People living in the Chew Valley have a strong sense of identity that is connected to the landscape but where actually is the boundary of the valley? This is an important question when it comes to dealing with issues such as flooding or soil erosion. On the other hand, when considering the practicalities of how parish councils work and what they are responsible for then it is important to consider administrative units that cross from one river catchment to another. We need to think about both, but they don’t exactly fit together.
The Chew Valley as a Hydrological Unit
The Chew Valley is literally that – the valley of the River Chew. It is a natural hydrological unit with a distinct boundary. The River Chew rises near Chewton Mendip up on the Mendip Hills and flows towards the north and then north east to meet the River Avon at Keynsham. Given the chance a bucket of water spilt anywhere within the valley will eventually drain to the single outlet on the Avon at Keynsham (top right).
The Chew Valley as a Set of Parishes
Whilst the Chew Valley is strictly speaking a hydrological unit it is also made up of administrative parishes that are either entirely within the valley or which straddle the watershed boundary. The following parishes overlap with the Chew Valley, to a greater or lesser extent.
For detailed maps of these parishes see the My Parish page.
| Parish | County |
| Backwell CP | NORTH_SOMERSET |
| Barrow Gurney CP | NORTH_SOMERSET |
| Bitton CP | SOUTH_GLOUCESTERSHIRE |
| Chelwood CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Chew Magna CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Chew Stoke CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Chewton Mendip CP | SOMERSET_COUNTY |
| Clutton CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Compton Dando CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Compton Martin CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Corston CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Dundry CP | NORTH_SOMERSET |
| East Harptree CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Emborough CP | SOMERSET_COUNTY |
| Farmborough CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Hinton Blewett CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Keynsham CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Litton CP | SOMERSET_COUNTY |
| Marksbury CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Nempnett Thrubwell CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Norton Malreward CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Priddy CP | SOMERSET_COUNTY |
| Publow CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Saltford CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Stanton Drew CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Ston Easton CP | SOMERSET_COUNTY |
| Stowey-Sutton CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Temple Cloud with Cameley CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Ubley CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| West Harptree CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Whitchurch CP | BATH_AND_NORTH_EAST_SOMERSET |
| Winford CP | NORTH_SOMERSET |
| Wrington CP | NORTH_SOMERSET |