{{short description|Road cutting}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Use British English|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox SSSI |image= M40 - Chiltern Cutting - Stokenchurch.jpg |image_caption = |name= Aston Rowant Cutting |aos= Oxfordshire |interest=Geological |gridref={{gbmappingsmall|SU 732 964}}<ref name=dsv/> |area= {{convert|3.5|ha|acre|abbr=off}}<ref name=dsv/> |notifydate= 1986<ref name=dsv/> |map=[https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271000039%27 ''Magic Map''] }} '''Aston Rowant Cutting''' is a {{convert|3.5 |ha|acre|abbr=off |adj=on }} geological [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] south of [[Aston Rowant]] in [[Oxfordshire]].<ref name=dsv>{{cite web|url=https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteDetail.aspx?SiteCode=S1000039&SiteName=&countyCode=34&responsiblePerson=&SeaArea=&IFCAArea= |title=Designated Sites View: Aston Rowant Cutting | series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate = 5 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=map>{{cite web|url=https://magic.defra.gov.uk/MagicMap.aspx?startTopic=Designations&activelayer=sssiIndex&query=HYPERLINK%3D%271000039%27 |title=Map of Aston Rowant Cutting|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 5 April 2020}}</ref> It is a [[Geological Conservation Review]] site.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://archive.jncc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4174&gcr=198 |title= Aston Rowant Cutting (Cenomanian, Turonian, Senonian, Maastrichtian) |series= Geological Conservation Review |publisher= Joint Nature Conservation Committee |accessdate= 26 February 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Aston Rowant Cutting, also known as the '''Stokenchurch Gap''' or '''Aston Hill cutting''', or locally "The Canyon" <ref name="Seven Natural Wonders of The South">{{cite web|url=http://www.carnyx.tv/prodnotes_sevenwonders.htm#Stokenchurch%20Gap|title=Seven Natural Wonders of The South with Aubrey Manning|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509010031/http://www.carnyx.tv/prodnotes_sevenwonders.htm#Stokenchurch%20Gap|archive-date=9 May 2006|df=dmy-all}}</ref> is a steep [[chalk]] [[Cut (earthmoving)|cutting]], constructed through the [[Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve]] in the [[Chiltern Hills]] on the border between [[Buckinghamshire]] and [[Oxfordshire]], [[England]] during the early 1970s for the [[M40 motorway]]. It is {{convert|1,200|m|ft}} long and a maximum of {{convert|47|m|ft}} deep, and is located approximately {{convert|13|km|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.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-02-14|title=M40 death crash: Sensor for 'Fog Alley' 30-car accident spot|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-38966859|access-date=2020-12-27}}</ref>
==Cutting== The cutting provides the best exposure in central England dating to the [[Coniacian]] stage of the [[Late Cretaceous]], approximately 88 million years ago. It is part of the [[Upper Chalk]] succession, and at its base there is a fossil rich section which is important in defining the boundary between the Coniacian and the preceding [[Turonian]] stage.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/PDFsForWeb/Citation/1000039.pdf |title=Aston Rowant Cutting|series= Sites of Special Scientific Interest|publisher=Natural England|accessdate= 5 April 2020}}</ref>
[[Red kite]]s are commonly seen flying within the cutting or on the surrounding downland, making their return after their persecution by game keepers in [[Victorian era|Victorian times]] following a successful reintroduction programme organised by the [[RSPB]] and [[Natural England]],<ref>[http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/species/casestudies/redkite.asp Conservation: Red kite. RSPB]</ref> which selected the Aston Rowant NNR as one of four initial sites in the UK for a captive release programme using birds brought in from [[Spain]].<ref>[http://www.chilternsaonb.org/caring/red_kites_reintroduction.html Red kites: Re-introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519064932/http://www.chilternsaonb.org/caring/red_kites_reintroduction.html |date=19 May 2009 }}, [http://www.chilternsaonb.org/ The Chilterns], UK.</ref> The scheme has been so successful that the population has grown to over 200 pairs and is now self-generating and supplies birds for similar release programmes elsewhere in the UK.<ref name="Seven Natural Wonders of The South"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/england/sevenwonders/south/stokenchurch/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731203326/http://www.bbc.co.uk/england/sevenwonders/south/stokenchurch/|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 July 2012|title=Seven Man Made Wonders|publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref>
The cutting features prominently in the opening titles to the [[BBC]] comedy series ''[[The Vicar of Dibley]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://findthatlocation.com/television-show/the-vicar-of-dibley|title = The Vicar of Dibley Filming Locations: Find That Location}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081009035743/http://www.iht.org/motorway/m40m25water.htm Further construction information of M40 Jct 5-8A] * [http://roadca.ms/1057 Live traffic camera showing northbound approach to the cutting with Christmas Common overbridge]
{{coord|51|39|42|N|0|56|17|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}} {{commons category|Stokenchurch Gap|Aston Rowant Cutting}}
{{SSSIs Oxfordshire}}
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Oxfordshire]] [[Category:Geological Conservation Review sites]] [[Category:Landforms of Oxfordshire]] [[Category:Hills of Oxfordshire]] [[Category:Transport in Oxfordshire]] [[Category:Road cuttings in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Chiltern Hills]] [[Category:South Oxfordshire District]]