 Most of the parish lies on a relatively high plain which drains northwards to the River Stour and southwards to the River Colne.From the Stour the ground rises southwards to reach a height of more than 225 ft (70 m) in the south-west.A band of alluvium runs beside the Stour and there are river terrace deposits south of that, then, as the ground rises, bands of London clay, and sands and gravels.