144 Pages | over 100 colour illustrations

214x230mm, Hardback

9780857040039

The landscape of Dorset is now so inextricably associated with the novels and poetry of Thomas Hardy that for many their image of the county is his nineteenth-century one, of lush dairying valleys, windswept heaths, and sturdy towns and villages.

Much of this picture still holds good. But Dorset has a visible past that stretches from the fossilized dinosaurs of the Jurassic Coast, right up to the ultra-modern developments that have altered some parts of the county almost beyond recognition.

It is on the coast that the great span of Dorset’s history is most apparent. In the east, Bournemouth and Poole have grown to be one of the biggest conurbations on the South Coast. Nearby is Wytch Farm, Europe’s largest “onshore” oil field. In contrast to these striking examples of modernity, most of Dorset’s coastline was granted World Heritage Status in 2001 because of its geological landforms. Many of the most important fossil finds of all time have been made here, including the first complete Ichthyosaur.

Moving inland, the rolling Dorset Hills with ancient encampments atop and manor houses and market towns in the vales beneath, conform more readily to the Dorset of the imagination. Mansions like Kingston Lacy and Lulworth Castle are among the finest of their kind. Blandford Forum, Wareham, Corfe Castle, Sherborne and the county town of Dorchester, stand out among historic settlements for which Dorset is renowned. Yet even these seem like newcomers compared to the county’s many pre-historic sites and the mysterious figure of the Cerne Abbas Giant which might date to before the Roman occupation.

All of these features become even more dramatic when seen from a “bird’s eye” view. The fascinating aerial photographs in this book by internationally renowned photographer Jason Hawkes provide the reader with an overview of this great variety of landscapes, settlements and historic sites. There can be no better way of appreciating the many glories of Dorset than to view the county from above.