UK Nature and Environment

A new nature reserve has been created in Surrey, encompassing an area covering more than 2,000 hectares of land. Natural England has declared the creation of a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in the green space surrounding areas such as Guildford, Haslemere, Godalming and Farnham, which will now be known as Wealden Heaths NNR.

This nature reserve will span across 2,765 hectares of land, mostly in the south of Surrey, but also with regions in Hampshire and West Sussex. This encompasses Thursley Common, a 350-hectare nature reserve known for its winding boardwalk and stunning views, which has been renamed Wealden Heaths.

Natural England has described Thursley Common as "one of the largest remaining fragments" of the Surrey heathland, which was once a much more extensive area of land which could be found in across the county. This is the only area of land included in the NNR which was already designated as a nature reserve - meaning that the remaining more than two thousand hectares of green land in Surrey and surrounding areas will be able to reap the benefits of being classed as such for the first time.