The Upper Thames Clay Vales is a National Character Area (NCA) as designated by Natural England. It completely surrounds the NCA known as the Midvale Ridge. It is a belt of low-lying farmland on predominantly Jurassic and Cretaceous clays. Its landscapes include enclosed pastures, wet valleys, mixed farmland, hedges, and open arable lands with mature field oaks in places. Its principal settlements are Kidlington, Bicester, Aylesbury, Thame, Wallingford, Didcot, Abingdon, Wantage, Royal Wootton Bassett, Cricklade and Witney, along with parts of Swindon and Oxford. Small parts of the boundary areas of the Cotswolds, Chilterns and North Wessex Downs lie within it. It includes the flatlands of Otmoor and is watered by the rivers Thames, Ock, Thame and Ray. It is mostly within Oxfordshire but includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
Principal summits Although a low-lying region, the NCA does have a few hills. Hills within the NCA with more than 30 metres of prominence are listed below:https://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/ HillElevationProminenceGrid referenceHook Hill155 m (509 ft)53 mSU075849Adwell Cop148.6 m (488 ft)33.4 mSU703990Worthy Hill134 m (440 ft)30 mSU019881Wittenham Clumps123.4 m (405 ft)69 mSU566927Burn Hill117 m (384 ft)32 mSP778124Graven Hill115 m (377 ft)48 mSP588204Arncott Hill108 m (354 ft)34 mSP616171Woodeaton Hill102 m (335 ft)38 mSP534125
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