National Character Area

A National Character Area (NCA) is a natural subdivision of England based on a combination of landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity and economic activity. There are 159 National Character Areas and they follow natural, rather than administrative, boundaries. They are defined by Natural England, the UK government's advisors on the natural environment.

NCA profiles
As part of its responsibilities in delivering the Natural Environment White Paper, Biodiversity 2020 and the European Landscape Convention, Natural England is revising its National Character Area profiles to make environmental evidence and information easily available to a wider audience. Revised profiles for all 159 NCAs were published in September 2014. The new NCAs are being published in a rolling program and can be found on the Natural England website.

NCAs are areas that share similar landscape characteristics, and which follow natural lines in the landscape rather than administrative boundaries, making them a good decision-making framework for the natural environment. National Character Area profiles are guidance documents which can help communities to inform their decision-making about the places that they live in and care for. The information they contain will support the planning of conservation initiatives at a landscape scale, inform the delivery of nature improvement areas and encourage broader partnership working through local nature partnerships. The profiles will also help to inform choices about how land is managed and can change.

Each profile includes a description of the natural and cultural features that shape our landscapes, how the landscape has changed over time, the current key drivers for ongoing change, and a broad analysis of each area's characteristics and ecosystem services. Statements of environmental opportunity (SEOs) are suggested, which draw on this integrated information. The SEOs offer guidance on the critical issues, which could help to achieve sustainable growth and a more secure environmental future.

NCA profiles are working documents which draw on current evidence and knowledge. Natural England aim to refresh and update them periodically as new information becomes available.

NCAs by region
Natural England list the Natural Character Areas by regions. Because some overlap regional boundaries, they may be shown in more than one region.

