Midvale Ridge

The Old Golf Course on Boar's Hill with Oxford's spires in the distance

The Midvale Ridge is a natural region in South Central England formed by a band of low-lying limestone hills that run from southwest to northeast, from Swindon to the Vale of Aylesbury. It has been designated as National Character Area 109 by Natural England, the UK Government's advisors on the natural environment.

The Midvale Ridge crosses the counties of Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It is surrounded by the lowlands of the Oxfordshire clay vales and offers good views over the local countryside. The area is dominated by agriculture with a mixed arable/ pastoral farming landscape. Cereals are the most important arable crop.[1]

The main settlements are the town of Swindon in the west, and the city of Oxford, in the centre. Otherwise the area is relatively sparsely populated with small nucleated villages along the crest of the ridge and along the springline. Soils comprise a mix of heavy rendzinas, stagnogleys and lighter sandy brown earths with small patches of sandy soils.[1]

The area has a number of important geological sites and has yielded fossils of international importance, including the holotypes for several ammonite species and several species of prehistoric sponges known only from the Faringdon area.[1]

Principal summits

Hills within the NCA with more than 30 metres of prominence are listed below:[2]

Hill Elevation Prominence Grid reference
Muswell Hill 198 m (650 ft) 126 m SP641153
North Hill 190.3 m (624 ft) 39.1 m SP654141
Quainton Hill 185.8 m (610 ft) 89.7 m SP750213
Shotover Hill 171 m (561 ft) 107 m SP563062
Bunshill 165 m (541 ft) 46 m SP784213
Wytham Hill 164.3 m (539 ft) 94.9 m SP458082
Pickett's Heath 164 m (538 ft) 86 m SP482029
Lodge Hill 164 m (538 ft) 80 m SP731165
Badbury Hill 162.4 m (533 ft) 72.1 m SU261947
Hurst Hill 159 m (522 ft) 32 m SP476041
Ashendon Hill 157.6 m (517 ft) 74 m SP703140
Faringdon Hill 153 m (502 ft) 46 m SU297956
Dorton Hill 151 m (495 ft) 57 m SP680127
Blunsdon Hill 148 m (486 ft) 48 m SU144900
Okus Hill 148 m (486 ft) 34 m SU149835
Waddesdon Hill 147 m (482 ft) 53 m SP758153
Beckley Hill 141 m (463 ft) 46 m SP562105
Red Hill 134 m (440 ft) 31 m SP585073
Hannington Hill 127.3 m (418 ft) 33.9 m SU172926
Windmill Hill 102.4 m (336 ft) 37.8 m SU552984

References

  1. ^ a b c 109 Midvale Ridge at www.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 7 Oct 2013
  2. ^ https://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/

51°43′N 1°17′W / 51.71°N 1.28°W / 51.71; -1.28


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