The Yeovil Scarplands are a natural region in southern

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the counties of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

. The region is listed as National Character Area 140 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 UK 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 ...

. It covers and runs from Chard in the southwest to Chesterblade and Upton Noble in the northeast. The town of

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somerset's southern border with ...

lies roughly in the centre of the area. To the west are the Blackdowns and the

Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes The Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes form a natural region in the southwest of England in the county of Somerset. Natural England have designated the Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes as National Character Area 146. Extent The region ...

, to the north are the Mid Somerset Hills and the

Mendips The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills ...

, to the east are the Blackmoor Vale and Vale of Wardour and to the south, the

Marshwood and Powerstock Vales The Marshwood and Powerstock Vales form a natural region in southwest England reaching to the Dorset coastline. The region is recognised as a National Character Area (No. 139) by Natural England, the UK Government's advisors on the natural envi ...

and

Dorset Downs The Dorset Downs are an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger chalk formation which also includes (from west to east) Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, H ...

. With a predominantly rural landscape,

and other urban areas occupying less than 5% of the area, about 85% is farmed and the remainder predominantly pastoral. The area is drained by several rivers including: River Axe,

River Brue The River Brue originates in the parish of Brewham in Somerset, England, and reaches the sea some west at Burnham-on-Sea. It originally took a different route from Glastonbury to the sea, but this was changed by Glastonbury Abbey in the twelft ...

, River Cary,

River Isle The River Isle (also known as the River Ile) flows from its source near Combe St Nicholas, through Somerset, England and discharges into the River Parrett south of Langport near Midelney. Several small springs merge into the river near Wad ...

, River Parrett, River Yeo and the Whitelake River. The area includes Neolithic hill forts, remains of Roman villas and many listed buildings. The area also includes 9477 ha of the

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

Designated Areas and Listed Buildings

The NCA includes some or all of: * Bracket’s Coppice SAC * West Dorset Alder Woods SAC * Hardington Moor NNR * Horn Park Quarry NNR * A total of 30

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 ...

(SSSI) wholly or partly within the NCA including Rampisham Down * 31 Local Geological Sites * 7 Active

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

Quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

including 2 at Ham Hill * 4386 ha of

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

of which 1251 ha is

ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...

with over 70% being Broadleaved. * 13 Registered Parks and Gardens * 74 Scheduled Monuments. Some of the oldest are Neolithic, Bronze Age or Iron Age including hill forts, such as

Kenwalch's Castle Kenwalch's Castle is probably an Iron Age hill fort that may have been converted into a Roman Britain, Roman fortress, near Penselwood, Somerset, England, east south east of Bruton at . It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is believed to be n ...

and Bowl barrows. The Romano-British period is represented with several sites including the

Low Ham Roman Villa The Low Ham Roman Villa was a Roman courtyard villa located near Low Ham in the civil parish of High Ham in the English county of Somerset. It is best known for the extraordinary figured mosaic depicting the story of Aeneas and Dido. The site ...

which included an extensive

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

floor, now on display in the

Museum of Somerset The Museum of Somerset is located in the 12th-century great hall of Taunton Castle, in Taunton in the county of Somerset, England. The museum is run by South West Heritage Trust, an independent charity, and includes objects initially collected ...

. Religious sites are represented by

Muchelney Abbey Muchelney Abbey is an English Heritage property in the village of Muchelney in the Somerset Levels, England. The site consists of ruined walls showing the layout of the abbey buildings constructed from the 7th to 16th centuries, and the remaini ...

, which was founded in the 7th or 8th century, and

Montacute Priory Montacute Priory was a Cluniac priory of the Benedictine order in Montacute, Somerset, England. History It was founded between 1078 and 1102 by William, Count of Mortain, in face of a threat that if he did not do so, the King would take the land ...

, a

Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wi ...

priory of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

order, from the 11th. More recent sites include several motte-and-bailey castles such as Cary Castle, and church crosses which date from the Middle Ages. Several

packhorse bridge A packhorse bridge is a bridge intended to carry packhorses (horses loaded with sidebags or panniers) across a river or stream. Typically a packhorse bridge consists of one or more narrow (one horse wide) masonry arches, and has low parapets so ...

s, such as Bow Bridge, Plox also appear in the list. The most recent monuments include the Round House, a

village lock-up A village lock-up is a historic building once used for the temporary detention of people in England and Wales, mostly where official prisons or criminal courts were beyond easy walking distance. Lockups were often used for the confinement of dru ...

in Castle Cary dating from 1779. * 4317 Listed Buildings including

Montacute House Montacute House is a late Elizabethan era, Elizabethan mansion with a garden in Montacute, South Somerset. An example of English architecture during a period that was moving from the medieval Gothic to the Renaissance Classical, and one of fe ...

, Barrington Court & Tintinhull Court.

References

{{Reflist Natural regions of Dorset Geography of Somerset Natural regions of England