Farnborough is situated in northeast Hampshire near the boundary with Surrey. The River Blackwater forms part of the boundary. It is located 34 miles (55 km) southwest of London and 16 miles (26 km) east of Basingstoke, directly to the south of junction 4 of the M3 motorway. The town lies at the centre of the Blackwater Valley conurbation, which includes Aldershot, Camberley, Yateley, Sandhurst, Frimley and Farnham.
Farnborough has incorporated several sizeable villages as it has expanded, including North Camp to the south, Cove and Southwood, which are now considered suburbs. It is contiguous with the garrison town of Aldershot to the south and with Frimley to the north. The council of the local government district of Rushmoor is based in the town. The district has borough status and also covers nearby Aldershot.
Farnborough Abbey
The town is the home of St. Michael's Abbey. The Imperial Crypt there is the resting place of Napoleon III (1808–1873), Emperor of the French, and his wife, Eugénie de Montijo, (1826–1920)[3] and their son, Napoléon, Prince Imperial. The Abbey was the home of the Catholic National Library from 2007 until it was relocated to Durham University Library in 2015.[4]
River Blackwater
The River Blackwater on the Hampshire/Surrey border was the location of the first international prize fight between Tom Sayers and John C. Heenan, which took place near the location of the Ship Inn pub.[5][6]
Samuel Cody
Closely associated with Farnborough Airfield, situated between Farnborough and Fleet, is Samuel Franklin Cody. Cody, or Colonel Sam Cody as he was known, was one of the early pioneers of aviation. He died when he crashed his plane on Ball Hill, a site which is now within Qinetiq's Technology Park. A statue was unveiled on the 100th anniversary of his death, 7 August 2013. The statue is sited outside the FAST museum, home of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust, surrounded by commemorative paving paid for by supporters.
RAE
Farnborough Airfield is the site of the historic Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). Part of the old RAE, Farnborough's historic wind tunnels are now listed buildings, two in particular preserved. The first built in 1917 and the other, much larger, in 1935. The latter was used extensively for research into Concorde aerodynamics, Formula 1 cars until its closure in the early 1990s. The tunnels were open to the public during June and July 2014 until the end of the Farnborough International Airshow.