Portal:Dorset
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. Other towns include Poole, Weymouth and Christchurch.
Dorset has a varied landscape of chalk downs, steep limestone ridges, and low-lying clay valleys. The majority of its coastline is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site due to its geological and palaeontologic significance, and features notable landforms such as Lulworth Cove, the Isle of Portland, Chesil Beach and Durdle Door. The north of the county contains part of Cranborne Chase, a chalk downland. The highest point in Dorset is Lewesdon Hill in the southwest.
Historically Dorset is known for Black Death, the English Civil War, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, and the invasion of Normandy.
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St Catherine's Hill is a 53-metre (174 ft) hill in the borough of Christchurch which, together with Ramsdown and Blackwater hills, forms a ridge between the Avon and Stour valleys. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest with some areas additionally designated as Special Protection Areas and/or Special Areas of Conservation. The hill provides a range of habitats with both wet and dry heathland, coniferous and broadleaf woodland and scrubland; and is home to some rare flora and fauna including the sand lizard, smooth snake, silver-studded blue butterfly and two types of carnivorous plant.
Humans have been visiting the hill as far back as the Bronze Age and there are a number of ancient monuments sited there, including several tumuli, a Roman signal station and what is thought to be an Iron Age animal pound. The military have made extensive use of the area since at least the Roman occupation; it served as training ground for troops during the Crimean War and both World Wars, and was the site of a nuclear bunker during the Cold War. Most visitors today use the hill as an area to exercise their dogs or for other recreational activities such as cycling, jogging and horse riding. (Full article...)
