Dorset History And Background
The earliest settlers in Dorset were Stone Age hunter gatherers around 8000BC, the evidence of these settlers has been found around the Isle of Purbeck, Portland, Weymouth and Chesil Beach and as far as Stour Valley. There is also evidence in the chalk hills of early defensive settlements, this characteristic of Dorset continued until the medieval times. The earliest reference to the area being named Dorset is around AD 940 (Dorseteschire). Dorset is steeped in history from the Jurassic coastline and the old Roman town of Dorchester in West Dorset to historic Corfe Castle and the Swanage Steam Railway in East Dorset. For natural beauty you can’t get much better than Lulworth Cove and the famous sea carved wonder of Durdle Door, the limestone archway that graces the coastline. The countryside is equally as stunning with quaint villages, rugged cliffs and rolling hills so much so that Dorset has recently received World Heritage Status.
There are so many breathtaking places to visit, activities to participate in and locally produced food and drink to savour that you will want to return to Dorset again and again to experience every last one. Dorset, although famed for its glorious coastal areas has some beautiful and very popular tourist areas inland, visitors enjoy the awe inspiring countryside on the way to popular coastline destinations such as Weymouth and Lyme Regis or visit towns like Sherborne and Blandford Forum as destinations in their own right.
Dorset has much to offer tourists and the summer months are particularly busy, one of the areas that is particularly popular is the seaside town of Bournemouth which attracts a huge amount of visitors each year, the main attractions in Bournemouth are the obvious 6 miles of sandy beach and the Pier which was constructed in 1880 but also the Pleasure Gardens and Pavilion. There are a wide range of bars and clubs to visit in the evenings as well as a 3D IMAX Cinema and Bournemouth even has its very own Casino.
Its nice to visit some of the less well known names when you visit Dorset, there are so many beautiful towns that it is impossible to list them all, however a trip along the coast will bring you to some lovely little places that are certainly worth investigating further. Swanage is one such place, a charming little fishing village and originally a small Port, receives many visitors each year, although in comparison to Bournemouth it is only very small. Without doubt one of the lures is the Swanage Steam Railway, the railway snakes its way along the Isle of Purbeck past Corfe Castle and out to Norden, providing a nostalgic reminder of the history of the area on its way. Swanage is also home to a faithful Scuba Diving fraternity, who travel far and wide to dive at nearby wrecks and is also a regular training site for many diving clubs. Dorset is an outstanding place to visit, keeping an unspoilt innocence that some other locations can’t maintain because of the hectic hubbub of modern life. The lack of major roads, although may be a minor irritation to the few, adds to the beauty of the area allowing Dorset to retain a simplistic charm that is almost an echo from days now past.
