| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Oxfordshire |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | SU 732 964[1] |
| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 3.5 hectares (8.6 acres)[1] |
| Notification | 1986[1] |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Aston Rowant Cutting is a 3.5-hectare (8.6-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire.[1][2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site.[3]
Aston Rowant Cutting, also known as the Stokenchurch Gap or Aston Hill cutting, or locally "The Canyon" [4] is a steep chalk cutting, constructed through the Chiltern Hills on the border between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England during the early 1970s for the M40 motorway. It is 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) long and a maximum of 47 metres (154 ft) deep, and is located approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from High Wycombe and close to the village of Stokenchurch. Despite the names, the cutting is in the parish of Lewknor rather than Aston Rowant or Stokenchurch. The cutting (along with the nearby village of Stokenchurch) is subject to frequent heavy fog during the winter months.[5]
- ^ a b c d "Designated Sites View: Aston Rowant Cutting". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ^ "Map of Aston Rowant Cutting". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ^ "Aston Rowant Cutting (Cenomanian, Turonian, Senonian, Maastrichtian)". Geological Conservation Review. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 26 February 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Seven Natural Wonders of The South with Aubrey Manning". Archived from the original on 9 May 2006.
- ^ "M40 death crash: Sensor for 'Fog Alley' 30-car accident spot". BBC News. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2020.