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26. Vale of Pickering
• Low lying flat or gently undulating vale with land rising gently in the north to the foothills of the North York Moors and Cleveland Hills, and the steep scarp of the Yorkshire Wolds and the Howardian Hills to the south.
• Enclosed high ground on all sides except the east where the Vale opens to the coast between Scarborough and Filey.
• Pastoral floodplains of the rivers Rye and Derwent and their predominantly northern tributaries.
• Landscape contrast between east and western parts of the Vale. Predominantly flat, arable farmland in medium to large size rectangular fields enclosed by low hedges, and drainage ditches and dykes on the peat soils in the east, colonised by reeds and willows. The clay areas in the west characterised by more grassland and tree cover.
• Relatively sparse tree cover and few woodlands overall, with those which do occur being mainly mixed or coniferous in character and located more to the north and west of the Vale.
• Settlement concentrated along main transport routes on higher ground around the fringes, with small nucleated settlements on lower ground in the Vale, especially in the western clay area.
• Varied building materials, including hard sandstone, brought in from surrounding uplands, and brick.
• Some parkland and historic landscapes concentrated around perimeter.
For further details on this character area and for an introduction to the region, please see the PDF documents in the box at the top right hand side of this page.
