of the town. It passes over Blackwater railway station, as well as passing over the River Blackwater itself. Aldi, and shortly after a new Lidl supermarket was built opposite Aldi in 2003, taking up most of the town's retail footprint. Blackwater has two public houses, The Royal Swan and Mr Bumble. There are two parades of shops which include food outlets, a pharmacy, a newsagent and a vinyl record store. The closest sizeable town of note is Camberley, which provides many jobs for residents of Blackwater due to its wide range of shops, particularly within The Mall, Camberley. Other nearby towns include Sandhurst, home to the Royal Military Academy, and Yateley. Blackwater is considered a commuter town to these neighbouring settlements, and also to the larger commercial centres of Farnborough, Aldershot, Bracknell, Wokingham and Basingstoke. Sun Microsystems were a major employer in the Blackwater Valley and their UK headquarters were in Blackwater at Guillemont Park in neighbouring Minley, at the M3 motorway junction on the site of the former Guillemont Barracks. Following Oracle's acquisition of Sun in 2009, employees were relocated to Oracle's UK headquarters in the Thames Valley Park. Suburbs There are two suburban villages to the north, Frogmore and Darby Green, which are considered by Hart District council to be districts of Blackwater. Frogmore has its own modern village hall, village green, church and a small shopping parade. Darby Green has a shopping parade (including a Tesco Express) and a small youth centre. There is also a modern medical surgery between the two villages on Frogmore Road. The village of Hawley, which has its own village hall, primary school, church, private leisure centre and equestrian centre, lies less than to the south on the road towards Farnborough. Popular culture A major portion of Wilkie Collins's 1859 novel The Woman in White is set at the house of the character Sir Percivel Glyde, Blackwater Park, in Blackwater, Hampshire. Nearby towns and villages Yateley Sandhurst Camberley Farnborough Crowthorne Bracknell Reading Guildford References External links Blackwater and Hawley Town Council website Villages in Hampshire Hart District