Aston Rowant Cutting

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Aston Rowant Cutting
Site of Special Scientific Interest
M40 - Chiltern Cutting - Stokenchurch.jpg
Location Oxfordshire
Grid reference SU 732 964 [1]
InterestGeological
Area3.5 hectares (8.6 acres) [1]
Notification 1986 [1]
Location map Magic Map

Aston Rowant Cutting is a 3.5-hectare (8.6-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire. [1] [2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site. [3]

Contents

Aston Rowant Cutting, also known as the Stokenchurch Gap or Aston Hill cutting, or locally "The Canyon" [4] is a steep chalk cutting, constructed through the Chiltern Hills on the border between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England during the early 1970s for the M40 motorway. It is 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) long and a maximum of 47 metres (154 ft) deep, and is located approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from High Wycombe and close to the village of Stokenchurch. Despite the names, the cutting is in the parish of Lewknor rather than Aston Rowant or Stokenchurch. The cutting (along with the nearby village of Stokenchurch) is subject to frequent heavy fog during the winter months. [5]

Cutting

The cutting provides the best exposure in central England dating to the Coniacian stage of the Late Cretaceous, approximately 88 million years ago. It is part of the Upper Chalk succession, and at its base there is a fossil rich section which is important in defining the boundary between the Coniacian and the preceding Turonian stage. [6]

Red kites are commonly seen flying within the cutting or on the surrounding downland, making their return after their persecution by game keepers in Victorian times following a successful reintroduction programme organised by the RSPB and Natural England, [7] which selected the Aston Rowant NNR as one of four initial sites in the UK for a captive release programme using birds brought in from Spain. [8] The scheme has been so successful that the population has grown to over 200 pairs and is now self-generating and supplies birds for similar release programmes elsewhere in the UK. [4] [9]

The cutting features prominently in the opening titles to the BBC comedy series The Vicar of Dibley . [10]

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The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment in the UK northwest of London, covering 660 square miles (1,700 km2) across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire, stretching 45 miles (72 km) from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast. The hills are 12 miles (19 km) at their widest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stokenchurch</span> Human settlement in England

Stokenchurch is a village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about 3 miles (5 km) south of Chinnor in Oxfordshire and 6 miles (10 km) west of High Wycombe. Stokenchurch is a commuter village, served by junction 5 of the M40 motorway to London, Oxford and Birmingham. The Stokenchurch BT Tower, to the west of the village, is a highly visible landmark on the edge of the Chilterns and pinpoints the village's location for miles ahead.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewknor</span> Human settlement in England

Lewknor is a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8 km) south of Thame in Oxfordshire.The civil parish includes the villages of Postcombe and South Weston. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 663.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve</span> A Chiltern Hills nature reserve

Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve is located on the north-west escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It has an area of 159.1 hectares, and most of it is a 128.5 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is listed as a Grade 1 site in A Nature Conservation Review. The reserve is in several sections, mostly in the parish of Lewknor in Oxfordshire, with smaller sections in the parish of Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Lake nature reserve</span> Local nature reserve in Buckinghamshire, UK

College Lake is a 65 hectare nature reserve in a former chalk quarry in Pitstone in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire. It is one of the flagship reserves of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, and it has an information centre, education facilities, a café, toilets and a shop. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The area east of the lake is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest called Pitstone Quarry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Clinton Ragpits</span>

Aston Clinton Ragpits is a 2.9-hectare (7.2-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire. It is a former chalk quarry, which is now a nature reserve managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. It is in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Rowant Woods</span>

Aston Rowant Woods is a 209.7-hectare (518-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Part of it is in Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, and a large part is in the Chiltern Beechwoods Special Area of Conservation. The site is also in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fognam Chalk Quarry</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caistor St Edmund Chalk Pit</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinnor Chalk Pit</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Designated Sites View: Aston Rowant Cutting". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  2. ↑ "Map of Aston Rowant Cutting". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  3. ↑ "Aston Rowant Cutting (Cenomanian, Turonian, Senonian, Maastrichtian)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 26 February 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 "Seven Natural Wonders of The South with Aubrey Manning". Archived from the original on 9 May 2006.
  5. ↑ "M40 death crash: Sensor for 'Fog Alley' 30-car accident spot". BBC News. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "Aston Rowant Cutting" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  7. ↑ Conservation: Red kite. RSPB
  8. ↑ Red kites: Re-introduction Archived 19 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine , The Chilterns, UK.
  9. ↑ "Seven Man Made Wonders". BBC.
  10. ↑ "The Vicar of Dibley Filming Locations: Find That Location".

51°39′42″N0°56′17″W / 51.66167°N 0.93806°W / 51.66167; -0.93806

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