East Dorset Landscape Character Assessment - Dorsetforyou.com

distinctive profile of Badbury Rings, are of considerable importance.From many parts of the area they form a well defined edge to thelandscape. Elsewhere tree-cover is sparse. In this open landscape farmbuildingstend to be obtrusive.Most roads and tracks in the area tend to be straight. This is a feature ofthe A354 Blandford to Salisbury road which passes through the north ofthe District in a south-west/ north-east direction. Although a major road,its impact on the landscape is not unduly significant, because of itstraditional single-carriageway design and presence of hedgerows exceptat the roundabout at Handley Hill which is marked by a prominent groupof street lights. The road follows the natural contours of the landscape,and because of its long, straight alignments, tends to emphasise therolling topography. As the road rises to Handley Cross it revealsuninterrupted panoramic views across the landscape.Photo: Peter MounceView across downland south of B3082, Badbury Rings can be seen at the left hand edge ofthe photoThe landscape south of the Avenue is characterised by a rectangularfield pattern extending towards the Stour. This ‘grain’ is not evidentfurther north where fields are more irregular. Here, field sizes tend to belarger to the west and smaller towards the River Allen. This landscapehas changed very little since mediaeval times. There is still evidence ofthe pre-enclosure field system and the preponderance of thatchedbuildings reinforces the historical landscape.View from Handley Hill northwards across the A 354The chalk landscape extends to the east of the River Allen and runsparallel to the Allen valley northwards to Wimborne St. Giles. Thiselongated zone is flanked to the east by a line of hills that tend to containEast Dorset District Council District Landscape Character Assessment 200812