Sturminster Newton is a town and civil parish situated on the River Stour in the north of Dorset, England. The town is at the centre of the Blackmore Vale, a large dairy agriculture region around which the town's economy is built, and is known as 'the heart of the Blackmore vale'.
Blandford Forum is a market town in Dorset, England, by the River Stour 13 miles northwest of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the 2021 census.
The River Stour is a 61 mi (98 km) river which flows through Wiltshire and Dorset in southern England, and drains into the English Channel. The catchment area for the river and its tributaries is listed as 480 square miles (1,240 km2).
North Dorset was a local government district in Dorset, England, between 1974 and 2019. Its area was largely rural, but included the towns of Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Stalbridge and Sturminster Newton. Much of North Dorset was in the River Stour valley, known as the Blackmore Vale. The economy of North Dorset was largely based on dairy agriculture.
Iwerne Minster is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. It lies on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, approximately midway between the towns of Shaftesbury and Blandford Forum. The A350 main road between those towns passes through the edge of the village, just to the west. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had a population of 978.
Shillingstone is a village and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour between Sturminster Newton and Blandford Forum. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had 479 households and a population of 1,170.
Sturminster Marshall is a village and civil parish in the east of Dorset in England, situated on the River Stour between Blandford Forum and Poole. The parish had a population of 1,895 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,969 at the 2011 Census and includes the village of Almer west of Sturminster Marshall, near Winterborne Zelston and the hamlet of Henbury to the south-east of the village. The village is twinned with the French commune of Sainte-Mère-Église in Normandy. The appropriate electoral ward is called 'Stour'. From Sturminster Marshall the ward goes east to Pamphill, with a total population of 2,582.
Bourton is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated north of the A303 road on the border with Somerset and Wiltshire between Mere and Wincanton. The parish is the most northerly in Dorset and in the 2011 census had a population of 822. Bourton is the most populous village in the electoral ward called Bourton and District. The District extends to Silton then south to Buckhorn Weston and Kington Magna. The total ward population at the abovementioned census was 1,905. The village lies on the River Stour which passes through the historic Bourton Mill, once home to the second largest water wheel in Britain.
Bryanston is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour 1 mile west of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 925. The village is adjacent to the grounds of Bryanston School, an independent school.
Charlton Marshall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies within the North Dorset administrative district, on the A350 road 2 miles south of the market town of Blandford Forum. It is sited on a river terrace above the floodplain of the River Stour, with most of the land in the parish stretching south-west over chalk hills. In the 2011 census the number of dwellings recorded within the parish was 513 and the population was 1,156.
Durweston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies two miles northwest of the town of Blandford Forum. It is sited by the River Stour at the point where it flows out of the Blackmore Vale through a steep, narrow gap between the Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase. In the 2011 census the parish had a population of 398.
Pimperne is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on Cranborne Chase two miles northeast of the town of Blandford Forum. At the 2011 census the civil parish had 478 households and a population of 1109.
Spetisbury is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England, situated on the River Stour and the A350, four miles southeast of Blandford Forum.
Stourpaine is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Dorset in southern England. It is situated in the valley of the River Stour in the Dorset administrative district, three miles northwest of Blandford Forum. The A350 road, which connects Blandford to Shaftesbury to the north, passes through the village. The chalk hills of Cranborne Chase and the Dorset Downs lie immediately northeast and southwest respectively. In the 2011 census the civil parish had 277 dwellings, 265 households and a population of 617.
Winterborne Kingston is a village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southern England. It lies 7 miles south of the town of Blandford Forum and 2 mi (3 km) northeast of the large village of Bere Regis. It is situated in a winterbourne valley on the edge of the dip slope of the Dorset Downs. In the 2011 census the parish had 282 households and a population of 643. In 2001 it had a population of 613.
The River Tarrant is a 12 km long tributary of the River Stour in Dorset. The valley lies to the east of Blandford Forum. The river rises near Cranborne Chase, an area of chalk downland, and flows broadly from north to south before joining the river Stour. The eight Tarrant Valley villages/hamlets all bear the name of the river. Listed in order from the river's source they are:
Blandford Forum railway station was a station on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway which served the town of Blandford Forum.
Hammoon is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, sited on a river terrace of alluvial silt by the River Stour, about two miles east of the small town of Sturminster Newton. Its name is derived from the Old English ham, meaning dwelling, and the surname of the Norman lord of the manor. In 2001 the parish had 19 households and a population of 49. In 2013 the estimated population of the parish was 40.
