Can you help protect the Hogs Back?
Can you spare 5 minutes to help protect our small corner of natural green beauty?
For over 30 years, Hogs Back Brewery has nestled in the shadow of the Surrey Hills. It’s easy to see why Surrey Hills is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty!
Natural England (the public body responsible for conserving and enhancing the natural environment in England) is currently looking to extend the boundaries of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in several areas, including around our village of Tongham.
If you have ever enjoyed these views and want to save them for future generations, will you add your voice to the Consultation Process by Monday 12th June? Click the link, scroll to the bottom of the page and select the button to jump to the Response Form.
Extension Area
Hogs Back Brewery is supporting the boundary extension of EA 2A to cover the rising land above the river valley that naturally forms part of the Hogs Back ridge. We believe a modest extension to include the farmland, which commands magnificent views, would be in line with the guidelines set out by Natural England.
The Surrey Hills Area of Great Landscape Value (AGLV) runs along the north side of the Hogs Back Brewery. We support the inclusion of this AGLV into the AONB so that both sides of the Hogs Back ridge are protected.
As a business, it is not appropriate for us to comment on other areas of the proposed boundary extension.
Why Hogs Back Brewery is supporting EA 2A
- The area has great natural beauty. Just look at some of our photos!
- It provides a tranquil home to lots of local wildlife. Some of our snaps are in the gallery.
- The area has historic and cultural value:
- Our revival hop garden is one of only two gardens left in Surrey. Surrey was once the pre-eminent hop growing area in England and our hop garden is a reminder of the long-standing local tradition of hop growing. Views like these would have been familiar to locals in the late 18th, 19th and 20th centuries!
- What’s more, we’ve re-introduced the heritage hop, Farnham White Bine, which once grew all around the Farnham area and which is grown nowhere else in the world.
- Our Tap Room was once a working hop kiln and is another reminder of the hop growing heritage of Tongham. There is also an old kiln right in the middle of Tongham, opposite the White Hart pub.
- The Pilgrim’s Way - the path walked by pilgrims from Winchester to Canterbury, where Thomas A Becket was buried – runs through the AONB along the North Downs Way and was also an important medieval trading route.
- In World War II, the Hogs Back ridge formed a strategic line of defence in the event of an invasion. Tank traps were dug on the hill immediately behind the Brewery and you can still see the machine gun post build into the corner of the Tap room, as well as the Pill Box in the copse by the hop garden.
- Many of the Brewery visitors from local built-up areas such as Aldershot and Farnborough can enjoy both the views and access to these beautiful, natural landscapes.
We believe this area has incredible natural beauty, historic and cultural significance and local accessibility, all of which warrant its protection through inclusion in the EA 2A extension.
Consultation Process
You too can add your voice to the Consultation Process at
with your reasons for wanting to protect this beautiful area. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select the button to jump to the Response Form. You can even upload your own photos.
Factors taken into Consideration
Natural England will use a set of factors to help make a judgement:
- Landscape Quality – this is a measure of the physical state or condition of a landscape.
- Scenic Quality – the extent to which a landscape appeals to the senses (mainly, not only, visual senses)
- Relative Wildness – the degree to which relatively wild character can be perceived in a landscape and contributes to its sense of place. (NB all of England’s landscapes have been influenced by human activity over time, which is why we use the term relative wildness).
- Relative Tranquillity – the degree to which relative tranquillity can be perceived in a landscape (i.e. whether an area appears quiet, remote and relatively free from human influence or development).
- Natural Heritage Features – the influence on natural heritage on people’s perception of the natural beauty of a landscape. Natural heritage features formed by natural processes, wildlife, wild flowers and geological features.
- Cultural History – the influence of cultural heritage (such as buildings, archaeology and designed landscapes) on people’s perception of the natural beauty of a landscape and the degree to which associations with particular people, artists, writers or events in history contribute to such perception.
More information about the Consultation Process is available via the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) link below:
Click the link, scroll to the bottom of the page and select this button to jump to the Response Form.
Thank you for helping to protect this important area for generations to come.
