The Candover Valley is a unique rural community in mid-Hampshire, centred around a group of five villages and four hamlets situated between Basingstoke and Winchester.
The aim of this site is to provide information to both locals and visitors about the events, amenities, and local services which are available in the Valley. It is in the early stages of development, and dependent on its users to provide information to go on it, and feedback and suggestions for improvement.
There is a wide range of services being held at churches in the Candover Valley during the Christmas period and New Year. Please see the attached documents for further details:
Alresford Probus is a social networking group for men retired from business, a profession or from military service and welcomes other like-minded men to join in monthly lunch meetings with presentations and discussions.
Learn more here
or by emailing: info@alresfordprobus.co.uk
The joyful sound of church bells will not be announcing services at churches in the Candover Valley during this Christmas period. The bells at all three principal churches have been silent for several years, apart from occasional visits from groups of visiting ringers! There is a great shortage of people interested in ringing bells in local churches. Read more here.
The Candover Valley Gardening Club is approaching its 50th anniversary. It was founded in 1974 to encourage, improve and extend members’ knowledge of all branches of horticulture. It is open to anyone with an interest in gardens and horticulture generally, living within the wider community of the Valley and its neighbouring villages and towns and new members are always welcome.
For further information follow this link – Gardening Club.
Candover Valley Community Store held its annual meeting recently to report on more than four years of successful trading since opening in June 2019, providing valley residents with much needed food and household services. It was a ‘life-saver’ for many people during the past difficult times of the coronavirus pandemic, and operated throughout the lockdown periods providing much needed provisions and support. Grateful thanks are due to the staff and volunteers who kept the store open during this difficult time, and are continuing to provide a much valued service. Further information and more details of the services it provides are available here.
The Oxdrove is the parish magazine for the Candover Valley and the neighbouring village of Wield. It is published monthly and, in addition to information about events at the four churches in the combined benefice, it also provides news and information about a wealth of activities in the Valley and nearby villages, and carries advertising for local services.
Subscriptions are £10 a year for all 12 issues. People who are not subscribers and interested in doing so should contact Ros Partridge at rospartridge1@gmail.com
If you are planning any important road journeys in the next few months, it may be useful to check out if there are any road closures on your route. At this time of year the weather can play havoc with road surfaces, especially in the country areas. Have you been caught out when you come across an unexpected road closure or a diversion? Maybe, if you had known earlier you could have avoided it – taken a different route.
In theory, you can know in advance. Highways England operate an interactive map showing planned roadworks across counties, and even the country. Log on to the map and you can scroll down to local areas, or scroll up for a wider view; or by panning across, and up and down, you can cover a much wider area, maybe even to cover your whole route. The link below takes you to Hampshire County Council’s list of roadworks, scroll up to find the map.
See here for the map -
https://www.hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance/plannedmaintenance#list-works
The joyful sound of church bells will not be announcing services at churches in the Candover Valley during this Christmas period. The bells at all three principal churches have been silent for several years, apart from occasional visits from groups of visiting ringers! There is a great shortage of people interested in ringing bells in local churches. Read more here.
With weeks of different levels of lockdown during the past year of the coronavirus pandemic many people and families have been looking for ways of getting out of the house and seeking some form of recreation. Families living in the Candover Valley are fortunate in having a wide network of footpaths and bridleways where it is possible to take short, or longer walks, through beautiful countryside, even in winter and in relative safety, largely away from the rural roads which are narrow, without pavements, and also, mostly with a 60mph speed limit!
Read more here.
There are three parish councils serving the residents of the Candover Valley. At the northern end of the valley it is Preston Candover and Nutley Parish Council which covers Axford as well as Nutley and Preston Candover. At the southern end of the valley Northington Parish Council serves the residents of Northington, Swarraton and Totford, and in the middle it is the Candovers Council looking after people in Brown and Chilton Candover.
Information about the respective councils and their activities can be found on their own websites:
More information about the role and duties of parish councils in general can be found here.
Activities, events and places in the Candover Valley and surrounding area.
There are many organisations active in the Candover Valley and the surrounding area, and a wide range of places to visit, and activities to enjoy, in addition to many public footpaths giving you access to the countryside and its teeming wildlife. See more information here.
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, has now received further funding from the national lottery to continue its study programme into the wild life of Hampshire’s chalk streams. Among others, the programme involves the study of habitats and wildlife in the Candover stream. Read more about it here, and the latest update report here from Maggie Shelton, the community catchments officer.
The Purefoy Arms, the 18th century pub and restaurant in Preston Candover, is continuing its success under the direction of award-winning chef Gordon Stott, the licensee. It has been awarded two rosettes by the AA in recognition of the outstanding quality and variety of its food. It is one of only three pubs in this part of Hampshire to have gained this award. More information is available here.
Oak Hill Lane, the BOAT (byway open to all traffic) which runs from the Preston end of Bradley Lane (Red Lane) alongside fields to Southwood Farm Lane, is just one of several public footpaths and tracks running through the Candover Valley. It was resurfaced by Hampshire County Council in early 2015. More information about footpaths around Preston Candover can be found here.
Many years ago a former clerk to the Preston Candover and Nutley Parish Council compiled a series of seven circular walks using footpaths in the parish and with links on local roads. Details of the walks can be found here.
Potholes can be a serious road hazard and the state of some roads around the Valley is bad. We need everyone to report the problems. The process is easy, and you can also keep a check on progress on the problems which have already been reported .Please report on potholes here
Organising an event in the area? Starting a new club or society? If you are, we’d like to hear from you. Please contact our editors about a free listing for your event or group on this site.
