A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata, infraorder Anisoptera. Adult dragonflies are characterized by large, multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches, and an elongated body. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the related group, damselflies (Zygoptera), which are similar in structure, though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold their wings folded at rest, along or above the abdomen. Dragonflies are agile fliers, while damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced by structural colouration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly's compound eyes have nearly 24,000 ommatidia each.
The River Cerne is a ten mile long river in Dorset, England, which rises in the Chalk hills of the Dorset Downs at Minterne Magna, between High Stoy and Dogbury Hill, flows down a valley through Cerne Abbas and Charminster, and flows into the River Frome in Dorchester. The Cerne Valley lies in the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
North Dorset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Simon Hoare, a Conservative.
Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
England comprises most of the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, in addition to a number of small islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. England is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of mainland Britain, divided from France only by a 33 km (21 mi) sea gap, the English Channel. The 50 km (31 mi) Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, directly links England to mainland Europe. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel.
The orange-spotted emerald is a dragonfly in the family Corduliidae. It is the only species in its genus.
Ebblake Bog is a 11.3-hectare (28-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Dorset and Hampshire, located west of Ringwood. It is part of Dorset Heathlands Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and of Dorset Heaths Special Area of Conservation,
Fordingbridge was a railway station serving Fordingbridge, a small town in Hampshire. It was one of many casualties of the mass closure of British railway lines in the 1960s and 1970s. The line was officially closed on 4 May 1964, but as there was no Sunday service the last trains ran on the 2nd. It was served by the Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway, a line running north–south, along the River Avon just to the west of the New Forest, connecting Salisbury to the North and Poole to the south, meeting the Southampton and Dorchester Railway at West Moors.
Verwood Railway Station served the town of Verwood, Dorset, and its hinterland, from 1866 to 1964. It was one of many casualties of the mass closure of British railway lines in the 1960s; the last train running on 2 May 1964. The village is now much larger than when the line ran as it is within reasonable travelling distance of the South East Dorset conurbation.
The Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway was a railway that ran in the English counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset from 1866 until its closure in 1964. Working from Salisbury, trains left the Salisbury to Southampton line at the remote Alderbury Junction. Here there was a signal box, some railway cottages and two platforms on the main line for staff use only. The line ambled south through rural surroundings to meet the Southampton and Dorchester Railway at West Moors. Trains continued through Wimborne to Poole and Bournemouth West.
Upton Heath is one of the largest remaining fragments of a heath that once stretched across central southern England from Dorchester to Christchurch and beyond. Today it is confined to an area immediately west of Upton and Poole, much of which is protected. From the Heath there are views across Poole Harbour, Corfe Castle and the Isle of Purbeck.
Cefn Blaenau is a 23-hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest in a small upland valley in Carmarthen and Dinefwr, Wales. It was designated an SSSI in 1989, primarily for its flush and spring vegetation as well as the diverse mosaic of unimproved pasture, ‘ffridd’ land, marshy grassland, wet heath, acid grassland, broadleaved woodland, streams, and small rock outcrops. These habitats, which are well represented at this site, have been greatly reduced in north Carmarthenshire due to land improvement, agricultural intensification, and afforestation. Only about 140 hectares of flush and spring vegetation remain in the county.
Chyenhal Moor is a poorly drained shallow valley, 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south-west of Penzance, Cornwall. Due to several rare plants in a diverse range of habitats, it was notified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1951.
The River Crane is a river in Dorset, United Kingdom. It flows past Cranborne Manor. Near Verwood it becomes the Moors River.
Englemere Pond is a 26.1-hectare (64-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the southern outskirts of North Ascot in Berkshire. The site is also a Local Nature Reserve. It is owned by the Crown Estate and managed by Bracknell Forest Borough Council.
Avon Valley is a 1,403.8-hectare (3,469-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Christchurch in Dorset to Bickton, south of Fordingbridge Hampshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, a Ramsar site, a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area. An area of 159 hectares is Blashford Lakes, a nature reserve managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust,
Winkton is a hamlet in the historic county of Hampshire and the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Together with the village of Burton, it is part of the civil parish of Burton and Winkton, in the district of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
The River Lym or River Lim is a short river, some 5 km in length, that flows through the Devon-Dorset border. It rises from multiple springs at Raymond's Hill, near the village of Uplyme in East Devon, and flows southeasterly through Dorset, into the English Channel via Lyme Bay in the town of Lyme Regis, Dorset. The river falls over 200 metres from its source.
