Aylesbury Vale
| Aylesbury Vale
shown within Buckinghamshire | |
 | |
 |
The Aylesbury Vale (or Vale of Aylesbury) is a large area of flat land largely to be found in Buckinghamshire, England. Its boundary is marked by Milton Keynes to the north, Leighton Buzzard and the Chiltern Hills to the east and south, Thame to the south and Bicester to the west.
The vale is named after Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire, which stands at its centre. Two other towns lie within the vale and they are Winslow and Buckingham.
The bed of the vale is largely made up of clay, that was formed at the end of the ice age. Also at this time the vast underground reserves of water that make the water table higher than average in the Vale of Aylesbury were created.
Today the area is known as a district of north Buckinghamshire, administered by Aylesbury Vale District Council. This district was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of the Borough of Aylesbury, the Borough of Buckingham, Aylesbury Rural District, Buckingham Rural District, Wing Rural District and part of Winslow Rural District.
In the 2001 UK census the population of Aylesbury Vale was 165,748, representing an increase since 1991 of 18,600 people[1]. Most of those live in the county town Aylesbury.