East Dorset Landscape Character Assessment - Dorsetforyou.com

9) Henbury- Corfe (Morden-Lytchett ) farmland/woodlandmosaicContextLandscape Character Type: rolling farmland/woodland mosaicLandscape Description Unit Nos. 405; 407; 408; 439; 467, Part ofLandscape Description Unit No. 411DescriptionAs noted above the London Clay and Reading Beds continue beyond theRiver Stour diagonally across the District, overlain with Plateau Gravel inthe area of Henbury Plantation and Notting Hill and at Corfe Mullen. Itselevated position commands extensive views across the area to thedistant countryside beyond. When viewed from the north, the area’swooded hills provide an important backdrop to the Stour valley.The area is divided into a patchwork of small, enclosed fields andpaddocks connected by a network of winding lanes. Close to the urbanfringe, to the west, lies the extensive wooded landscape of Stoney Downand Henbury. To the west and north beyond Henbury the agriculturallandscape becomes more open as the land falls towards Coombe Almerand the Stour Valley.An extensive part of the area around Henbury is subject to gravelextraction. The extraction site is however relatively well screened by thesurrounding woodland.The western side of the character area is crossed from north to south byan overhead powerline which becomes more prominent in the openlandscapes to the north and south.Hilltops afford some panoramic views. Allen Hill, in Stoney DownPlantation, is a particularly good viewpoint, here the middle-distance viewto the north is of green pastures, with dense woodland clothing thehillside behind; in the distance lies the Stour valley, with the perimeterwoods of Kingston Lacy beyond and beyond this extends even moredistant countryside to the horizon.View from Pardys Hill to Stoney Down to the southwestEast Dorset District Council District Landscape Character Assessment 200833