Northamptonshire Uplands

Northamptonshire Uplands
National Character Area
Location	Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire (United Kingdom)
Max. elevation	Arbury Hill, 225m

The Northamptonshire Uplands are an English National Character Area that lie predominantly in the western half of the district of West Northamptonshire, with a small area of the NCA extending into Cherwell District, Oxfordshire, Harborough District, Leicestershire and Stratford-on-Avon District and the Borough of Rugby, both of which are part of Warwickshire.

Extent

The NCA runs from the northern border of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire in a south westerly direction towards Banbury, roughly following the border between West Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, until reaching, and extending around 8 km into Oxfordshire.

It encompasses nearly all of the former Daventry District, as well as the western half of the former district of South Northamptonshire.

The main population centres within the uplands are Banbury and Daventry. The eastern suburbs of Rugby and northwestern suburbs of Northampton also both encroach on the uplands.

Geology

Sandstone has been used as a building material in the area since the Stone Age.

Much of the area lies on a mixed strata from the Jurassic Period when Limestone was deposited in the north of the area, with the east and the south of the district capping off the Limestone deposits with ironstone-rich sandstone.

Over time the weathering of these minerals by a previously formed ocean has given many of the rocks in the area a wide variety of distinctive colours.

Above the solid geology there is a mixture of clay like soil (till) and sand and rock (alluvium), which made early agricultural efforts difficult and restricted drainage to the rivers and streams in the region.

Geography

Human geography

Transport

The Watford Gap forms an important transport corridor between the north and south parts of the Uplands

There are several major transport corridors which pass through the area. The M1 and M40 motorways pass through the uplands and link major population centres in England. The UK's shortest motorway, the M45 also passes through the Uplands.

The A5, A14 both pass through the area. The longest three digit A road in the UK, the A361, also passes through the uplands. Other important A roads in the area include the A428, the A422 and the A425.

Physical geography

Principal summits

Hills within the NCA with more than 30 metres of prominence are listed here.

Rank	Hill	Elevation	Prominence	Grid reference
1	Arbury Hill	224.3 m (736 ft)	102.7 m	SP540587
2	Big Hill	224.3 m (736 ft)	63 m	SP548612
3	Sharman's Hill	222.7 m (731 ft)	43 m	SP539576
4	Blackdown	222 m (728 ft)	47 m	SP513561
5	Honey Hill	214 m (702 ft)	70 m	SP637768
6	Oat Hill	211 m (692 ft)	79 m	SP407507
7	Beacon Hill	206.5 m (677 ft)	56 m	SP489609
8	Borough Hill	201 m (659 ft)	47 m	SP587620
9	Newnham Hill	201 m (659 ft)	44 m	SP575608
10	Naseby Hill	197 m (646 ft)	34 m	SP693784
11	Hinton Hill	196 m (643 ft)	34 m	SP535543
12	Badby Down	196 m (643 ft)	33 m	SP554582
13	Fox Hill	193.6 m (635 ft)	31 m	SP569610
14	Golden Hill	192 m (630 ft)	41 m	SP508521
15	Preston Capes Hill	189.3 m (621 ft)	37 m	SP567545
16	Berryhill	187.6 m (615 ft)	44.6 m	SP469549
17	Thenford Hill	187 m (614 ft)	43 m	SP522443
18	Upper Wardington Hill	179.1 m (588 ft)	34 m	SP503463
19	Windmill Hill	178 m (584 ft)	36 m	SP433501
20	Ashby Grange Hill	177.2 m (581 ft)	32 m	SP555679
21	Crouch Hill	170 m (558 ft)	36 m	SP440392
22	Napton Hill	157.9 m (518 ft)	31.6 m	SP459613
23	Waydale Hill	151 m (495 ft)	39 m	SP654631

Bibliography

• Mudd, Andrew (2008). Iron Age and Roman Settlement on the Northamptonshire Uplands. Heritage Publications. ISBN 9780955506208.