Burton Dassett Hills
Encyclopedia
Country park
A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term 'Country Park' has a special meaning. There are over 400 Country Parks in England alone . Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...
in southeastern Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
It was created as a country park in 1971 and is run by Warwickshire County Council. It comprises a group of ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
s, which are named after the tiny village of Burton Dassett
Burton Dassett
Burton Dassett is a parish and shrunken medieval village in Warwickshire. Much of the area is now the Burton Dassett Hills country park. It was enclosed for sheep farming by Sir Edward Belknap at the end of the 15th century....
which is located in the hills. The hills rise to 203m (666 ft) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
and are situated half a mile east of the M40 motorway
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...
.
The area was once extensively quarried
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
for ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
and a short industrial railway
Industrial railway
An industrial railway is a type of railway that is not available for public transportation and is used exclusively to serve a particular industrial, logistics or military site...
– Edge Hill Light Railway
Edge Hill Light Railway
The Edge Hill Light Railway, one of Colonel Stephens' railways, was in Warwickshire, England. It was designed to carry iron ore from Edge Hill Quarries to Burton Dassett where a junction was made with the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway. It was never officially opened, but began...
– existed for this purpose until the 1920s.
Of interest at the site is a 12th century parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
at the old village of Burton Dassett. Outside the church is a holy well
Holy well
A holy well, or sacred spring, is a small body of water emerging from underground and revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianized. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of...
which still provides water. The park is also highly popular with flyers of kites and radio-controlled gliders.
Impressive views across the surrounding countryside can be seen from the hills; towns and other features that are viewable are described by a toposcope
Toposcope
A toposcope or topograph is a marker erected on hills, mountains or high places which indicates the direction, and usually the distance, to notable landscape features which can be seen from that point...
. On a clear day places as far afield as Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
(more than 20 miles way) can be seen. The park and the church were used as a location in the Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck
Thomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
1990 film Three Men and a Little Lady
3 Men and a Little Lady
Three Men and a Little Lady is a 1990 American comedy film, and a sequel to Three Men and a Baby . Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson reprise the leading roles.-Plot:...
.