Dorset is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south-east, the English Channel to the south, and Devon to the west. The largest settlement is Bournemouth, and the county town is Dorchester.
The Isle of Portland is a tied island, 6 kilometres (4 mi) long by 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier beach called Chesil Beach joins Portland with mainland England. The A354 road passes down the Portland end of the beach and then over the Fleet Lagoon by bridge to the mainland. The population of Portland is 13,417.
Chesil Beach in Dorset, England is one of three major shingle beach structures in Britain. Its name is derived from the word chessil, meaning "gravel" or "shingle". It runs for a length of 29 kilometres (18 mi) from West Bay to the Isle of Portland and in places is up to 15 metres (50 ft) high and 200 metres (660 ft) wide. Behind the beach is the Fleet, a shallow tidal lagoon. Both are part of the Jurassic Coast and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and together form an SSSI and Ramsar Site.
The Dorset Downs are an area of chalk downland in the centre of the county Dorset in south west England. The downs are the most western part of a larger chalk formation which also includes Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Hampshire Downs, Chiltern Hills, North Downs and South Downs.
The Shropshire Hills are a dissected upland area and one of the natural regions of England. They lie wholly within the county of Shropshire and encompass several distinctive and well-known landmarks, such as the Long Mynd, Wenlock Edge, The Wrekin and the Clees.
Ringstead is a small seaside village located on the coast in Dorset, southern England. The area lies on the Jurassic Coast and is known for its natural environment and fossils. Ringstead Bay and White Nothe are to the east. Bran Point and Osmington Mills are to the west.
Dorset is a county located in the middle of the south coast of England. It lies between the latitudes 50.512°N and 51.081°N and the longitudes 1.682°W and 2.958°W, and occupies an area of 2,653 km2. It spans 90 kilometres (56 mi) from east to west and 63 kilometres (39 mi) from north to south.
The Hampshire Downs form a large area of downland in central southern England, mainly in the county of Hampshire but with parts in Berkshire and Wiltshire. They are part of a belt of chalk downland that extends from the South Downs in the southeast, north to the Berkshire and Marlborough Downs, and west to the Dorset Downs.
The South Hampshire Lowlands form a natural landscape in south, central England within the county of Hampshire.
The Dorset Heaths form an important area of heathland within the Poole Basin in southern England. Much of the area is protected.
The Natural Areas of England are regions, officially designated by Natural England, each with a characteristic association of wildlife and natural features. More formally, they are defined as "biogeographic zones which reflect the geological foundation, the natural systems and processes and the wildlife in different parts of England...".
A National Character Area (NCA) is a natural subdivision of England based on a combination of landscape, biodiversity, geodiversity and economic activity. There are 159 National Character Areas and they follow natural, rather than administrative, boundaries. They are defined by Natural England, the UK government's advisors on the natural environment.
South Purbeck is a natural region on the south coast of England. It lies wholly within the county of Dorset and forms part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, as well as lying entirely within the Dorset AONB.
The South Coast Plain is a natural region in England running along the central south coast in the counties of East and West Sussex and Hampshire.
The Marshwood and Powerstock Vales form a natural region in southwest England reaching to the Dorset coastline.
The Blackmoor Vale and Vale of Wardour area is a natural region in the counties of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire in southern England.
The Yeovil Scarplands are a natural region in southern England in the counties of Somerset and Dorset.
The Mid Somerset Hills are a major natural region in the county of Somerset in southwest west England, forming a series of low hills and ridges that divide up the Somerset Levels.
The Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau is a rural landscape and one of the natural regions of central England, straddling the border between the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It stretches from the western fringes of the Birmingham conurbation to Telford in the north and Kidderminster in the south. The major feature of the plateau is the valley of the River Severn, which cuts through it from north to south. It consists of Permian and Triassic-age New Red Sandstone getting older as one goes west until one reaches Silurian and Carboniferous-age siltstones and coals west of the river.
The Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes form a natural region in the southwest of England in the county of Somerset. Natural England have designated the Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes as National Character Area 146.
