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Powerstock Vale
The Marshwood and Powerstock Vales form a natural region in southwest England reaching to the Dorset coastline. The region is recognised as a National Character Area (No. 139) by Natural England, the UK Government's advisors on the natural environment. It covers an area of and lies entirely within the Dorset AONB. The boundary of the Marshwood and Powerstock Vales NCA runs along the coastline from just east of Charmouth to West Bay, cutting briefing inland towards Bridport before heading eastwards again to Chilcombe. It then runs broadly north-northeast, taking in Eggardon Hill, before reaching the A356 near Toller Porcorum. It then heads westwards towards Mapperton, Beaminster and Stoke Abbott before swinging in a wide arc to return to the coast via Pilsdon and Whitchurch Canonicorum.''Mars ...
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Vale Of Marshwood
The Marshwood Vale (or Vale of Marshwood) is a low-lying, bowl-shaped valley of Lower Lias clay, in the western tip of the county of Dorset in south-west England. It lies to the north of the A35 trunk road between the towns of Bridport and Lyme Regis, and to the south of the two highest hills in Dorset, Lewesdon Hill (279m) and Pilsdon Pen (277m). It is drained by the River Char, which flows south-west to its mouth on the English Channel coast at Charmouth. All of the vale lies within the Dorset National Landscape area. There is an electoral ward with the same name stretching from Whitchurch Canonicorum north to Thorncombe. The total population of this ward is 1,717. Landscape The landscape of the vale is agricultural and consists of narrow lanes winding between farms that lie amongst small fields, old hedgerows, copses and ancient semi-natural woods. The vale is almost wholly surrounded by hills, including Lewesdon Hill (279 m), Dorset's county top, Pilsdon Pen (277 m), Do ...
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River Char
The River Char is a river in Dorset. The Char runs a few miles from Bettiscombe to Charmouth, passing Pilsdon and Whitchurch Canonicorum. Rivers of Dorset {{Dorset ...
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River Brit
The River Brit is a river in west Dorset in south-west England, which rises just to the north of Beaminster. It then flows south to Netherbury and Bridport, where it is joined by tributaries: the River Simene and River Asker. South of Bridport, it reaches Lyme Bay on the English Channel coast, at West Bay.Frome, Piddle & West Dorset Fisheries AssociatioRetrieved 22 May 2017./ref> The Brit has a length of . Name The river takes its name from the town of Bridport, which in turn derives from the River Bride, the neighbouring drainage basin to the east, which has connections with Bridport's early history. Before the establishment of Bridport, the Brit was named the River Wooth. This is still reflected in the names of settlements, such as Wooth Manor and Camesworth. Natural history The river has Indian balsam plants on its banks. It was previously polluted by the local hemp and flax industries and by sewage discharges, but the environment of the river has improved in recent y ...
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Golden Cap
Golden Cap is a hill and cliff situated on the English Channel coast between Bridport and Charmouth in Dorset, England. At , it is arguably the highest point near the south coast of Great Britain (although the highest point is set back some from the coastline) and is visible for tens of miles along the coastline. It is accessible via a coastal footpath from Seatown, and takes around 40 minutes to reach the summit. The hill is owned by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust and forms part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. The base of the cliff is covered with large boulders, and is popular with fossil collectors. Storms have previously exposed fossilised ammonites and belemnites in the Blue Lias base. The name derives from the distinctive outcropping of golden greensand (geology), greensand rock present at the very top of the cliff. Behind the cliff is Langdon Wood, a small wood of mainly Corsican Pine, planted in the ...
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English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest Sea lane, shipping area in the world. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover."English Channel". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 2004. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some . The Channel aided the United Kingdom in becoming a naval superpower, serving as a natural defence against invasions, such as in the Napoleonic Wars and in the World War II, Second World War. The northern, English coast of the Channel is more populous than the southern, French coast. The major languages spoken in this region are English language, English and French language, French. Names Roman historiography, Roman sources as (or , ...
