Dorset is a county in South West England with a coast onto the English Channel and a population of 700,000 covering an area of over 1000 sq miles.  The area has been inhabited since 4000BC and remains of Iron Age settlements and fortifications are scattered around the region.

Dorchester is the county town of Dorset and is a market town on the River Frome with a population of just over 16,000. Dorchester is famous for its involvement in seafaring and the development of the railway in the UK.

The main industry in Dorset was agriculture (especially live stock) and is now more evenly spread with tourism, fishing and quarrying becoming important employers.

Thomas hardy is the most famous son and writer from Dorset (although he renamed the area Wessex in novels such as Far From the Madding Crowd and The Mayor of Castorbridge). Another world renowned Dorset author is Ian Fleming who gave the world James Bond and helped invent the modern thriller.

The other two main habitations in Dorset are Weymouth and Portland. Both of which are small ports and trading centres.

Britain’s largest oil extant oil field lies just of Purbeck to the south of Dorset. Dorset’s coast is covered in fossils from the Triassic to the Cretaceous periods.