Scratchy Bottom (or Scratchy's Bottom) is a clifftop valley between Durdle Door and Bat's Head in Dorset, England. [1] A dry valley in the chalk, it is surrounded by farmland at its sides and landward end, with cliffs at the seaward end.
The name is thought to refer to a rough hollow. [2] Scratchy Bottom has been noted for its unusual place name. The location came second after Shitterton, also in Dorset, in a 2012 poll for "Britain's worst place name" carried out by the genealogy website Find My Past . [3]
Scratchy Bottom was the location for the opening of the 1967 film Far from the Madding Crowd , in a scene in which Gabriel Oak's sheep are driven over a cliff by his sheepdog. [4]
The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north. Its western boundary is less well defined, with some medieval sources placing it at Flower's Barrow above Worbarrow Bay. John Hutchins, author of The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, defined Purbeck's western boundary as the Luckford Lake stream, which runs south from the Frome. According to writer and broadcaster Ralph Wightman, Purbeck "is only an island if you accept the barren heaths between Arish Mell and Wareham as cutting off this corner of Dorset as effectively as the sea." The most southerly point is St Alban's Head.
Durdle Door is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset, England. It is privately owned by the Weld family, who own the Lulworth Estate, but it is also open to the public.
Sydling St Nicholas is a village and civil parish in Dorset within southwest England. The parish is 5 to 9 miles northwest of the county town Dorchester and covers most of the valley of the small Sydling Water in the chalk hills of the Dorset Downs. The parish has an area of 2,075 hectares and includes the hamlet of Up Sydling in the north.
Stair Hole is a small cove located just west of Lulworth Cove in Dorset, southern England. The folded limestone strata known as the Lulworth crumple are particularly visible at Stair Hole. There are several caves visible from the seaward side of Stair Hole; Cathedral Cavern is supported by pillars of rock rising out of the water. The rock structure was created during the Alpine orogeny and exposed by subsequent erosion.
White Nothe is a chalk headland on the English Channel coast at the eastern end of Ringstead Bay, east of Weymouth in Dorset, England. The area is well known for its geology and fossils. Its flanks are the result of prehistoric landslides and the inaccessible slopes of the undercliff provide a secluded wildlife habitat.
Shitterton is a hamlet in Bere Regis, Dorset, England. It includes a collection of historic thatched buildings dating back to the 18th century and earlier. Its name dates back at least the eleventh century and means "farmstead on the stream used as an open sewer". Shitterton has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names, due to having the vulgar term "shitter" in its name.
Far from the Madding Crowd is a 1967 British epic period drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Terence Stamp and Peter Finch. The screenplay was by Frederic Raphael adapted from Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel Far from the Madding Crowd. It was Schlesinger's fourth film. It marked a stylistic shift away from his earlier works exploring contemporary urban mores. The cinematography was by Nicolas Roeg and the soundtrack was by Richard Rodney Bennett, who also used traditional folk songs in various scenes throughout the film.
"Saviour's Day" is a song by Cliff Richard. It was the United Kingdom Christmas number one single in 1990, the second occasion Richard had a solo Christmas number one. The video for the song was filmed in Dorset.
Man o' War Cove lies on the Dorset coast in southern England and is flanked by the rocky, steep and slightly projecting headlands of Durdle Door to the west and Man O War Head to the east. Its name is believed to be a corruption of the Brythonic 'Men-an-Vawr'
Swyre Head, Lulworth is a hill and sea cliff which lies on the Jurassic Coast between Bat's Head to the west and Durdle Door to the east, close to Lulworth in Dorset, England. It is located approximately 8 miles (12.9 km) east of Weymouth and 14 miles (22.5 km) west of Swanage.
St Oswald's Bay is located near Lulworth on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, England.
Dungy Head is a coastal promontory located west of Lulworth Cove on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, England. It forms the eastern end of St Oswald's Bay. It is composed of Portland stone strata. The surrounding area is popular for coastal walks, which yield impressive views. Cliff-climbing however is dangerous and not recommended.
Mapperton is a hamlet and civil parish in Dorset, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Beaminster. Dorset County Council estimated that the population of the parish was 60 in 2013.
Durdle Pier is a disused 17th-century stone shipping quay, located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England; part of the Jurassic Coast. It is found close by Yeolands Quarry, on the east side of the island within the area of East Weares and Penn's Weare.
Freshwater Bay is a bay on the east side of the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England, south from Church Ope Cove and between the villages of Wakeham and Southwell. It forms part of the Jurassic Coast.
The Great Southwell Landslip occurred in 1734 on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England near the southerly village of Southwell and extended for a length of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) between Durdle Pier and Freshwater Bay. It remains Britain's second largest recorded historical landslide.
Far from the Madding Crowd is a 2015 British romantic drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Tom Sturridge, Michael Sheen, and Juno Temple. An adaptation by David Nicholls of the 1874 novel Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, it is the fourth film adaptation of the novel.
King's Pier is a 17th-century stone shipping quay, located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England; part of the Jurassic Coast. It is found at the boundary point of the land owned by Portland Port Ltd, on the east side of the island within the area of East Weares. To the north of the pier is Balaclava Bay, whilst further south along the coastline are the remains of Folly Pier and Folly Pier Waterworks, East Weare Rifle Range, the two Salt Pans, Little Beach and Durdle Pier respectively. When active, King's Pier was one of the most important stone shipping pier sites.
Folly Pier is a disused stone shipping quay, located on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England; part of the Jurassic Coast. It is found on the east side of the island within the area of East Weares. Other piers within the area include King's Pier and Durdle Pier respectively. Folly Pier dates from the 17th century.