Royal Oak Valley

This site owes it's existence to it being particularly wet throughout the year. It acts as a drainage area during heavy storms and has a stream running throughout the valley, fed from Yateley Common SSSI. Due to this variable water inflow, a mosaic of habitats can be found here, such as wet willow woodland, alder swamp and wet meadow.

The project of conserving the wildlife on the site and restoring the Valley to it's former glory is an exciting project and has been running for several years. Initially the site was cleared of a large amount of rubbish and the pathways opened up and re-instated to encourage people to begin to use the site once more. We rely heavily on volunteers to carry out management within the valley, such as The Yateley Society conservation volunteers and the Balckwater Valley Countryside Volunteers.

• Limited parking can be found at the back of the Royal Oak Public House.
• Entrances can be found at either end, from Handford lane and Reading Road and Old Welmore and Beaver lane, Yateley.
• There is a metalled pathway which runs through the valley, however due to it's location it can become a little wet and muddy following periods of heavy or prolonged rain.
• The site has been newly designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) for 2 types of habitats; alder swamp woodland and a wet meadow which contains a variety of flora and fauna.
• The site is dog friendly.
• There is some disabled access but paths  are prone to flooding.