Northamptonshire Uplands

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.^[1][2][3]

Northamptonshire Uplands
National Character Area
Location	Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire (United Kingdom)
Max. elevation	Arbury Hill, 225m

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.

Geology

Sandstone has been used as a building material in the area since the Stone Age.

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.^[4]

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.^[4]

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.^[2]

Geography

Human geography

Transport

The Watford Gap forms an important transport corridor between the north and south parts of the Uplands

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 M45^[5] 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.^[6] Other important A roads in the area include the A428, the A422 and the A425.