The Vale of Holmesdale is a comparatively narrow valley lying at the foot of the North Downs

North Downs

The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...

 in Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

 and Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, 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...

. Its composition is mainly Gault Clay

Gault Clay

Gault is a clay formation of stiff blue clay deposited in a calm, fairly deep water marine environment during the Lower Cretaceous Period...

, although the Lower Chalk

Chalk

Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....

 area at the foot of the Downs is included in the area. The River Medway

River Medway

The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....

, for part of its length, flows along the Vale, as do, further to the east, the headwaters of the River Stour

River Stour, Kent

The River Stour is the river in Kent, England that flows into the English Channel at Pegwell Bay. Above Plucks Gutter, where the Little Stour joins it, the river is normally known as the Great Stour. The upper section of the river, above its confluence with the East Stour at Ashford is sometimes...

. The name of the vale comes from the Holm Oak

Holm Oak

Quercus ilex, the Holm Oak or Holly Oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It takes its name from holm, an ancient name for holly...

 (Quercus ilex), a non-indigenous evergreen oak, which was once common in the area. The Guildford-Redhill railway line

North Downs Line

The North Downs Line is the name of the passenger train service connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Gatwick Airport, on the Brighton Main Line...

 runs along the Vale of Holmesdale between Gomshall

Gomshall railway station

Gomshall railway station serves the village of Gomshall in Surrey, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by First Great Western. It is situated on the North Downs Line.-History:...

 and Reigate

Reigate railway station

Reigate railway station is in Surrey, England. On the North Downs Line, the station is managed by Southern, which provides an hourly service to London Bridge via Redhill...

.