Dorset

Dorset (pronounced Dorsit, sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) 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 at . 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.

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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 Weymouth, Bournemouth, Swanage, Charmouth and Lyme Regis. Dorset is the setting of the novels of Thomas Hardy, who was born near the quiet 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.

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England: :For an explanation of often confusing terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology)....

English Channel: The English Channel, also for some time known as the British Sea (French: La Manche, "the sleeve") is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 563 km (350 mi) long and at its widest is 2...

County town: A county town is the 'capital' of a county in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county....

Dorset related Images and Photos (experimental)

Dorset Scenery: Heath at Lytchett Minster	Lyme Regis Dorset England	Athelhampton Hall Dorset England	Durdle Door Dorset England United Kingdom Europe
The Duke Of Dorset Botanical	Southern Hawker Dragonfly Female (Aeshna Cyanea) Oivipositing Dorset England UK Europe	Mudeford Spit or Sandbank Christchurch Harbour Dorset England United Kingdom Europe	Jetty at Dawn Chesil Beach Dorset
Twilight on the Cliff Tops Above Durdle Door Dorset England. Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site	The Harbour and the Cobb Lyme Regis Dorset by Moonlight	Richard Sackville 3rd Earl of Dorset	Bossington Beach at Sunrise Porlock Weir Dorset