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.
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.[1]
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.[1]
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]
The view from Borough Hill looking onto Arbury Hill and Big Hill.
The area is mainly characterised by its fairly low, rolling hills that are often rounded. The Watford Gap and Cherwell Valley split the area into the North, Central and South uplands.
North Uplands
A view from the edge of the North Uplands, overlooking Yelvertoft and the Vale of Rugby from Honey Hill
The North Uplands begin roughly around Long Buckby and are at their most prominent around Cold Ashby, Naseby and Guilsborough. To the Northwest, the uplands are interrupted by the Vale of Rugby, a flat, yet undulating area formed by the floodplain of the River Avon. To the Northeast, the uplands see the Brampton Valley give way to a more open landscape in the form of the Brampton Floodplain.
Several Valleys can be found in this area, and they have been frequently used as sources of water storage, with Hollowell Reservoir, Ravensthorpe Reservoir, and Pitsford Reservoir making up a considerable portion of the county's water storage capacity.
Central Uplands
The Central Uplands form the bulk of the NCA and begin at the southwestern edge of the Watford Gap. They continue to the Cherwell Valley, around Banbury, which forms the border with Oxfordshire, where the land flattens.
The Central Uplands are most extreme along the A361 Corridor between Daventry and Banbury, as well as the area immediately surrounding Daventry, Likely due to the amount of water sources in the area, with the Cherwell, Leam and Nene Rivers' sources lying in this area.
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[3] 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.[4] Other important A roads in the area include the A428, the A422 and the A425.
The West Coast Mainline passes through the uplands via the northwestern half of the Northampton Loop, reconnecting just to the northwest of DIRFT in the Vale of Rugby. Its only station in the boundaries of the NCA is Long Buckby.
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