Chalk valley & downland
Location
The Chalk Valley and Downland landscape type is found in a broad belt running across the county between the heathland basin to the southeast and the vale landscapes to the northwest, forming part of the wider chalk landscape of Wessex.
Key Characteristics
- extensive and uniform area of chalk covering a large part of the county.
- visually dominant with open views from expansive elevated areas.
- smaller scale pattern of fields and winding ribbons of trees along
the valley floors creates a more sheltered and secluded character.
- distinctive north south aligned valleys each with its own unique character.
- chalk streams, semi natural chalk grasslands and ancient woodland
are all key habitats.
- large arable fields subdivided by low, thin and straight hedges.
- historic now disused water meadows are key features.
- distinctive settlements of stone, brick and flint in linear form
along the valley floors.
- roads typically follow valley floors or on elevated ridges along
old straight Roman alignments.
- important old boundary features such as railings and walls.
The Chalk Valley and Downland landscape type has a dominant visual
influence being more extensive and generally more elevated than other
landscape types in the county with open views from elevated positions.
The whole area is undulating with an inverted saucer shaped profile
and a gentle dip slope towards the Frome valley and Poole Basin
linking into the escarpment landscape along its remaining edges. The
distinctive north south aligned, secluded chalk valleys of this
landscape drain and subdivide the surrounding chalk downlands. Flowing
southwards into the larger Stour, Piddle and Stour rivers, each valley
has its own unique character and sense of place, with a diversity of
important habitats and cultural features. The chalk streams themselves
are key habitats as well as significant landscape and cultural features.
Management Objectives
The overall management objective for the Chalk Valley and Downland
Landscape Type should be to conserve the strong settlement pattern,
whilst restoring woodlands and meadows, chalk grasslands and important
boundary features.
Key land management guidance notes
- conserve and/or restore all chalk streams, and not just the
winterbournes, and their associated habitats and features of
cultural interest. Ensure over abstraction does not impact on river flows.
- encourage opportunities for enhanced woodland management on the
valley sides, especially coppice management.
- where important grasslands and views will not be affected, promote
the planting of small oak, ash and hazel broadleaved woodlands on
gentle slopes and around settlements and farmsteads to increase
landscape diversity.
- new coniferous planting and shelterbelts should not be encouraged.
- enhance management of existing chalk grasslands and, where
important woodland edges will not be affected (along the valley
floor and settlements), encourage reversion back to chalk grassland
where remaining areas could be linked up.
- plant new parkland trees (and retain veteran trees for wildlife
purposes) and replant new areas of wet woodland along the river valleys.
- conserve and restore remnant water meadow systems that are an
important historic landscape feature and provide opportunities for
supporting traditional land management practices.
- encourage the maintenance and replacement of important boundaries,
particularly parkland railings and flint walls, along the valley floors.
- conserve and enhance the pattern and character of valley floor
‘ribbon development’ villages.
- identify, protect and conserve views of key landmarks e.g. via
Parish Action Plans, Village Design Statements and other Settlement Appraisals.
Landscape Character Assessment Map
View a map of all the Landscape Character Areas in Dorset, or view a list