Farnborough

Guillemont Track or Thompson's Field

Thompson's Field
Hawley Common
off Minley Road
near Cove
FARNBOROUGH

Telephone: None
Fax: None

Type: Cinder (no longer exists - derelict), 440y, 6 lanes, 6 lane straight

Authority: Hampshire
Ceremonial County: Hampshire

NUTS Name: Farnborough

Electronic Map Links:
Multimap 1:10,000 (Street Level)
Multimap 1:25,000 (Area Level)
Multimap 1:50,000 (Area Level)
Multimap 1:100,000 (Road Level)
Multimap 1:200,000 (Road Level)
Streetmap (Street Level)
Streetmap (Area Level)
Streetmap (Road Map)

OS National Grid Reference: SU 841572
National Grid Reference: 484100, 157200

Paper Maps:
A-Z Berkshire 9G 118
A-Z Hampshire 5E 28
A-Z Surrey 7H 69
OS Explorer Map: 145
OS Pathfinder Map: 1205
OS/Philip's North Hampshire 55 D4
OS/Philip's Surrey 84 C7

Train: Farnborough Main (2M), Farnborough North (2.5M)

Pictures: Please browse the selection here. Most of the pictures were taken in May 2001 when the overgrowth was much denser than in spring 2003. Jack Boswell also has some pictures on Flickr from 2015.

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a free service and so has had to be withdrawn

Please use the Electronic Map links

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Click the picture for a larger view
Most of the pictures were taken in May 2001 when the overgrowth was much denser than in spring 2003. Jack Boswell also has some pictures on Flickr from 2015.
Click here to see the list of pictures for this track.


Click the diagram for a larger view

Other Info:
The track was associated with the former Guillemont Barracks which were situated adjacent to what is now junction 4A of the M3 and in the area now occupied by the Helios Park housing development. The track is however to the west of this and is essentially now part of Hawley Common. The track and ground was built between 1947 and 1949 by the 3rd regiment of the Royal Engineers and is also known as Thompson's Field after their commanding officer - Lieutenant-Colonel G. Thompson D.S.O. O.B.E. It was believed to have been used regularly until 1955 when the then cinder track at Aldershot Military Stadium opened. It was however still used by the Army for competitions until about 1970 and occasionally by the Aldershot, Farnham & District AC training group of Ron Stonehouse that included Christina Boxer and Bernie Ford up until about 1972. The track still exists but has laid dormant for years and has largely been engulfed by nature. The land occupied by the barracks was bought by Sun Microsystems for a new office complex in 1997 and which opened in 2000 and was called Guillemont Park. With Sun being bought by Oracle in 2009 and the staff relocated to Oracle's Reading base, the land was again sold in 2011 and was known as Sun Park but still operated as offices. In 2018, the area was demolished and is now occupied by the Helios Park housing development. In summer of 2001, only what were roughly lanes 3 and 4 of the track were still visible but the other lanes were largely overgrown and there were only a couple of places where the full width of the track was still visible. However by spring 2003, a fair amount of overgrowth had been cut back especially round the top bend and alongside the home straight and the inner curb is much more visible than before. In 2022 the general situation has reverted more back to the 2001 status. The surface of the visible track area is akin to a dirt trail and just about usable for distance running although it tends to be quite muddy in the winter and especially round the first bend where the accessible part of the track is narrowest. Due to the overgrowth it is not possible to see from one side of the track to the other although what was the infield is mainly clear. The only field-event facility still intact by 2001 was one concrete discus circle which was actually technically usable although there was no cage of course. The circle now has been removed although the outline of it is still visible. The remnants of a sand pit could also be found in 2001 at the other end of the track although there is now no obvious sign of it. There is evidence of concrete terracing down the home straight which is the one further from Helios Park. Similarly the low perimeter fence around the track is still largely in place albeit rather fragmented. At the southern end of the home straight there is a slight extension to the straight here and this was presumably where the start/finish line was. There also seems to have been some sort of pavilion by the side of the track here as the stone base of a building is visible and a small building is shown on the OS 1:10,000 map from the late 1990s at this location. There is a Strava segment for the track strava.com/segments/9550351 which has been "run" in 2022. As such, the track is possible to run round but it is now again heavily overgrown and in parts little more than one lane width is clear of over hanging trees and overgrowth. Tim Grose (the creator of this website) has done a YouTube video showing the state of the track in 2022.

Last update: 16/09/2022

Please send any amendments to Tim Grose

UK Running Track Directory
© Copyright Tim Grose 2003