Blewbury Downs South East CTA (Conservation Target Area) the Berkshire Downs Area to the South East of Blewbury

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Blewbury Downs South East CTA (Conservation Target Area) The Berkshire Downs area to the south east of Blewbury. The area takes in the steeper chalk slopes and extends into Berkshire as far as Streatley. Joint Character Area: Berkshire and Marlborough Downs Landscape Types: Wooded Downlands Geology: Chalk Topography: Steep banks on the Berkshire Downs escarpment and dry valleys that cut into the escarpment. Area of CTA: 1961 hectares Biodiversity: • Chalk Grassland: extensive areas along banks throughout the area. Some restoration work has also taken place. • Lowland Mixed Deciduous Woodland and Beech Woodland: One large site in Oxfordshire with both types of woodland. There is also woodland at Streatley and some plantations. • Species: Stone curlew target area. An important area for butterflies. An important area for arable wildflowers. Access: The area is crossed by the Ridgeway and other byways and bridleways. It includes the National Trust land at Streatley. Archaeology: Crossed by the Devil’s Ditch and Grim’s Ditch. There is a Roman Temple on Lowbury Hill. Oxfordshire Biodiversity Action Plan Targets associated with this CTA: 1. Chalk (lowland calcareous) grassland - management 1, restoration and creation. 2. Arable Field Margins (and arable in-field options) – management and creation (with particular emphasis on management of farmland for stone curlew, other farmland birds and arable wildflowers). 3. Woodland – management. 1 “Management” implies both maintaining the quantity, and maintaining and improving the quality of existing BAP habitat and incorporates the following target definitions: “Maintaining extent” and “Achieving Condition”. Cholsey Blewbury Aston Tirrold Moulsford Streatley Compton Goring Area of BAP habitat present in CTA (from TVERC BAP Habitat GIS layer 5/2010) and 2015 BAP Habitat Targets for this CTA Coastal Blewbury Lowland Lowland Wood - Lowland Lowland and Eutrophic Downs Lowland Lowland Beech Mixed Wet Pasture Traditional Calcareous Dry Acid Floodplain Standing Reedbeds Meadows Fens and Yew Deciduous Woodland and Orchards South East Grassland Grassland Grazing Waters Woodland Woodland Parkland CTA Marsh Area of BAP Habitat in 52.9 38.7 47.9 0.1 CTA (ha) % of CTA 2.7 2.0 2.4 0.0 area % of county 7.2 4.9 1.0 0.0 resource Wood - Coastal 2015 Eutrophic Pasture Lowland Lowland and Traditional Lowland Standing Lowland and BAP Calcareous Dry Acid Floodplain Reedbeds Native Woodland Orchards - Meadows Waters – Fens Parkland No targets targets Grassland Grassland Grazing No targets Targets not for 2015 Marsh for 2015 divided by (hectares) CTA Maintenance (to be - - - - - - - - - - determined) Achieving Condition (to be - - - - - - - - - - determined) Restoration 12 - - 3 - - Creation 2 - - 22 - - .

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Blewbury Neighbourhood Development Plan Housing Needs Survey: Free-Form Comments This Is a Summary of Open-Ended Comments Made in Response to Questions in the Survey
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Historic Landscape Character Areas and Their Special Qualities and Features of Significance
Historic Landscape Character Areas and their special qualities and features of significance Volume 1 Third Edition March 2016 Wyvern Heritage and Landscape Consultancy Emma Rouse, Wyvern Heritage and Landscape Consultancy www.wyvernheritage.co.uk – [email protected] – 01747 870810 March 2016 – Third Edition Summary The North Wessex Downs AONB is one of the most attractive and fascinating landscapes of England and Wales. Its beauty is the result of many centuries of human influence on the countryside and the daily interaction of people with nature. The history of these outstanding landscapes is fundamental to its present‐day appearance and to the importance which society accords it. If these essential qualities are to be retained in the future, as the countryside continues to evolve, it is vital that the heritage of the AONB is understood and valued by those charged with its care and management, and is enjoyed and celebrated by local communities. The North Wessex Downs is an ancient landscape. The archaeology is immensely rich, with many of its monuments ranking among the most impressive in Europe. However, the past is etched in every facet of the landscape – in the fields and woods, tracks and lanes, villages and hamlets – and plays a major part in defining its present‐day character. Despite the importance of individual archaeological and historic sites, the complex story of the North Wessex Downs cannot be fully appreciated without a complementary awareness of the character of the wider historic landscape, its time depth and settlement evolution. This wider character can be broken down into its constituent parts.