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Lyme Bay
Lyme Bay is an area of the English Channel off the south coast of England. The south western counties of Devon and Dorset front onto the bay. The exact definitions of the bay vary. The eastern boundary is usually taken to be Portland Bill on the Isle of Portland, but there is no consensus over the western boundary. The broadest definition places the boundary at Start Point, and therefore includes Tor Bay and Start Bay as areas within Lyme Bay. A narrow definition gives the western boundary as Hope's Nose headland, excluding Tor Bay and Start Bay, used for example by the Water Framework Directive definitions of waterbodies. Other definitions place the boundary somewhere between these two points, including at Dartmouth (used by the Lyme Bay West Marine Character Area) and Berry Head. Geology The east of the bay is part of a World Heritage Site, the Dorset and East Devon Coast, which is also known as the Jurassic Coast, named for its Jurassic geology. History Many of t ...
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Blackdown Hills National Landscape
The Blackdown Hills, or Blackdowns, are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England. The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand with some remnants of chalk, and is cut through by river valleys. The Blackdown Hills were designated in 1991 as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). In November 2023, AONBs became National Landscapes. The hills support an extensive range of wildlife leading to the designation of 16 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). There is evidence of human occupation since the Iron Age. Fortifications include the remains of ancient hill forts, Norman architecture, Norman motte-and-bailey castles and Second World War airfields. There are also religious buildings such as Dunkeswell Abbey and village churches. The hills are crossed by a network of minor roads with major transport routes including the M5 motorway running around the periphery. Natural region The Blackdowns form a natural regi ...
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Weymouth Lowlands
The Weymouth Lowlands form a natural region on the south coast of England in the county of Dorset. Much of the area lies within the Dorset National Landscape. According to Natural England, who have designated the Weymouth Lowlands as National Character Area 138, they cover an area of ; a coastal strip between about 1 and 6 kilometres wide, running from the Bride Valley west of Burton Bradstock, to east of Osmington. It includes the town of Weymouth, the main settlement of the area. The coastline of the Weymouth Lowlands is dominated by Chesil Beach, which hugs the littoral grasslands in the west before separating from the mainland in the east to form The Fleet, a series of brackish lagoons, and then continuing as a narrow causeway linking the mainland with the Isle of Portland. In the hinterland there are long, rounded, often bare, hogsback ridges interspersed with broad, clay vales. Arable farming predominates. Apart from the town of Weymouth, settlement is sparse and the few v ...
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Cranborne Chase
Cranborne Chase () is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The area is dominated by, and often considered to be synonymous with, a chalk downland plateau. Part of the English Chalk Formation, it is adjacent to Salisbury Plain and the West Wiltshire Downs in the north, and the Dorset Downs to the south west. The highest point is Win Green Down, in Wiltshire, at . Historically a medieval hunting forest, the area is also noted for its Neolithic and Bronze age archaeology and its rural agricultural character. Definitions As an informally defined region, the boundaries of Cranborne Chase vary depending on usage. When defined as the chalk plateau, it is clearly bounded by escarpments which face the valleys of the Blackmore Vale to the west, the Vale of Wardour to the north, and the Hampshire Avon to the east. To the so ...
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Dorset Downs
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 (from west to east) Cranborne Chase, Salisbury Plain, Hampshire Downs, Chiltern Hills, North Downs and South Downs.''Uplift, Erosion and Stability: Perspectives on Long-term Landscape Development''
ed. by Smith, Bernard J., Whalley Wilfred B. and Warke Patricia A. (1999), Geological Society Special Publication No. 162, Bath. Accessed on 3 Apr 2013.


Physical geography

The Dorset Downs are bounded on the north, along the steep scarp face, by the
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Yeovil Scarplands
The Yeovil Scarplands are a natural region in southern England in the counties of Somerset and Dorset. The region is listed as National Character Area 140 by Natural England, the UK Government's advisor on the natural environment. It covers and runs from Chard in the southwest to Chesterblade and Upton Noble in the northeast. The town of Yeovil lies roughly in the centre of the area. To the west are the Blackdowns and the Vale of Taunton and Quantock Fringes, to the north are the Mid Somerset Hills and the Mendips, to the east are the Blackmoor Vale and Vale of Wardour and to the south, the Marshwood and Powerstock Vales and Dorset Downs. With a predominantly rural landscape, Yeovil and other urban areas occupying less than 5% of the area, about 85% is farmed and the remainder predominantly pastoral. The area is drained by several rivers including: River Axe, River Brue, River Cary, River Isle, River Parrett, River Yeo and the Whitelake River. The area includes N ...
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