A Guide to the Views from Borough Hill Daventry Written by Museum Volunteer, Cllr Mike Arnold
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A guide to the views from Borough Hill Daventry Written by Museum Volunteer, Cllr Mike Arnold This is a guide to the views from Borough Hill and can be used on its own or whilst following one of the history walks (see links below). The hill is conveniently orientated almost North/South. With your back to the Arquiva building looking towards the golf course, West is left, and East is right. High ground to the South and North East restricts long views but they are still miles away. Looking East the hill is the highest point until you reach the Ural Mountains (Western Russia). Not bad for what was once a sandbank! In summer, when the trees are in leaf, the views to the north and east are obscured. New warehouse developments west of town also mean that you need to move around to get some of the views. The history of the hill is can be found in the self-guided walks available on the website or as a paper copy in the museum. Some of the more distant views can only be seen in clear weather and the furthest view is of the Black Mountains in Wales but it is extremely rare to see this. Normally Clee Hill is the furthest point. Views are better in winter, after leaf fall and when the air tends to be clearer. Do not try to climb on the large concrete pylon bases for a better view, they are high but the concrete and metal rods in the undergrowth below can make for an uncomfortable landing. And in fact there is little point because the hill surface is higher than the bases. How to use the map and observation points The map shows you what direction to look at for points of interest from the three observation points (they are colour coded). The highest point of the hill is the Arquiva compound which is why there are two points (yellow and black) either side of the building to see in different directions. The northern point (blue) is about 20 feet lower but is the hills second highest point and opens up the views to the north and south west, as well as avoiding the trees of the plantation to the east. Because the hill is tilted about 5° from magnetic north the points on the west appear to be slightly further south than in the diagram and those to the east further north. Many places can be seen from more than one observation point and because of the height of the land, vegetation and geography you may need to move around a bit for the best view, particularly where the newly built warehousing obscures the views to the west. Compass bearings are not used because of the different viewpoints and the need to move about but alongside some of the descriptions of the views there are photographs or drawings of what to look for. These are variable in quality due to atmospheric conditions at the time of printing but will be updated when there are better atmospherics or I learn to draw properly! When the first viewpoints guide was published by William Edgar in 1923 some of the main points were the pit head winding gears at various coal mines, all are now gone. However, energy production still dominates the views with all the wind turbines that are visible. I could once identify these when they were fewer in number, today I’m not always sure, so I do give a warning when that is the case. There is also an irritating line of pylons in the direction of Bedford which I can’t identify at all, so if you know what/where they are do get in touch with me via the museum (I suspect they cross the valley of the Great Ouse). Viewing points. Yellow 1. Birmingham (tower blocks). 34 miles.* 2. Client Hills. 42 miles.* 3. Lickey Hills. 36 miles.* 4. Clee Hill (off of the map). 60 miles. 5. Shuckburgh Hills. 5 miles. 6&7. Stratford and Worcester beyond. 24 miles and 45 miles. 8. North Malverns. 52 miles. (area obscured by Napton Hills, Staverton Clump etc) 9. Badby House. 1.7 miles 10. Newnham Hill. 1 Mile. 11. Charwelton Microwave Tower 6 miles and to its east Newnham Air Traffic Control Mast 1 mile. 12. Stowe Hill and iron age? camp. 3.5 miles. Blue 1. Magna Park Lutterworth 15 miles. 2. Bradgate Park 30 miles 3. Tesco Crick/Cracks Hill to its left 7 miles. 4. Stanton/Bardon Hill. 31 miles. 5. Crick and West Haddon wind turbines. 8 miles. 6. Cemex Cement works. 10 miles. 7. Coventry. 18 miles*. Black 1. Woburn Hills (and Iron Age Hillfort). 28 miles. Chilterns beyond and to the west on a clear day. 42 miles. 2. Heygate Feed Mill. 6 miles. 3. Hunsbury Hill (Iron Age Fort). 9 miles. 4. National Lift Tower. 9 miles. 5. Burton Latimer Wind farm/Weetabix. 20 miles.* 6. Peterborough Wind Farm (not sure which one). 40 miles.* 7. Naseby Hills.13 miles.* * * - most common alternative viewpoints. There are other things to be seen too; North: The M1 at Loughborough is visible, but it really needs to be night time to see for sure. East: Traffic on the M1 motorway. The West Coast Rail line (Northampton Loop), easily seen when a train runs on it. Althorp House The Eastern Horizon is mostly on the fen edge 40-50 miles away. South: The communications mast by the water tower at Preston Capes (roughly in the direction of Stowe Hill). The water tower at Nobottle??. West: Rugby Amazon Warehouse Town Centre and Church Hospital Arbury Hill, highest point in Northamptonshire In the 1923 guide there were a lot of church towers and steeples that were visible. Since then increased tree cover and buildings have obscured many of them. See if you can identify any. Some photographs to help identification; SOUTH Charwelton Badby House Arbury Hill Microwave Tower WEST Coventry with Braunston Birmingham to the south Clee Hill Church Spire of Coventry NORTH WEST Magna Park A5 Wind farm/s CEMEX EAST Long Buckby Telecoms National Lift Tower Heygates Feed Mill 1 Mast On the next page is the map showing the direction of view to the places mentioned above Daventry Town Council 3 New Street Daventry Northamptonshire NN11 4BT 01327 301246 [email protected] http://www.daventrytowncouncil.gov.uk/ .