North East
1. North Northumberland Coastal Plain

2. Northumberland Sandstone Hills

3. Cheviot Fringe

4. Cheviots

5. Border Moors & Forests

10. North Pennines

11. Tyne Gap & Hadrian's Wall

12. Mid Northumberland

13. South East Northumberland Coastal Plain

14. Tyne & Wear Lowlands

15. Durham Magnesian Limestone Plateau

16. Durham Coalfield Pennine Fringe

22. Pennine Dales Fringe

23. Tees Lowlands

25. North York Moors and Cleveland Hills

North West
5. Border Moors & Forests

6. Solway Basin

7. West Cumbria Coastal Plain

8. Cumbria High Fells

9. Eden Valley

10. North Pennines

11. Tyne Gap & Hadrian's Wall

17. Orton Fells

18. Howgill Fells

19. South Cumbria Low Fells

20. Morecambe Bay Limestones

21. Yorkshire Dales

31. Morecambe Coast & Lune Estuary

32. Lancashire & Amounderness Plain

33. Bowland Fringe & Pendle Hill

34. Bowland Fells

35. Lancashire Valleys

36. Southern Pennines

51. Dark Peak

53. South West Peak

54. Manchester Pennine Fringe

55. Manchester Conurbation

56. Lancashire Coal Measures

57. Sefton Coast

58. Merseyside Conurbation

59. Wirral

60. Mersey Valley

61. Shropshire, Cheshire & Staffordshire Plain

62. Cheshire Sandstone Ridge

Yorkshire and the Humber
10. North Pennines

21. Yorkshire Dales

22. Pennine Dales Fringe

23. Tees Lowlands

24. Vale of Mowbray

25. North Yorkshire Moors & Cleveland Hills

26. Vale of Pickering

27. Yorkshire Wolds

28. Vale of York

29. Howardian Hills

30. Southern Magnesian Limestone

33. Bowland Fringe & Pendle Hill

34. Bowland Fells

35. Lancashire Valleys

36. Southern Pennines

37. Yorkshire Southern Pennine Fringe

38. Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Yorkshire Coalfield

39. Humberhead Levels

40. Holderness

41. Humber Estuary

42. Lincolnshire Coast & Marshes

43. Lincolnshire Wolds

44. Central Lincolnshire Vale

45. Northern Lincolnshire Edge with Coversands

50. Derbyshire Peak Fringe & Lower Derwent

51. Dark Peak

East Midlands
30. Southern Magnesian Limestone

37. Yorkshire Southern Pennine Fringe

38. Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Yorkshire Coalfield

39. Humberhead Levels

42. Lincolnshire Coast & Marshes

43. Lincolnshire Wolds

44. Central Lincolnshire Vale

45. Northern Lincolnshire Edge with Coversands

46. The Fens

47. South Lincolnshire Edge

48. Trent & Belvoir Vales

49. Sherwood

50. Derbyshire Peak Fringe & Lower Derwent

51. Dark Peak

52. White Peak

53. South West Peak

54. Manchester Pennine Fringe

64. Potteries & Churnet Valley

68. Needwood & South Derbyshire Claylands

69. Trent Valley Washlands

70. Melbourne Parklands

71. Leicestershire & South Derbyshire Coalfield

72. Mease/Sence Lowlands

73. Charnwood

74. Leicestershire & Nottinghamshire Wolds

75. Kesteven Uplands

88. Bedfordshire & Cambridgeshire Claylands

89. Northamptonshire Vales

91. Yardley-Whittlewood Ridge

92. Rockingham Forest

93. High Leicestershire

94. Leicestershire Vales

95. Northamptonshire Uplands

96. Dunsmore & Feldon

107. Cotswolds

West Midlands
52. White Peak

53. South West Peak

61. Shropshire & Staffordshire Plain

63. Oswestry Uplands

64. Potteries & Churnet Valley

65. Shropshire Hills

66. Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau

67. Cannock Chase & Cank Wood

68. Needwood & South Derbyshire Claylands

69. Trent Valley Washlands

70. Melbourne Parklands

72. Mease/Sence Lowlands

94. Leicestershire Vales

95. Northamptonshire Uplands

96. Dunsmore & Feldon

97. Arden

98. Clun & North West Herefordshire Hills

99. Black Mountains & Golden Valley

100. Herefordshire Lowlands

101. Herefordshire Plateau

102. Teme Valley

103. Malvern Hills

104. South Herefordshire & Over Severn

105. Forest of Dean & Lower Wye

106. Severn & Avon Vales

107. Cotswolds

East of England
46. The Fens

76. North West Norfolk

77. North Norfolk Coast

78. Central North Norfolk

79. North East Norfolk & Flegg

80. The Broads

81. Greater Thames Estuary

82. Suffolk Coast & Heaths

83. South Norfolk & High Suffolk Claylands

84. Mid Norfolk

85. The Brecks

86. South Suffolk & North Essex Clayland

87. East Anglian Chalk

88. Bedfordshire Claylands

89. Northamptonshire Vales

90. Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge

91. Yardley-Whittlewood Ridge

92. Rockingham Forest

110. Chilterns

111. Northern Thames Basin

115. Thames Valley

South East and London
81. Greater Thames Estuary

88. Bedfordshire Claylands

90. Bedfordshire Greensand Ridge

91. Yardley-Whittlewood Ridge

95. Northamptonshire Uplands

107. Cotswolds

108. Upper Thames Clay Vales

109. Midvale Ridge

110. Chilterns

111. Northern Thames Basin

112. Inner London

113. North Kent Plain

114. Thames Basin Lowlands

115. Thames Valley

116. Berkshire and Marlborough Downs

119. North Downs

120. Wealden Greensand

121. Low Weald

122. High Weald

123. Romney Marshes

124. Pevensey Levels

125. South Downs

126. South Coast Plain

127. Isle of Wight

128. South Hampshire Lowlands

129. Thames Basin Heaths

130. Hampshire Downs

131. New Forest

132. Salisbury Plain & West Wiltshire Downs

134. Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase

135. Dorset Heaths

South West
100. Herefordshire Lowlands

103. Malvern Hills

104. South Herefordshire and Over Severn

105. Forest of Dean and Lower Wye

106. Severn and Avon Vales

107. Cotswolds

108. Upper Thames Clay Vales

109. Midvale Ridge

116. Berkshire and Marlborough Downs

117. Avon Vales

118. Bristol, Avon Valleys and Ridges

129. Thames Basin Heaths

130. Hampshire Downs

131. New Forest

132. Salisbury Plain and West Wiltshire Downs

133. Blackmoor Vale and Vale of Wardour

134. Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase

135. Dorset Heaths

136. South Purbeck

137. Isle of Portland

138. Weymouth Lowlands

139. Marshwood and Powerstock Vales

140. Yeovil Scarplands

141. Mendip Hills

142. Somerset Levels and Moors

143. Mid Somerset Hills

144. Quantock Hills

145. Exmoor

146. Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes

147. Blackdowns

148. Devon Redlands

149. The Culm

150. Dartmoor

151. South Devon

152. Cornish Killas

153. Bodmin Moor

154. Hensbarrow

155. Carnmenellis

156. West Penwith

157. The Lizard

158. Isles of Scilly

159. Lundy