The Northamptonshire Uplands are an English National Character Area that lie predominantly in the western half of the district of West Northamptonshire, with a small area of the NCA extending into Cherwell District, Oxfordshire, Harborough District, Leicestershire and Stratford-on-Avon District and the Borough of Rugby, both of which are part of Warwickshire.
Extent The NCA runs from the northern border of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire in a south westerly direction towards Banbury, roughly following the border between West Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, until reaching, and extending around 8 km into Oxfordshire.
It encompasses nearly all of the former Daventry District, as well as the western half of the former district of South Northamptonshire.
The main population centres within the uplands are Banbury and Daventry. The eastern suburbs of Rugby and northwestern suburbs of Northampton also both encroach on the uplands.
Geology
Much of the area lies on a mixed strata from the Jurassic Period when Limestone was deposited in the north of the area, with the east and the south of the district capping off the Limestone deposits with ironstone-rich sandstone.Cherwell District Council
Over time the weathering of these minerals by a previously formed ocean has given many of the rocks in the area a wide variety of distinctive colours.
Above the solid geology there is a mixture of clay like soil (till) and sand and rock (alluvium), which made early agricultural efforts difficult and restricted drainage to the rivers and streams in the region.
Geography Human geography
Transport
There are several major transport corridors which pass through the area. The M1 and M40 motorways pass through the uplands and link major population centres in England. The UK's shortest motorway, the M45https://www.roads.org.uk/motorway/m45 also passes through the Uplands.
The A5, A14 both pass through the area. The longest three digit A road in the UK, the A361, also passes through the uplands. Other important A roads in the area include the A428, the A422 and the A425.
Physical geography
Principal summits Hills within the NCA with more than 30 metres of prominence are listed here. RankHillElevationProminenceGrid reference1Arbury Hill224.3 m (736 ft)102.7 mSP5405872Big Hill224.3 m (736 ft)63 mSP5486123Sharman's Hill222.7 m (731 ft)43 mSP5395764Blackdown222 m (728 ft)47 mSP5135615Honey Hill214 m (702 ft)70 mSP6377686Oat Hill211 m (692 ft)79 mSP4075077Beacon Hill206.5 m (677 ft)56 mSP4896098Borough Hill201 m (659 ft)47 mSP5876209Newnham Hill201 m (659 ft)44 mSP57560810Naseby Hill197 m (646 ft)34 mSP69378411Hinton Hill196 m (643 ft)34 mSP53554312Badby Down196 m (643 ft)33 mSP55458213Fox Hill193.6 m (635 ft)31 mSP56961014Golden Hill192 m (630 ft)41 mSP50852115Preston Capes Hill189.3 m (621 ft)37 mSP56754516Berryhill187.6 m (615 ft)44.6 mSP46954917Thenford Hill187 m (614 ft)43 mSP52244318Upper Wardington Hill179.1 m (588 ft)34 mSP50346319Windmill Hill178 m (584 ft)36 mSP43350120Ashby Grange Hill177.2 m (581 ft)32 mSP55567921Crouch Hill170 m (558 ft)36 mSP44039222Napton Hill157.9 m (518 ft)31.6 mSP45961323Waydale Hill151 m (495 ft)39 mSP654631
References
Bibliography