Vale of Holmesdale

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Looking south from Blue Bell Hill across the Medway Valley a deep part of the valley, with the village of Eccles in the foreground, the Aylesford Newsprint plant in the middle ground, Ditton and Maidstone beyond. Ditton from Blue Bell Hill.jpg
Looking south from Blue Bell Hill across the Medway Valley a deep part of the valley, with the village of Eccles in the foreground, the Aylesford Newsprint plant in the middle ground, Ditton and Maidstone beyond.
Geology of the South East, The vale is the thin lime green belt S East Geology.jpg
Geology of the South East, The vale is the thin lime green belt
View from North downs towards Reigate. North-downs-view-from-margery-wood.jpg
View from North downs towards Reigate.
A cross-section, showing the Wealden Dome, and relating it to the towns of Kent KentGeologyWealdenDome.svg
A cross-section, showing the Wealden Dome, and relating it to the towns of Kent
the view from Newlands Corner near to Guildford showing the richness of this undeveloped part of the valley's agriculture and natural habitat Newlands Corner.jpg
the view from Newlands Corner near to Guildford showing the richness of this undeveloped part of the valley's agriculture and natural habitat

Holmesdale, also known as the Vale of Holmesdale, is a valley in South-East England that falls between the hill ranges of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge of the Weald, in the counties of Kent and Surrey. [1] It stretches from Folkestone [2] on the Kent coast, through Ashford, Harrietsham, Maidstone, Riverhead/Sevenoaks, Westerham, Oxted, Godstone, Redhill, Reigate, Dorking, Gomshall, and Guildford – west of which it is also called by the local name of "Puttenham Vale" – as it continues through the village of Puttenham, to the market town of Farnham.

Contents

Geology

Holmesdale is part of the Weald Basin and Weald-Artois Anticline. The valley is bordered on its north side by the chalk escarpment of the North Downs, and on its south side by the dip slope of the Greensand Ridge.

The valley's composition is primarily Gault Clay and Upper Greensand, with Lower Chalk wash at the foot of the Downs along its north edge and eroded Lower Greensand at its south edge also forming part of the valley floor in places. [1] The vale gently ascends and descends several times along its length, with higher elevations near Lenham and Westerham (in Kent), and Wotton (in Surrey) [2] acting as drainage divides for the valley's several drainage basins and rivers.

Rivers

The valley is part of the drainage basins of the rivers Stour and Medway; and the Thames tributaries the Darent and Mole.

Transport

The M25 motorway runs westward along Holmesdale after descending through the North Downs near Sevenoaks (Junction 5), before ascending up the downs again at Reigate (Junction 8). The A25 road connects the towns and villages in Holmesdale from Wrotham Heath to Shere, alternating between running in the valley and running along the Greensand Ridge. At Shere the A25 ascends the downs, passing over the top at Newlands Corner, to run north of the downs to Guildford.

The North Downs railway line runs along the valley from Redhill to Gomshall.

Usage of the term

Local businesses, schools, and clubs use the valley's name, for example the Holmesdale Building Society in Reigate; The Holmesdale School in Snodland; and the Holmesdale Natural History Club, founded in 1857, which runs a museum of the same name in Reigate. [3]

See also

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Reigate and Banstead Place in England

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Weald Area of South East England

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North Downs Range of hills in south east England, UK

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A25 road

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Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Kent, England

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North Downs Line

The North Downs Line is a passenger-train line connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Redhill and Gatwick Airport, along the Brighton Main Line, linking many centres of population in that part of the North Downs which it traverses en route.

Greensand Way

The Greensand Way is a long-distance path of 108 miles (174 km) in southeast England, from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent. It follows the Greensand Ridge along the Surrey Hills and Chart Hills. The route is mostly rural, passing through woods, and alongside fruit orchards and hop farms in Kent and links with the Stour Valley Walk near Pluckley in Kent. The trail was opened on 15 June 1980 and is jointly managed by Surrey and Kent Councils who fully updated it in 2012.

Shere Village in England

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Gomshall railway station Railway station in Surrey, England

Gomshall railway station serves the village of Gomshall in Surrey, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by Great Western Railway. It is on the North Downs Line, 35 miles 21 chains measured from London Charing Cross via Redhill.

Puttenham, Surrey Human settlement in England

Puttenham is a village in Surrey, England, located just south of the Hog's Back which is the narrowest stretch of the North Downs. Puttenham is about midway between the towns of Guildford and Farnham, and can be accessed from the A31 trunk road which runs along the spine of the Hog's Back. Villages nearby include Wanborough, Shackleford and Compton.

Greensand Ridge Range of hills in south east England, UK

The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it runs to and from the East Sussex coast, wrapping around the High Weald and Low Weald. It reaches its highest elevation, 294 metres (965 ft), at Leith Hill in Surrey—the second highest point in south-east England, while another hill in its range, Blackdown, is the highest point in Sussex at 280 metres (919 ft). The eastern end of the ridge forms the northern boundary of Romney Marsh.

Geography of Kent Overview of the geography of Kent

Kent is the south-easternmost county in England. It is bounded on the north by the River Thames and the North Sea, and on the south by the Straits of Dover and the English Channel. The continent of Europe is 21 miles across the straits.

London Basin

The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately 250 kilometres (160 mi) long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea. The basin formed as a result of compressional tectonics related to the Alpine orogeny during the Palaeogene period and was mainly active between 40 and 60 million years ago.

Law Brook, Surrey Stream in Surrey, England

The Law Brook or Postford Brook is a stream in the Surrey Hills AONB which feeds the Tillingbourne which in turn feeds the River Wey. It is notable in its own right chiefly for its industrial vestiges and records.

The geology of Kent in southeast England largely consists of a succession of northward dipping late Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks overlain by a suite of unconsolidated deposits of more recent origin.

Geology of Surrey

The geology of Surrey is dominated by sedimentary strata from the Cretaceous, overlaid by clay and superficial deposits from the Cenozoic.

References

  1. 1 2 Britain's Structure and Scenery, L.Dudley Stamp, Pub Sept 1946, Collins New Naturalist Series.
  2. 1 2 Davies, G. M. (1939). Geology of London and South-East England. London: Thomas Murby & co. p. 103.
  3. website of Holmesdale Natural History Club (HNHC). information on the Holmesdale Natural History Club Museum.

Coordinates: 51°14′N0°20′W / 51.233°N 0.333°W / 51.233; -0.333