Aylesbury Vale

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Aylesbury Vale
Aylesbury Vale 1.jpg
Part of Aylesbury Vale taken from the top of Coombe Hill, looking towards Aylesbury
Aylesbury Vale UK locator map.svg
Aylesbury Vale shown within Buckinghamshire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region South East England
Ceremonial county Buckinghamshire
Area
  Total348.55 sq mi (902.75 km2)
Population
 (mid-2018)
  Total199,448
  Density570/sq mi (220/km2)
  Ethnicity
92.3% White
3.7% S.Asian
1.5% Black
1.5% Mixed
1.0% Chinese or Other
Time zone UTC0 (GMT)
  Summer (DST) UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code 11UB (ONS)
E07000004 (GSS)
OS grid reference SP818138
Website www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk

The Aylesbury Vale (or Vale of Aylesbury) is a geographical region in Buckinghamshire, England, which is bounded by the City of Milton Keynes and West Northamptonshire to the north, Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Dacorum (Hertfordshire) to the east, the Chiltern Hills to the south and South Oxfordshire to the west. It is named after Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire. Winslow and Buckingham are among the larger towns in the vale.

Contents

The bed of the vale is largely made up of clay that was formed at the end of the ice age.

In the 2011 UK census the population of Aylesbury Vale was 174,900. In the 2001 UK census the population of Aylesbury Vale was 165,748, representing an increase since 1991 of 18,600 people. [1] About half of those live in the county town Aylesbury.

Government

Aylesbury Vale was administered as a local government district of northern Buckinghamshire, with its own district council between 1974 and 2020. The council's offices were in Aylesbury. The district council's logo included the historical figure of John Hampden. [2] The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the boroughs of Aylesbury and Buckingham, Aylesbury Rural District, Buckingham Rural District, Wing Rural District and part of Winslow Rural District. Aylesbury Vale was absorbed into the new unitary Buckinghamshire Council on 1 April 2020.

There are 111 civil parishes in the area of the former non-metropolitan district: 84 with a parish council, including three town councils (Aylesbury, Buckingham and Winslow), and a further 27 operating with a Parish meeting, see list of civil parishes in Aylesbury Vale.

Literature

The Aylesbury Vale countryside is described in the English novel The War Hero. [3]

Tourism

The Vale has a number of historic buildings and landscapes which are tourist attractions. The National Trust owns several properties including Waddesdon Manor, Claydon House and the landscaped gardens at Stowe House. The Silverstone Circuit sits on the northern boundary of the Vale with South Northamptonshire, and the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is located near Quainton. Aylesbury is home to the County Museum (which includes the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery), and Buckingham features the Old Gaol Museum.

Transport

There are no motorway junctions in the Vale although the M40 does cross it for five miles between junctions 8A and 9. The A41 road, the A413 road and the A418 road meet at Aylesbury. The A421 road passes through the north of the Vale providing connections to Milton Keynes, Bedford and the M1 to the east, and the M40, Oxford and Birmingham to the west.

The Vale is served by rail connections to the capital, containing several railway stations on the London to Aylesbury Line   the major station being Aylesbury. At Aylesbury there are connecting services to Princes Risborough. In addition, the Chiltern Main Line passes through the district, stopping at Haddenham & Thame Parkway. The West Coast Main Line passes through the Vale twice along its eastern borders, with national intercity services stopping at nearby Milton Keynes Central which, with Bletchley, is also served by regional services.

As of 2023, construction work is underway on two further rail lines across the Vale, High Speed 2 (HS2) and East West Rail (EWR). The HS2 route runs north-west, largely following the former Great Central Main Line route, but without providing any services to any towns in the county. EWR runs across the Vale, with trains between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central, calling at Winslow and Bletchley, due to commence in early 2025. [4] Buckinghamshire Council has established a cycleway between Buckingham and Winslow to maximise use of the new station. [5]

There are also proposals for a branch line from East West Rail, to run from Claydon LNE Junction via Aylesbury Vale Parkway to Aylesbury, which were discussed in Parliament in 2021. [6] This proposal remains "under review" and is not in any current plans. (The route of HS2 uses the same corridor and, as of August 2023, the Claydon line is needed to move materials for its engineering works.)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verney Junction railway station</span> Disused railway station in Buckinghamshire, England

