Frensham Common is a large

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI)

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. It is owned and operated by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

and managed by

Waverley Borough Council Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Str ...

Terrain, plants and animals

Frensham Common is an English SSSI

of which includes two large lakes. It lies almost wholly within

Frensham Frensham is a village in Surrey, England, next to the A287 road, WSW of Guildford, the county town. Frensham lies on the right bank of the River Wey (south branch), only navigable to canoes, shortly before its convergence with the north bra ...

, a

nucleated village A nucleated village, or clustered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement pattern. It is one of the terms used by geographers and landscape historians to classify settlements. It is most accurate with regard to planned settlements: its ...

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

soil narrowly buffered to the north-west, connected by a path. The local road network surrounds the site; the nearest trunk roads are away. The elevation is low but undulating with high points near the Kings Ridge - which bisects the common along a north/south axis - at approximately above sea level (ASL) and nearby, to the south-east, the three Devil's Jumps, the highest of which is ASL. The common supports few streams due to the permeability of the soil, although the ground to the south-east, called the Flashes, is boggy. The site supports several protected species, including

sand lizard #REDIRECT Sand lizard {{redirect category shell, {{R from alternative capitalisation{{R from move ...

smooth snake The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and cen ...

woodlark The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non-bird migrati ...

Dartford warbler The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...

and

nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called bugeaters, their primary source of food ...

. The heathland is at risk of fire when conditions are dry. In 2010, of the common, in very dry conditions, burned. The most recent serious fire was in May 2023 when approximately 10 hectares (25 acres) burnt. The lakes are prone to blooms of

Blue-Green Algae Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteria' ...

in the summer months. Once detected by the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

, the National Trust warns visitors to avoid entering the pond water.

Lakes

Until the construction of reservoirs and a gravel extraction-related lake in the north of Surrey in the early 20th century, Frensham Great Pond () was the largest lake in the county. The Great Pond and Frensham Little Pond () were built during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to provide fish for the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' the offic ...

's estate. They were developed by Bishop

Henry of Blois Henry of Blois ( c. 1096 8 August 1171), often known as Henry of Winchester, was Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey from 1126, and Bishop of Winchester from 1129 to his death. He was the son of Stephen II, Count of Blois and Adela of Normandy, a yo ...

, also known as Henry of Winchester, who established

Farnham Castle Farnham Castle is a 12th-century castle in Farnham, Surrey, England. It was formerly the residence of the Bishop of Winchester, Bishops of Winchester. History Built in 1138 by Henri de Blois, Bishop of Winchester, grandson of William I of En ...

to the north and who owned this and nearby manors.

Tourism

The area is popular with visitors, particularly in summer months. Swimming is supported at the Great Pond within marked areas. Both ponds have car parking, toilets, cafés and picnic areas. Parking at both ponds carry charges, but payment can only be made digitally. During hot weather in 2018 large numbers of visitors flocked to Frensham Common, particularly Frensham Great Pond, causing an anti-social parking problem with cars parked on rural clearways, double yellow lines and also leaving behind large amounts of rubbish. Frensham Great Pond supports a sailing club, with dinghies regularly visible on the water. A hotel adjoins the south side of the Great Lake by the yachting area. North west of the common border is the small village of Frensham, which adjoins two hamlets further across the

River Wey The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton, Hampshire, Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Onc ...

. Less than 5% of the Common is within spurs of the common in Churt to the south or

Tilford Tilford is a village and civil parish centred at the point where the two branches of the River Wey merge in Surrey, England, south-east of Farnham. It has half of Charleshill, Elstead in its east, a steep northern outcrop of the Greensand Rid ...

to the north. Four prehistoric bowl barrows are in a straight line in the centre-east of the common. Villagers termed these the King's Ridge Barrows.

Wartime

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

s based in the Headley area used Frensham Common for training, whilst

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

soldiers used to gallop across the Common. At this time, Frensham Great and Little Ponds were drained as otherwise they would have provided markers for

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

Filming

The common, particularly Frensham Great Pond, is a popular filming location alongside local

Bourne Woods Bourne Woods are situated near Bourne, Lincolnshire, England, and includes Bourne Wood and Fox Wood. Bourne Wood ( National Grid reference TF0821; Co-ordinates: O°24'W, 52°46'N) and Fox Wood are owned by The Forestry Commission and manage ...

and Hankley Common. * Scenes in the 1959 film ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four Detective fiction, crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serial (literature), serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from ...

'' were shot on the common. * Scenes in the films ''

Carry On Jack ''Carry On Jack'' is a 1964 British comedy film, the eighth in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Most of the usual ''Carry On'' team are missing from this film: only Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey appear throughout, wi ...

'' (1963) and ''

Carry On Columbus ''Carry On Columbus'' is a 1992 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Jim Dale, Bernard Cribbins, Maureen Lipman, Peter Richardson and many other British comic actors. It was written by Dave Freeman and John Antrobus. I ...

'' (1992) were filmed on Frensham Great Pond. * Nautical scenes for the 1979 cinema film ''

The Riddle of the Sands ''The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service'' is a 1903 novel by Erskine Childers. The book, which enjoyed immense popularity in the years before World War I, is an early example of the espionage novel and was extremely influentia ...

'' were recorded on the Frensham Ponds. * In 1966 the common was used as a stand-in for the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...

in the 4 part ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' serial '' The Highlanders''. * The lakes were used as a film location for the 1999 film ''The Mummy'', posing as the

river Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

. * ''Snow White and The Huntsman'' was filmed at Frensham Little Pond. * Scenes from ''

The Witcher ''The Witcher'' (, ) is a series of 9 fantasy novels and 15 short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous witcher, Geralt of Rivia. Witchers are monster hunters given superhuman abilities for the ...

'' as well as '' The Witcher Blood Origin'' were also filmed here.

References

External links

Easy walks around Surrey > Frensham Common
from

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority. The leader ...

{{Hydrology of Surrey Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey Parks and open spaces in Surrey Borough of Waverley Lakes of Surrey