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White Horse Hill Geoglyph & hillfort Signposts to Prehistory Location: ‘White Horse’ Hill (SU 301 866) is in Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire), 2.5 km south of the village of Uffington. The hill forms a part of the scarp of the Berkshire Downs and overlooks the Vale of White Horse. Main period: Bronze Age–Iron Age Access & ownership: The site is managed by the National Trust on behalf of English Heritage and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Whitehorse Hill is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is signposted from the A420 Swindon to Oxford road, and lies next to the B4507 between Ashbury and Wantage. Parking is available but is subject to a charge for non-members (see National Trust website for details). There is also a small viewing point below the Horse on Dragon Hill road, with parking for six blue badge holders only. Uffington Hill is a site of enduring significance. This complex of prehistoric remains (Fig. 1) is set in the striking natural landscape of the chalk downlands, and includes an Iron Age hillfort (Uffington Castle) and the well-known figure of the White Horse. Other features include a Neolithic long barrow and a Bronze Age round barrow, reused in the Roman and Saxon periods respectively. An enclosure and ring ditch lie to the SW of the hillfort and linear ditches across the landscape are thought to represent Bronze Age land Fig. 1. The White Horse Hill landscape from the air. Google divisions. Earth One of Britain’s oldest known routes, the prehistoric Ridgeway, is deflected around the southern side of the hillfort that was probably deliberately sited to control movement along it.
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Galloping across the Downs – 7 ½ miles White Horse Hill to AshdownNT Properties nearby: Buscot and Coleshill Estates, Great Coxwell Barn, Buscot Park Enjoy a walk across the ancient chalk downs of Oxfordshire and absorb the history found along this enigmatic stretch of the ancient Ridgeway. Encompassing Neolithic history to WWII inhabitants, this is a walk that will leave the 21st Century In summer, many behind for a few hours. butterfly species can be seen along the route. Look out for the Map & grid ref: OS Landranger 174, Explorer 170 SU293866 Chalkhill Blue, found Getting there: around Uffington Buses: 47, 47a, X47– all limited service on Sat, Swindon - Uffington, weekday service Castle and other to Ashdown, alight at Rose and Crown. Go to www.swindonbus.info for further details. sunny south- facing Road: Car parks at White Horse Hill, off the B4507 and Ashdown Estate on the B4000 spots. (SU 285823) © NT/ Caroline Searle Cycling: The Ridgeway National off-road Cycle Route criss-crosses the walk Facilities: Nearby pubs in Woolstone, Uffington and Ashbury. From the top of the Points of interest: Hill, by the Horse’s head, look out into t The White Horse and Uffington Castle: The oldest dated chalk figure in England is the vale of the White about 3000 years old whilst the Castle is about 2500 years old. During the 18th and 19th Horse. On a clear centuries the castle would have held a ‘Pastime’ every 7 years to clean the horse. day you can see over 35 miles away t Wayland’s Smithy: A Neolithic burial long barrow steeped in history and legend.
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The Cotswolds Berkshire Downs North Wessex Downs
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Countryman Pages
june 2015 9 ngland’s thirty-three Areas of Out - has left us some fascinating treasures, Exploring the Estanding Natural Beauty (AONB) including the beautiful Uffington have been described as the “jewels of the White Horse, the magical Wayland’s English landscape”, and the North Wes - Smithy and several Iron Age hill forts. North Wessex Downs sex Downs, the third largest of these The AONB then sweeps south, fol - AONBs, is no exception. lowing the River Thames to Pang - Designated in 1972, the North Wes - bourne before encircling Newbury Steve Davison is in chalk country as he celebrates sex Downs encompasses 668 square and part of the Kennet Valley, to the region’s history and heritage miles of rolling chalk landscape, encompass the northern reaches of the stretching from its western tip near North Hampshire Downs. The south - Calne in Wiltshire across a broad arc ern edge stretches westwards, passing to the south of Swindon, passing north of Andover to take in the Vale of through Oxfordshire and Berkshire, Pewsey, and the market towns of with a steep scarp slope looking out Hungerford and Marlborough. over the Vale of White Horse, to meet The predominant feature is the the River Thames on its eastern edge, underlying Cretaceous (99-65 million adjoining the Chilterns across the years ago) chalk geology; the North Goring Gap. Wessex Downs cover one of the most Along the crest of the downs, fol - continuous tracts of chalk downland lowed for much of the way by the in England. The chalk itself is formed Ridgeway — probably the oldest green from the remains of billions of minute road in England — prehistoric man sea creatures (known as coccoliths) The rolling contours of the chalk downs overlooking the Vale of Pewsey.
