East Dorset Landscape Character Assessment - Dorsetforyou.com

the views across the valley, but emphasise the long-distance views alongit; as far as the Rushmore woods in the north and beyond Badbury Ringsto the tower in Charborough Park to the south beyond the DistrictBoundary. Views from the Cranborne Road are improved by its gentlymeandering alignment, and by the often falling land on its western side.As noted, the Cranborne Road meanders through this downland area,merging with the landscape. There are very few roadside trees but thosethat do feature along the road are related to buildings, such as High Lea,Didlington Lodge and the lodge to Witchampton Paper Mill. These formpinchpoints along the road that, by temporarily blocking the long-distanceviews, increase interest, emphasising the contrast between enclosureand open views.This area has a less empty character than the downland areas to thenorth and south west due to the various buildings that are scatteredalong the road and the farmhouses on the hills to the east and the villageat Hinton Martell. The most prominent building in this area was theHorton Inn which is now partly screened by a recently planted copse tothe south.The historic village of Witchampton lies on the boundary of the chalk andthe Allen Valley. The village setting is characterised by extensive treecoverthat conceals parts of the settlement, but the Church tower and thegables of Abbey House stand out amongst the treescape and provide aclear focal point.The beech and conifer plantations on the ridge behind the village areimportant in the wider landscape. They extend northwards and mergewith the woods of the Crichel EstateIn contrast, immediately to the west and south of the ridge, the landscapeis open, relatively treeless, arable downland.View southwestwards along the Cranborne Road from Wimborne LodgeThis part of the chalkland area is extensively farmed, with large regularfields and closely-cropped hedges. Tree cover within the fields is sparse.However, this is compensated by the woods and plantations that exist onboth sides of the valley and along the valley bottom. The field patterngives the landscape a regular ‘grain’, accentuated at different times ofthe year by plough furrow-lines within the fields themselves. The coloursseen within the chalkland landscape form an important aspect of itscharacter; they reflect the manner in which the landscape is managed asmuch as the seasonal differences.Newtown is a hamlet to the north-east of the village, centred onWitchampton Mill. The approach is marked by the castellated gateway toCrichel House, which forms a feature and focal point to the road.In the north east of the chalk downland area lies a relatively shallow dryvalley that extends from Cranborne to Handley Down. Its landform is notas strong as those of the valleys serving the River Allen to the southeast, as noted below, but is more closely linked to the surroundingdownland by the large fields that encroach from the west onto the valleyfloor.East Dorset District Council District Landscape Character Assessment 200813