Fleet, Hampshire (original) (raw)
Fleet is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located about 40 miles southwest of London. It is part of the Hart District which had a population of 86,700 according to the 2001 census.
Fleet can be reached from London or from Basingstoke (a town a few miles to the west) via the M3 motorway. It can also be reached by train from London's Waterloo station or from Basingstoke. There are small airports nearby at Blackbushe and Farnborough. The Basingstoke Canal connects Fleet to Basingstoke and, in the other direction, London via the River Wey navigation but is no longer used for transport.
Immediately surrounding towns and villages include Church Crookham, Crookham Village, Winchfield, Dogmersfield, Crondall, Ewshot, and Hartley Wintney. Elvetham Heath is a new mini-town built in Fleet.
Fleet is administered by Hart District Council and Hampshire County Council. The parliamentary constituency is Hampshire North-East and the current member of parliament is the Rt. Hon. James Norwich Arbuthnot who is a member of the Conservative Party.
The Fleet Pond nature reserve is a notable beauty spot. The biggest events in the town's calendar are the summer carnival and the switching on of the Christmas lights in December.
Fleet is unusual for a town of its size in that it is not on a major trunk road. This is because it developed after the construction of the London and South Western Railway, which opened in 1840. There are thus few old buildings in Fleet, with many of the Victorian buildings in the town centre having been replaced in the period following the Second World War.