| Vale of Wardour | |
|---|---|
 Stream flowing into the River Nadder near Wardour | |
| Floor elevation | 121.4 m (398 ft) [1] |
| Geography | |
| Coordinates | 51°03′22″N2°04′23″W / 51.056°N 2.073°W Coordinates: 51°03′22″N2°04′23″W / 51.056°N 2.073°W [1] |
The Vale of Wardour encompasses the valley of the River Nadder in the county of Wiltshire, England. [1]
The Vale of Wardour lies east of the town of Shaftesbury and is a relatively small but varied landscape. Named after the village of Wardour, its main river is the Nadder which flows from west to east through the vale. In the west the Nadder is fed by its main tributary, the Sem; in the east the valley ends around Wilton where the Nadder is joined by the Wylye. The largest village in the vale is Tisbury. [2]
The vale is a western tongue of National Character Area 133: Blackmore Vale and Vale of Wardour, designated by Natural England. To the north is number 132, Salisbury Plain and West Wiltshire Downs, and to the south is number 134, Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase. The area extends west almost as far as Barford St Martin, where the Nadder valley narrows. [2]
Geologically the Vale of Wardour is complex. The Nadder flows through a clay valley surrounded by hills of Purbeck, Portland, and Lower and Upper Greensand.The Gault, thickness up to 27.5 m (90 ft.), is also present in the Vale, notable are the numerous phosphatic nodules it contains. [3]
Wiltshire is a county in South West England with an area of 3,485 km2. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The county town was originally Wilton, after which the county is named, but Wiltshire Council is now based in the county town of Trowbridge. Within the county's boundary are two unitary authority areas, Wiltshire and Swindon, governed respectively by Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council.
The River Avon is a river in the south of England. The river rises in the county of Wiltshire and flows through the city of Salisbury and the county of Hampshire before reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour in the county of Dorset.
Shaftesbury is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, 20 miles (32 km) west of Salisbury, near to the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about 215 metres (705 ft) above sea level on a greensand hill on the edge of Cranborne Chase. Shaftesbury also refers to a former carehome, located in Exeter, prominent during the 20th and early 21st centuries.
The Blackmore Vale is a vale, or wide valley, in north Dorset, and to a lesser extent south Somerset and southwest Wiltshire in southern England.
The River Stour is a 61 mi (98 km) river which flows through Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England, and drains into the English Channel. The catchment area for the river and its tributaries is listed as being 480 square miles (1,240 km2).
The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in southern England, part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Berkshire Downs are wholly within the traditional county of Berkshire, although split between the current ceremonial counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. The western parts of the downs are also known as the Lambourn Downs.
The North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The name North Wessex Downs is not a traditional one, the area covered being better known by various overlapping local names, including the Berkshire Downs, the North Hampshire Downs, the White Horse Hills, the Lambourn Downs, the Marlborough Downs, the Vale of Pewsey and Savernake Forest.
The Dorset Downs are an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger chalk formation which also includes Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Hampshire Downs, Chiltern Hills, North Downs and South Downs.
Cranborne Chase is a chalk plateau in central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. The plateau is part of the English Chalk Formation and is adjacent to Salisbury Plain and the West Wiltshire Downs in the north, and the Dorset Downs to the south west. The scarp slope of the hills faces the Blackmore Vale to the west, and to some extent the Vale of Wardour to the north. The chalk gently slopes south and dips under clays and gravels.
Wiltshire is a historic county located in the South West England region. Wiltshire is landlocked and is in the east of the region.
The River Wylye is a southern England chalk stream, with clear water flowing over gravel. It is popular with anglers for fly fishing. A half-mile stretch of the river and three lakes in Warminster are a local nature reserve.
Tisbury is a large village and civil parish approximately 13 miles (21 km) west of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire. With a population at the 2011 census of 2,253 it is a centre for communities around the upper River Nadder and Vale of Wardour. The parish includes the hamlets of Upper Chicksgrove and Wardour.
The River Dun is a tributary of the River Kennet flowing through Wiltshire and Berkshire in England. Its main source is in the parish of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire and it flows 16 kilometres (10 mi) for its whole course ENE into Berkshire, where it discharges into the Kennet at Hungerford, which has a smaller average flow and width upstream of that point.
The River Nadder is a tributary of the Salisbury Avon, flowing in south Wiltshire, England.
Donhead St Andrew is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the River Nadder. It lies 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the Dorset market town of Shaftesbury. The parish includes the hamlets of West End, Milkwell and Brook Waters.
Dorset is a county located in the middle of the south coast of England. It lies between the latitudes 50.512°N and 51.081°N and the longitudes 1.682°W and 2.958°W, and occupies an area of 2,653 km². It spans 90 kilometres (56 mi) from east to west and 63 kilometres (39 mi) from north to south.
Sutton Mandeville is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the Nadder valley and towards the east end of the Vale of Wardour. The village lies south of the river and north of the A30 Shaftesbury-Wilton road, about 7 miles (11 km) west of Wilton and 2.5 miles (4 km) east of the large village of Tisbury.
The Blackmoor Vale and Vale of Wardour area is a natural region in the counties of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire in southern England.
The River Sem is a natural waterway that flows through the ceremonial county of Wiltshire in England. It flows approximately 4 1⁄4 miles (7 km) from its source near East Knoyle to join the River Nadder near Wardour.
The River Lydden is a 15.25 miles (24.55 km) tributary of the River Stour that flows through Blackmore Vale in Dorset, England.
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