The Dogging Woods near Rushmoor Road
People have been caught dogging in woodlands on Army land owned by the Ministry of Defence, near the British Army’s headquarters in Aldershot.
The woodlands are being developed as part of the Aldershot Urban Extension. Approved back in July 2013 by Rushmoor Borough Council the Aldershot Urban Extension, which is also known as Project Wellesley, will add up to 3,850 new homes to the area.
The developer in charge of Project Wellesley is Grainger, who were appointed by the Ministry of Defence, which owns the land on which the urban extension will be built.
Grainger bosses have stated that rangers have spotted people engaging in sex acts, in broad daylight, off Rushmoor Road, in the area known as the Wellesley Woodlands.
However, the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership (BVCP), which manages the woods, has denied knowledge of such activities, with its manager Steve Bailey telling the local paper: ‘We’re not aware of anything happening.’
The Car Park next to The Duke of Wellington Monument
We got in touch with our contacts in the area and asked them what was going on. One local dogger, who gave his name as Tattooed Tim, confirmed that he knew of dogging during the day in Wellesley Woods. However, he said it still did not compare with the regular goings-on at the dogging hotspot in the woods behind the Duke of Wellington monument just outside the town centre, as there was a convenient large car park adjacent to the monument. Tim said that the woodland here was public, and not owned by the army.
He also said that there were regular dogging in Hampshire meetings throughout the county, and that they primarilly attracted a crowd aged 40 plus.
Meantime, a spokesman for the MoD said: ‘Members of the public are allowed on to certain areas of the military estate in the Aldershot area, as long as they comply with the by-laws governing that access.”