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Roden Park, Compton, Newbury Rg20
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THE NORTH WESSEX DOWNS AREA OF OUTSTANDING NATURAL BEAUTY Promotional Toolkit Issue 1 Photograph: Gary Prictor Fast and free access to the promotional resources you need to help boost visitor numbers Overview of The North Wessex Downs Photograph: North Wessex Downs The North Wessex Downs is a tranquil yet stunning landscape of rolling chalk downlands, forests, woods and dales. Beech woodland crowns the tops of many of the downs providing wonderful panoramic views for miles around. Thinly populated, the downs project a feeling of remoteness and timelessness. In the vast skies above, skylarks, lapwings and majestic birds of prey can be seen. The world famous Uffington White Horse and Avebury Stone circle are located on the Ridgeway path running across the north of the region along with many other ancient barrows and hill forts. Close to major conurbations, the Downs is the ideal place to get away from it all and enjoy the freedom of the countryside while respecting the environment. There are many footpaths, horse riding trails and cycle paths criss-crossing the landscape and taking in many of the best views and ancient monuments. If you prefer to travel by water you can hire a canal boat or go Photograph: North Wessex Downs Photograph: Anne Seth canoeing along the Kennet and Avon Canal. The North Wessex Downs has a great industrial heritage. At the Crofton Pumping Station on the Kennet and Avon Canal, you can see the world’s oldest steam engines or visit the only working windmill in Wessex at Wilton. There are also fine country houses.
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Broad Acres, the Cleave, Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0EN
Broad Acres, The Cleave, Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0EN BROAD ACRES THE CLEAVE, HARWELL, DIDCOT, OXFORDSHIRE OX11 0EN A three/four bedroom bungalow set in an attractive location overlooking open countryside Extending to 0.38 acres in total the plot offers purchasers a unique opportunity to extend the existing property or redevelop the plot subject to planning consent FOR SALE IN TWO LOTS SITUATION FREEHOLD WITH VACANT POSSESSION Broad Acres is situated in a sought after position on the eastern edge of the attractive village of Harwell in South Oxfordshire. It is accessed via Jennings Lane from Harwell High Street (B4493). Guide Prices Harwell is a large rural village with a range of shops, a church and a public Lot 1 £475,000 house. The neighbouring town of Didcot offers an excellent range of shopping facilities as well as a mainline railway, which offers a direct service Lot 2 £50,000 to London Paddington (45 minutes). The River Thames, Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills are all within easy reach. Oxford 15.5 miles, Reading 22 miles, EMPLOYMENT CENTRES Newbury 16 miles, M4 J13 12 miles Important employment centres include Milton Park (3.5 miles), Harwell Didcot Parkway 3 miles Science & Innovation Centre (2.5 miles) and Oxford Science Park (14.5 miles). BROAD ACRES The property is for sale in two lots, with Lot 2 only being available to a purchaser of Lot 1. Lot 1 is shown edged in red on the Plan and Lot 2 edged blue. Lot 1 The property is centrally located within the plot which extends to approximately 0.30 acres.
