Vale of Holmesdale

[1] It stretches from Folkestone[2] on the Kent coast, through Ashford, Harrietsham, Maidstone, Riverhead/Sevenoaks, Westerham, Oxted, Godstone, Redhill, Reigate, Dorking, Gomshall, and Guildford – west of which it is also called by the local name of "Puttenham Vale" – as it continues through the village of Puttenham, to the market town of Farnham.

The valley's composition is primarily Gault Clay and Upper Greensand, with Lower Chalk wash at the foot of the Downs along its north edge and eroded Lower Greensand at its south edge also forming part of the valley floor in places.

[1] The vale gently ascends and descends several times along its length, with higher elevations near Lenham and Westerham (in Kent), and Wotton (in Surrey)[2] acting as drainage divides for the valley's several drainage basins and rivers.

The valley is part of the drainage basins of the rivers Stour and Medway; and the Thames tributaries the Darent and Mole.

The North Downs railway line runs along the valley from Redhill to Gomshall.

Looking south from Blue Bell Hill across the Medway Valley a deep part of the valley, with the village of Eccles in the foreground, the Aylesford Newsprint plant in the middle ground, Ditton and Maidstone beyond.
Geology of the South East, The vale is the thin lime green belt
View from North downs towards Reigate .
A cross-section, showing the Wealden Dome, and relating it to the towns of Kent
the view from Newlands Corner near to Guildford showing the richness of this undeveloped part of the valley's agriculture and natural habitat