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27. Yorkshire Wolds
• Prominent escarpment and foothills rising from the Vales of York and Pickering and falling to the plain of Holderness.
• Defined by the presence of the Chalk but with small areas of Jurassic rocks along the western fringe.
• Remnants of unimproved or semi-improved chalk grassland in steep sided dry valleys, often defined by a hedge at the break of slope and sometimes showing signs of scrub encroachment.
Important archaeological remains with a particular concentration of prehistoric earthworks including burial mounds.
• A large-scale landscape of rounded, rolling hills, with big skies and long views from the escarpment and plateaux, contrasting with the more enclosed, sheltered valleys.
• Fertile, chalky soils supporting mainly arable farming.
• Pattern of large, regular fields crossed by drove ways and enclosure roads with wide verges, resulting mainly from late Parliamentary enclosure.
• A generally lightly settled landscape with predominantly brick - but sometimes chalk and pantile - buildings, large scattered farmsteads on high ground, small villages in valleys, and small market towns at the fringes.
• High chalk cliffs where the outcrop reaches the coast at Flamborough Head.
• Limited extent of woodland, mainly confined to steep slopes, escarpments and the hills formed from Jurassic rocks.
• Parkland and estate landscapes with large country houses, estate villages and estate woodlands.
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.
