Aldermaston

Aldermaston is a rural village and parish in Berkshire, South East England, with a population of 927. On the southern edge of the River Kennet flood plain, near the Hampshire border, it is located almost equidistant from Newbury, Basingstoke and Reading. In 2006, the village won Calor's Berkshire Village of the Year. The parish is home to the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), which designs and maintains Britain's nuclear deterrent. Built on the site of the former RAF Aldermaston, the plant was for four decades, on and off, focus of the Aldermaston protest marches. The development of the nuclear plant has barely affected Aldermaston itself, which, apart from increased traffic, has remained a small country village.