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Downs with Barrows
West Berkshire Countryside Society West Berkshire Countryside Society was formed in January 2012 by merging four long-established environmental groups. These were The Friends of the Pang, Kennet & Lambourn Valleys , The Bucklebury Heathland Conservation Group, The Pang Valley Conservation Volunteers and The Pang Valley Barn Owl Group. Since then the Kennet Valley Barn Owl Group and the Lambourn Valley Barn Owl Group have joined us . Our remit is to continue their work of promoting and improving the landscape of West Berkshire by practical conservation work and by introducing people to the countryside, its work, history and wildlife, through the medium of talks and conducted walks – of which this is one. DOWNS WITH BARROWS Members of West Berkshire Countryside Society currently pay a £15 annual subscription for individual and family membership to provide a A Walk around Lambourn parish, starting and financial resource. Those members who wish to, make up volunteer finishing at Lambourn Seven Barrows Nature working parties to undertake practical conservation tasks. Reserve Non-members are very welcome to join our conservation tasks and About 3.5 miles or 5.5 km. conducted walks for which we make no charge. Non-members are also welcome at our talks for which we make a small charge. Ordnance Survey Explorer Map 170 – ‘Abingdon, Wantage & Vale of the White Horse’ If you would like more information about our activities or would like to join us will be useful and help with our work, please visit our website: www.westberkscountryside.org.uk References There are two modest hills on this walk Victoria County History Berks.
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The Uffington White Horse Geoglyph As Sun-Horse
The Uffington White Horse geoglyph as sun-horse Joshua Pollard∗ The Uffington White Horse is a unique later prehistoric geoglyph worked onto the chalk hillside of the Berkshire Downs in southern England. This large figure has seen little new interpretation since the early twentieth century. Unable to explain the form satisfactorily, archaeologists have shied away from acknowledging the distinct nature of the horse and its probable importance to previous occupants of the land. By reviewing the image’s context within the broader London archaeological landscape, the argument can N Uffington now be made that the Uffington carving 0km500 White Horse is a representation of the sun-horse found in iconography throughout later prehistoric Europe. Keywords: England, later prehistory, Uffington White Horse, sun-horse, landscape Introduction The Uffington White Horse is Europe’s only confirmed prehistoric hill-figure or geoglyph, and is among the oldest anywhere in the world. Created in the later second or first millennium BC, it is also unusual in being a figurative representation within a surprisingly resilient tradition of non-representational imagery in prehistoric Britain (Figure 1). It is quite distinct from the only other form of prehistoric landscape art known in the British Isles: the abstract motifs that make up rock art panels within upland regions (Bradley 1997). A widely used image within popular culture, the White Horse features on album covers by XTC and Nirvana, and in fictional literature by Rosemary Sutcliffe, A.J. Hartley and Terry Pratchett. Its most famous literary incarnation comes in Thomas Hughes’s (1859) The scouring of the White Horse, a semi-fictional account of the last great festival linked to the ‘scouring’ or cleaning of the horse held in 1857.
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Neolithic & Early Bronze Age Berkshire
SOLENT THAMES RESEARCH FRAMEWORK NEOLITHIC AND EARLY BRONZE AGE BERKSHIRE Steve Ford March 2007 Inheritance The onset of the Neolithic period in Berkshire, has by far the best legacy from the Mesolithic period within the Solent-Thames region as a whole. This legacy stems from the position of the now small county (since 1974 reorganisation) dominated by the major river valley of the Thames and its significant tributaries, the Kennet, Loddon and Colne. This riverine bias, as Clark identified some 80 years ago (Clark 1934) and as detailed by Chisholm (this volume), in particular the middle Kennet Valley, have a wealth of mesolithic evidence, comprising stratified assemblages with faunal, floral, environmental and scientifically dated assemblages (not of course forgetting the lithics). This evidence is less detailed for the Thames Valley and Loddon Valleys (Ames 1993; Harding and Richards 1993; Ford 1997). Another significant issue with regards to legacy is that the county is particularly favourably placed in terms of systematic large scale fieldwalking survey data from other geological outcrops away from the major river valleys (Gaffney and Tingle 1989; Ford 1987a; Ford 1997; Lobb and Rose 1996). These fieldwalking surveys, whilst necessarily dealing with unstratified and plough dispersed material, are nevertheless particularly adept (and perhaps the only systematic way) of finding comparable Mesolithic material away from the buried valley sites. That a significant proportion of our neolithic evidence is recovered from the downlands of West Berkshire and Wessex beyond, it is rather valuable that the mesolithic legacy in these latter areas is assessed in a comparable way. It is perhaps at locations such as Churn Plain at the headwaters of the river Pang now just within Oxfordshire where there is evidence for a coincidence of Mesolithic and early Neolithic where the direct transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic could be explored directly.
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