The West Wiltshire Downs is an area of downland in the west of the county of Wiltshire, England. Its highest point is Long Knoll at 288 metres.
The West Wiltshire Downs are geologically the same unit as Salisbury Plain to the north and Cranborne Chase to the south. [1]
The West Wiltshire Downs are split between two of the National Character Areas designated by Natural England: No. 134, Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase; and No. 132, Salisbury Plain and West Wiltshire Downs. [2] [3]
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to the west. The largest settlement is Swindon, and Trowbridge is the county town.
Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in southern England covering 300 square miles (780 km2). It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies within the county of Wiltshire, but stretches into Hampshire.
Cranborne is a village in East Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the parish had a population of 779, remaining unchanged from 2001.
The North Wessex Downs are an area of chalk downland landscapes located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The North Wessex Downs has been designated as a National Landscape since 1972.
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.
Tarrant Keyneston is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated in the Tarrant Valley, five miles southeast of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had 152 dwellings, 145 households and a population of 310.
Tarrant Monkton is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated in the Tarrant Valley about four miles east-northeast of Blandford Forum. Within the parish boundary, 1+1⁄2 miles over hills to the west, lies the major part of Blandford Camp army base. In the 2011 census the parish—including the army base—had a population of 1,986. The village is centred on the All Saints Parish Church, opposite which is the Langton Arms, a public house and restaurant.
Cranborne Chase is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The A354 is a primary route in England which runs from Salisbury in Wiltshire to Easton on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, a total distance of 51 miles (82 km). From Salisbury the road crosses Cranborne Chase. At Woodyates the road follows the route of Ackling Dyke, a Roman Road for a short distance. The A354 briefly merges with the A350 at the Blandford Forum bypass before crossing the Dorset Downs and merging with the A35 at the Puddletown bypass. 7 miles (11 km) to the west it splits from the Dorchester bypass and runs south. The road now bypasses Upwey and Broadwey on a new section of road which has some two lane sections going north and one lane continuously going south towards Weymouth. After the old and new sections meet at Manor Roundabout the road follows down Weymouth Way alongside Radipole Lake. The final stretch runs across a short bridge over Chesil beach onto Portland. Historically the section between Dorchester and Fortuneswell was part of the A37 with the extension to Easton being the original B3154. This section of the A37 became part of the A354 in 1935 but the B3154 was only renumbered as part of the A354 in the 1980s.
The Wessex Ridgeway is a long-distance footpath in southwest England. It runs 136 miles (219 km) from Marlborough in Wiltshire to Lyme Regis in Dorset, via the northern edge of Salisbury Plain and across Cranborne Chase AONB. The footpath was opened in 1994.
Baverstock Juniper Bank is a 2.6 hectare Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest to the north of the village of Baverstock in Wiltshire, England. Baverstock Juniper Bank is within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The ungrazed chalk grassland is home to over 500 bushes of the lowland juniper, Juniperus communis, subspecies communis. Their seeds attract flocks of finches and yellowhammers to the location as a feeding site in winter. Uncommon species such a horseshoe vetch and pyramidal orchid are to be found at the SSSI. Butterflies such as the brimstone, speckled wood and small heath have been seen visiting the site.
Brimsdown Hill is a 193.7 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Wiltshire, notified in 1951. It is situated within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.j,
Bowerchalke Downs, is a 134 hectares biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in southern Wiltshire, England, notified in 1971.
Heath Hill Farm is a 20.73 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Stourton in Wiltshire, notified in 1997. Part of the Stourhead estate, it is also situated within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs, marketed as the Cranborne Chase National Landscape, is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covering 379 square miles (980 km2) of Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. It is the sixth largest AONB in England.
The Larmer Tree Gardens near Tollard Royal in south Wiltshire, England, were created by landowner Augustus Pitt Rivers in 1880 as pleasure grounds for "public enlightenment and entertainment". They were the first private gardens opened for public enjoyment in the United Kingdom, and were free to enter. The 11-acre (4.5 ha) Grade II* listed gardens are within the Rushmore Estate in Cranborne Chase, an ancient royal hunting ground and now an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Ludwell is a small village in south Wiltshire, England, approximately 3 miles (5 km) east of the Dorset town of Shaftesbury. It lies within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the A30 Salisbury-Shaftesbury road. For local government, Ludwell is part of Donhead St Mary civil parish.
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.
A National Character Area (NCA) is a natural subdivision of England based on a combination of landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity and economic activity. There are 159 National Character Areas and they follow natural, rather than administrative, boundaries. They are defined by Natural England, the UK government's advisors on the natural environment.
The Vale of Wardour encompasses the valley of the River Nadder in the county of Wiltshire, England.
51°06′36″N2°02′02″W / 51.110°N 2.034°W
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