The Beech Hanger from the West,
in April 1982.
One of the Watership rabbits perhaps? Hazel even? I think not... I think not.
From chapter 48, 'Dea Ex Machina':
'On the ridge between
Hare Warren Down and Watership Down, Doctor Adams stopped the car.
'I should think this would be as good as anywhere,'
he said.'There's not a lot of harm he can do here, if you come to think about
it.'
They walked a short distance eastwards from the
road and Lucy set the rabbit down. It sat stupefied for nearly half a minute and then suddenly dashed away over
the grass.'
The beech hanger from the west.
Is the rabbit above something like Hazel? Well,
no, it's our London friend whom we met back at Cowslip's warren.
Who is this impostor? Some hlessi no doubt.
He wasn’t even going to be here at all, he’s
here purely by chance, and he upstages even me! To think, that photograph was taken nowhere
near Watership Down, nor even anywhere
in the country, and he gets to be the
most popular greetings card from this
website by more than… hrair
again… ah yes, more than ten times!
This is the view of the beech hanger from
about where Lucy set Hazel down on the
grass. The hanger stretches to the right for about twice as far as we can
see here. Just behind you the footpath to Caesar's Belt and the Belt Warren
(named Vleflain in 'Tales from Watership Down') turns southward and down
the dip slope of Watership Down. Another path leads back to the road that
climbs to the summit of the dip between Watership and Hare Warren. It is
there that Dr Adams left his car and it is there that I parked my car
some ten years later. It's now blocked off and access to Watership Down is from
White Hill, to the east. The view from the dip is however really beautiful and
well worth seeing. Of course, I could just bring the view to you....
The view from the Hare Warren Down 'car park'.
This site is now blocked off to cars, but walkers can still get there.
Richard Adams' father was a country doctor just
like Dr Adams. This is not surprising, Dr Adams was an 'affectionate portrait'
of Richard's father. I somehow cannot get the idea that the car was a dark
green Morris Minor out of my head. There is absolutely no evidence to support
this but that doesn't help me much!
Here is that view from Hare Warren Down
I promised you. The houses by the road may be mentioned in 'Tales From Watership Down'.
Click
Bigwig here to return to select another location. It might be best to avoid his ears,
his fleas live there!
