Dorset Heaths

The Dorset Heaths form an important area of heathland within the Poole Basin[2] in southern England.

Undulating lowland heath with heather, pines and gorse alternates with exposed, open, large-scale farmland, woodland and scrub.

Apart from the major Poole-Bournemouth-Christchurch conurbation on the coast, much of the area is sparsely populated with scattered settlements and a few small villages and towns.

There is an outer perimeter of low, rolling hills marking the transition to chalk downland.

Major rivers include the Frome, Stour, Moors, Piddle, Sherford, Allen, Corfe and Dorset Avon.