Dorset is a county in the southwest of England, on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester, situated in the south of the county. Between its extreme points Dorset measures 50 miles (80 km) from east to west and 40 miles (64 km) north to south, and has an area of 1,024 square miles (2,653 km²). Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east and Hampshire to the east. The county is largely rural with a low population and population density. Dorset’s motto is Who’s Afear’d.
Dorset is famous for its picturesque coastline, the Jurassic Coast, which features unique landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door, as well as the holiday resorts of Poole, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Swanage and Lyme Regis. Dorset is the setting of the novels of Thomas Hardy, who was born near the county town of Dorchester. The county has a long history of human settlement and some notable archaeology, including the hill forts of Maiden Castle and Hod Hill.
Links
- List of places of interest and tourist attractions in Dorset
- List of Dorset Beaches
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in Dorset
- List of Wikipedia images of Dorset
- West Country dialects
- UK topics
- Full list of Dorset links at dmoz.org
- Dorset travel guide from Wikitravel
- The Dorset Page – An introduction to Dorset
- Dorset County Council
- Dorset & thereabouts
- Info, Photos, Places
- Dorset County Museum
- The Dorset Evening Echo
- The Dorset Coast Forum
- The Gay Dorset Guide
- Dorset Wildlife Trust
- Dorset Online Parish Clerks (online parish registers)
Photographs
- By wikipedian Steinsky
- Images of Dorset.org.uk
- Regularly updated photos of Dorset
- Pictures of Dorset
Reference
Thacker & Revitt
