The Thames Basin Heaths are a natural region in southern England in Berkshire,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

and Surrey, a slightly mottled east-west belt of ecologically recognised and protected land. They are recognised as national character area 129 by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

, the government's advisor on the

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses ...

. They cover of countryside. Inset towns include Newbury, Camberley, Ascot and Woking, To the west sit the

Berkshire Downs The Berkshire Downs are a range of chalk downland hills in South east England split between the counties of Berkshire and Oxfordshire. They are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The western parts of the downs ...

, across similar size, well-drained, and intensively farmed, sports-use or settled Thames floodplains to the north are the similarly protected Chilterns and to the near south are the

Hampshire Downs The Hampshire Downs form a large area of downland in central southern England, mainly in the county of Hampshire but with parts in Berkshire and Wiltshire. They are part of a belt of chalk downland that extends from the South Downs in the southe ...

.''NCA 129: Thames Basin Heaths Key Facts & Data''
at www.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 6 Apr 2013. Not protected as extensively but in significant part adding to the habitats of fauna are the

Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an informally-defined sub-region of South East England, centred on the River Thames west of London, with Oxford as a major centre. Its boundaries vary with context. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub, ...

(including Thames Basin lowlands) to the east and as described to the north.

Environment

The terrain of the

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

is characterized by flat or gently sloping plateaux with numerous watercourses incising broad or sometimes steep-sided valleys. Apart from these, the heaths are lower heading east (before the

London Basin The London Basin is an elongated, roughly triangular sedimentary basin approximately long which underlies London and a large area of south east England, south eastern East Anglia and the adjacent North Sea. The basin formed as a result of compre ...

) and along the main river valleys to the low-lying areas of the

Kennet Kennet may refer to: Places in the United Kingdom *Kennet, Clackmannanshire, Scotland People *Baron Kennet, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * D. Mark Kennet (born 1957), American economist *Josh Kennet (born 1987), English-Israel ...

floodplain and lower reaches of the Loddon and its largest tributary, the Blackwater. At the western edge is the chalk scarp of the

. The highest elevation is 296 metres.

Drainage

The other main watercourses are the

Basingstoke Canal The Basingstoke Canal is an English canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation. From Basingstoke, the canal passes through or near Greywell, North Warnborough, Odiham, ...

, the

Kennet & Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cent ...

, the Wey,

Whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

, Pang and

Mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...

Protected areas

Just over 20,000 hectares (17%) sits in the North Wessex Downs AONB. The zone has: *Two

Special Protection Areas A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

: Thames Basin Heaths SPA; and South West London Waterbodies SPA *Three

Special Areas of Conservation A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

: Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons, Ash, Pirbright and

Chobham Chobham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England. The village has a small high street area, specialising in traditional trades and motor trades. The River Bourne and its northern tributary, the Hale, ...

SAC; Kennet Valley Alderwoods SAC; and Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain SAC *Three national nature reserves:

Chobham Common Chobham Common is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north of Chobham in Surrey. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and a national nature reserve. It is part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area and ...

NNR; Castle Bottom NNR; Ashford Hill NNR. There are many

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

or SSSIs within – one of the largest is the

Broadmoor to Bagshot Woods and Heaths Broadmoor to Bagshot Woods and Heaths is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Berkshire and Surrey that extend from a minority of the parish of Crowthorne including around Broadmoor Hospital in the west to Bagshot south-east ...

SSSI where rare types of birds and other species are professionally monitored and conserved. Much of the east of the zone there can be easily traced a Roman Road, the Devil's Highway (Roman Britain). The region has an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

, one of several so-named, in this case specifically,

Caesar's Camp, Bracknell Forest Caesar's Camp is an Iron Age hill fort around 2400 years old. It is located just in Crowthorne civil parish to the south of Bracknell in the English county of Berkshire. It falls within the Windsor Forest and is well wooded, although parts of the ...

Incursionary barriers

Ecologically near-sterile obstacles to migration, coupled with longstanding biome and habitat loss are significant. Chiefly these are the: * M3 motorway * M4 motorway To a lesser extent (the narrower) main routes of rail and road: *The

South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

*The

Waterloo to Reading Line Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

*The Ascot to Guildford Line * A30 * A329 No

wildlife crossing Wildlife crossings are structures that allow animals to cross human-made barriers safely. Wildlife crossings may include underpass tunnels or wildlife tunnels, viaducts, and overpasses or green bridges (mainly for large or herd-type animals); a ...

s to abate these obstacles have yet been made.

References

{{coord missing, Surrey Natural regions of England

Environment

Drainage

Protected areas

Incursionary barriers

See also

References