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

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The Oxford–Cambridge Arc is a notional arc of agricultural and urban land at about 80 kilometres radius of London, in south central England. It runs between the British university cities of Oxford and Cambridge via Milton Keynes and other settlements in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire at the northern rim of the London commuter belt. It is significant only in economic geography, with little physical geography in common.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylesbury railway station</span> Railway station in Buckinghamshire, England

Aylesbury railway station is a railway station in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, on the London–Aylesbury line from London Marylebone via Amersham. It is 38 miles (61 km) from Aylesbury to Marylebone. A branch line from Princes Risborough on the Chiltern Main Line terminates at the station. It was the terminus for London Underground's Metropolitan line until the service was cut back to Amersham in 1961. The station was also known as Aylesbury Town under the management of British Railways from c. 1948 until the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station</span> Railway station in Aylesbury, England

Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station is a railway station serving villages northwest of Aylesbury, England. It also serves the Berryfields and Weedon Hill housing developments north of the town. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Chiltern Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winslow Road railway station</span> Former Metropolitan Railway Station in Buckinghamshire

Winslow Road railway station served the village of East Claydon near Winslow to the north of Quainton in Buckinghamshire, England. It was the second station to serve the town after Winslow on the Varsity Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Milton Keynes</span> History of the city in England

This history of Milton Keynes details its development from the earliest human settlements, through the plans for a 'new city' for 250,000 people in northern Southeast England, its subsequent urban design and development, to the present day. Milton Keynes, founded in 1967, is the largest settlement and only city in Buckinghamshire. At the 2021 census, the population of its urban area was estimated to have exceeded 256,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claydon railway station</span> Disused railway station in Buckinghamshire, England

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National Cycle Route 51 is an English long distance cycle route running broadly east-west connecting Colchester and the port of Harwich to Oxford via Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Bedford, Milton Keynes, Bicester, and Kidlington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winslow railway station</span> Disused railway station in Buckinghamshire, England

Winslow railway station refers to either one of two railway stations which historically served or is planned to serve, the town of Winslow in north Buckinghamshire, England. The original station (1850–1968) was on the former Varsity Line between Cambridge and Oxford. As of August 2023, construction of a new station nears completion and is scheduled to be served by East West Rail, as part of the plan to reinstate the Oxford–Cambridge service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Railways in Buckinghamshire</span> Overview of the railway system in Buckinghamshire

The railway system of Buckinghamshire has a long and complex history dating back to the 1830s with the opening of sections of today's West Coast Main Line and Great Western Main Line. The development of Buckinghamshire's railway network was largely due to its position nationally as many long-distance routes chose to go through Buckinghamshire, especially between Britains two largest cities, London and Birmingham. The county had its own pulling power in addition, as produce such as the Aylesbury Duck could then be easily transported to the capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in Buckinghamshire</span>

Transport in Buckinghamshire has been shaped by its position within the United Kingdom. Most routes between the UK's two largest cities, London and Birmingham, pass through this county. The county's growing industry first brought canals to the area, then railways and then motorways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East West Rail</span> Project to create a railway line between Oxford and Cambridge

East West Rail is a strategic aim to establish a new main line railway between East Anglia and South Wales. The immediate plan is to build a line linking Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Milton Keynes and Bedford, largely using the trackbed of the former Varsity Line. Thus it provides a route between any or all of the Great Western, Chiltern, West Coast, Midland, East Coast, West Anglia, Great Eastern and the Cotswold main lines, avoiding London. The new line will provide a route for potential new services between Southampton Central or Swansea and Ipswich or Norwich via Reading, Didcot and Ely, using existing onward lines. The government approved the western section in November 2011, with completion of this section expected by 2025.

References

  1. UK Census 2001
  2. "Aylesbury Vale District Council website". Archived from the original on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2003.
  3. Neil Shefferd (29 May 2019). "Aylesbury Vale setting for author's debut novel". Bucks Herald .
  4. Doyle, Dave; Ovens, Ruth (4 June 2021). "Return to rail for historic Buckinghamshire village station". buckinghamshirelive. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  5. Shefford, Neil (2 July 2019). "Extended Buckingham and Winslow cycleway officially opens". Bucks Herald.
  6. "East West Rail: Aylesbury Spur - Monday 24 May 2021". hansard.parliament.uk. House of Commons. Retrieved 22 June 2021.

51°53′28″N0°54′43″W / 51.8910°N 0.9120°W / 51.8910; -0.9120