Upton is a town in south-eastDorset,England. Upton is to the east ofHolton Heath andUpton Heath, and to the north of thePoole suburb ofHamworthy. It is the second largest town in thePurbeck Hills.

Upton
Shops at Upton
Upton Location withinDorset
OS grid reference	SY978932
Civil parish	Lytchett Minster and Upton
Unitary authority	Dorset
Ceremonial county	Dorset
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	POOLE
Postcode district	BH16
Dialling code	01202
Police	Dorset
Fire	Dorset and Wiltshire
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Mid Dorset and North Poole
List of places UK England Dorset 50°44′18″N2°01′44″W / 50.7384°N 2.0289°W /50.7384; -2.0289

The town is built around a road junction where theBlandford toHamworthy road crosses the mainPoole toDorchester road. The Poole suburbs of Hamworthy andTurlin Moor adjoin to the south, andLytchett Minster village lies a short distance to the west.^[1]

The town is bounded by several areas of open space. To the north,^[1]Upton Heath is aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI),^[2] while, eastwards, Upton Wood^[3] and the former estateUpton Country Park separate the town fromHoles Bay.^[1] To the south,Lytchett Bay is part of Poole Harbour SSSI.^[4]

Although mostly residential, Upton features a smallindustrial estate with businesses including Southernprint.

In 2000, TheUpton Clock Tower was built at the Upton Crossroads tocelebrate the new millennium and represent the town pride. A dementia care home was opened at the Crossroads in 2015^[5] on the prominent former site of The Greenridge pub^[6] opposite Upton Library^[7] and Upton Health Centre.^[8] It features a pharmacy and a coffee shop.^[9][10]

There are more shops in Moorland Parade, at the top of Moorland Way, where the Lytchett Minster & Upton Town Council offices are located.^[11]

Upton has two churches. Upton Methodist Church's Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1865,^[12] while planning permission for the present St Dunstan's church and the adjoining Community Centre was granted in 1991,^[13] replacing an older church on the same site.^[14]

Upton forms part of thecivil parish ofLytchett Minster and Upton, which in turn forms part of theDorset unitary authority area. It is within theMid Dorset and North Poole constituency of theHouse of Commons.

Between 1979 and 2020, Upton was represented in theEuropean Parliament.

From 1979 to 1984, Upton was part of thesingle member district ofWessex, and represented byConservativeMember of the European ParliamentJames Spicer.

From 1984 to 1994, Upton was part of theDorset East and Hampshire West constituency and from 1994 to 1999, Upton was part of theDorset and East Devon constituency represented by ConservativeBryan Cassidy.

Upton was included in theSouth West England constituency for elections to theEuropean Parliament from 1999 to 2020.^[15]

Upton has twostate schools, Upton Infant School and Upton Junior School, which arefeeder schools forLytchett Minster School. The YarrellsPreparatory School and Ladybirds Playschool (previously L.U.C.A. Ladybirds) are also based in the town. Upton Methodists Pre-School is based at the Methodist church

Upton lies at the intersection of theA35 and theA350. The town is served byWilts & Dorset bus routes numbers 8, 9, 10 and 40^[16] andFirstGroup's X54 service.^[17] Together, these provide links toHamworthy,Creekmoor,Poole,Wareham,Lytchett Matravers,Swanage andWeymouth.

Hamworthy is the nearest railway station, with twice-hourly trains in each direction^[18] on theSouth West Main Line betweenLondon Waterloo andWeymouth.Poole station, while more distant, provides more frequent services.^[18]