Finchampstead Ridges is a group of small countryside sites nestled in southern Berkshire near to the borders of Hampshire and Surrey. The Ridges itself, with views as far as the Hogsback Ridge in Surrey, is one of the National Trust’s oldest acquisitions, having been in our care for over 100 years.
How to get here
Address: Simon's Wood car park, Wellingtonia Avenue, Finchampstead, Wokingham, Berkshire RG45 6AE
By road: Take the A321 (Lower Wokingham Road) and turn West into the B3348, Wellingtonia Avenue. The car park to Simon's Wood is on the right.
By train: Crowthorne station. On the Reading-bound side of the track, head west onto Duke's Ride. Continue over the roundabout onto Wellingtonia Avenue. Simon's Wood car park is about 0.5 miles on your right.
OS Map: SU83166519
Loved by locals
Finchampstead Ridges was owned by the Walter family, then owners of The Times newspaper. In 1913, following financial difficulties, the estate was broken up; Finchampstead Ridges was purchased thanks to a group of people who raised the money by local subscription and gifted it to the National Trust.
The lands making up Simon's Wood were previously known as the Heath Pool and were acquired by Thomas Coghlan Horsfall, a Manchester philanthropist, after he retired to Wokingham in the 1920s. They were gifted to the National Trust by Mr C G H Simon and Mr R Brooks and were given the name Simon’s Wood at the suggestion of Mrs Joan Rudkin, a very active National Trust supporter who played a leading role in establishing the local supporters group.
Find our Friends of Finchampstead Ridges website here.
Points of interest
Simon's Wood showcases one of the most recognisable features in the local landscape with an avenue of impressive redwood Sequoia trees (also known as Wellingtonia trees), planted in 1863. The course of the very much earlier Roman Road from London to Silchester, believed to be second century and now nicknamed the Devil’s Highway, can still be detected in Simon’s Wood. The intriguing mound at the centre of Ambarrow Hill will drive your imagination crazy wondering what could have caused it - archaeologists have been unable to confirm various theories.