Oaken Wood
Also within
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TQ701548 | — | Favourable | 18.65 | 2023-02-06 |
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Quaternary
Landscape processes: Periglacial
Description
Area, 17.7 ha. 43.73 ac. Description Oaken Wood is a key geomorphological site. It provides the best example in Britain of ridge and trough topography produced by intense cambering and gulling during the Pleistocene tilting and cracking of surface rock outcrops by periglacial processes or deformation of underlying weaker strata. The ridge crests rise up to eight metres above the level of the trough floors, which extend for about 0.5 kilometres in an eastwest direction. This unusual type of topography is confined to the Maidstone area and the north Cotswolds and is most spectacularly developed at Oaken Wood.