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Northamptonshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. It has an area of 236,700 hectares (914 square Miles) and a population estimated in 2019 at 753,278. This includes 68.8% living in urban areas, 3,360 houses being built each year and a predicticted population increase of 15.5% in the next 20 years.
It is managed by 2 main councils, North Northamptonshire managing Kettering, Corby, East Northants and Wellingborough and West Northamptonshire managing Daventry, Northampton and South Northants.
It is a long thin county and bordered by 8 different counties including Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
The county flower is the cowslip that can bee seen on many roadside verges in the spring.
It is managed by 2 main councils, North Northamptonshire managing Kettering, Corby, East Northants and Wellingborough and West Northamptonshire managing Daventry, Northampton and South Northants.
It is a long thin county and bordered by 8 different counties including Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
The county flower is the cowslip that can bee seen on many roadside verges in the spring.
Included in the Northamptonshire Biodiversity Action Plan 2015 to 2020, there are 4 Natural character areas that are the main natural features that help define the habitat for Northants. They are Northamptonshire Vales (including Nene Valley), Northamptonshire Uplands, Rockingham Forest and Yardley- Whittlewood Ridge.
Northamptonshire Vales
Northamptonshire Vales
This a series of low-lying clay vales and river valleys, including the Rivers Nene and Welland and their tributaries, historic parkland, ridge and furrow and open field patterns. The river valleys are striking features of the area, with their riverside meadows and waterside trees and shrubs. Also common are the flooded gravel pits and their associated wetlands, which result from reclamation schemes. Within the Vales is the Nene Valley NIA, at the heart of which is the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area (SPA). The SPA was classified in 2011 in recognition of its wetland bird assemblage, which includes non-breeding great bittern, gadwall and European golden plover.
The core habitat includes, Arable field margins, Eutrophic standing water, Floodplain grazing marsh, hedgerows, lowland fen, Lowland meadow, Lowland mixed deciduous woodland, Open mosaic, Ponds, Rivers, Traditional Orchards and Wet woodland.
The core habitat includes, Arable field margins, Eutrophic standing water, Floodplain grazing marsh, hedgerows, lowland fen, Lowland meadow, Lowland mixed deciduous woodland, Open mosaic, Ponds, Rivers, Traditional Orchards and Wet woodland.
Northamptonshire Uplands
Northamptonshire Uplands
This is an area of gently rolling hills and valleys. Rivers flow out in all directions, including the Cherwell, Avon, Welland, Tove, Ouse, Nene and Ise. Landscape features include extensive areas of open field systems with ridge and furrow, high and wide A-shaped hedgerows with their frequent mature trees, nationally important designed parkland landscapes, narrow lanes with very wide grassy verges, and the small, scattered but prominent, broadleaved woods and coverts.
The core habitat includes, arable field margins, Hedgerows, lowland calcareous grassland, Lowland dry acid grassland, Lowland meadow, Lowland mixed deciduous woodland, Ponds, Rivers and Traditional orchards
The core habitat includes, arable field margins, Hedgerows, lowland calcareous grassland, Lowland dry acid grassland, Lowland meadow, Lowland mixed deciduous woodland, Ponds, Rivers and Traditional orchards
Rockingham Forest
Rockingham Forest
This is a broad, low, undulating ridge underlain by Jurassic limestone. Large areas of woodland remain a significant feature of the landscape and form a patchwork with large to medium-sized fields of mixed arable. The area takes its name from the Royal Hunting Forest and many of the woodlands are ancient. Formerly extensively coppiced, these woodlands contain a rich diversity of species that are of considerable nature conservation interest such as the black hairstreak butterfly and red kite.
The core habitat includes, Arable field margins, Hedgerows, Lowland calcareous grassland, Lowland Meadow, Lowland mixed deciduous woodland, Open mosaic, Ponds, Rivers, Traditional Orchards and wood pasture and parkland.
The core habitat includes, Arable field margins, Hedgerows, Lowland calcareous grassland, Lowland Meadow, Lowland mixed deciduous woodland, Open mosaic, Ponds, Rivers, Traditional Orchards and wood pasture and parkland.
Yardley-Whittlewood Ridge
Yardley-Whittlewood Ridge
This is a low, gently undulating limestone plateau known locally as the Ridge. It contains a variety of semi-natural habitats, including ancient woodland, wood pasture and parkland, hedgerows and lowland meadow. It is a well-wooded landscape with a historic feel stemming from the former royal hunting forests around Yardley Chase, Salcey and Whittlewood forests. The Ridge retains a high proportion of ancient woodland of national importance and supports a wide range of species, particularly scarce species of butterfly such as the white admiral and wood white.
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