the tireless efforts of a number of volunteer groups across the area and we will continue to support these groups as their work becomes even more important. We're providing grants for new machinery, to help them plant trees and other plants and to erect wildlife boxes for Bats and Swifts.
Near Sandhurst, our sister organisation, the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership, manages the site at Swan Lake and is a key partner in the replacement of the footbridge in Shepherds Meadow.
We'd love to be doing even more, so if you support an organisation that would benefit from a small grant, get in touch today!
Did you know, we have the ability to turn a small membership fee into thousands of pounds of local impact? Our unique position allows us to provide seed funding for much larger grants and apply for monies that our volunteer groups are unable to access.
A recent example is £20k secured to replace the footbridge over the river in Shepherds Meadow, work that will be completed later in 2024.
We've also secured £125k to plant trees in Rushmoor, so roughly £150k of grant monies from just under 200 members!
That means more trees planted, more wildlife boxes and more people enjoying the environment our area has to offer. But to continue our work we need your help! For just £5 a year you can help us do even more in the valley.
Become a BVCT member today, follow us on Facebook and see what we're up to throughout the year!
