Dorset is a county in South WestEngland. The county is largely rural and therefore does not have a dense transport network, and is one of the few English counties without a motorway. Owing to its position on theEnglish Channel coast, and its natural sheltered harbours, it has a maritime history, though lack of inland transport routes has led to the decline of its ports.
Dorset is connected toLondon by two mainrailway lines. TheWest of England Main Line runs through the north of the county atGillingham andSherborne. The electricSouth West Main Line runs through the south of the county, atBournemouth,Poole,Dorchester and the terminus atWeymouth, and was part of theLondon and South Western Railway (laterSouthern Railway). Additionally, a secondary line, theHeart of Wessex Line runs from Weymouth toBristol, viaYeovil andBath, in Somerset. This line was part of theWilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (laterGreat Western Railway).
Railway closures in Dorset began with the West Bay line south of Bridport in the 1930s. Then lost in the 1950s were the branch lines toAbbotsbury andPortland. TheBeeching Axe of the 1960s led to the closure of other Dorset lines, the Lyme Regis andBridport branches. The latter remained open until 1975 although the Beeching report was published in 1963. The biggest loss was the entireSomerset and Dorset Joint Railway, between Bournemouth and Bath. Through Dorset, this line roughly followed theStour Valley, serving the market towns ofBlandford Forum andSturminster Newton in theBlackmore Vale, and is being converted into a long-distance trail for cyclists and walkers. Another through line, theSalisbury and Dorset Junction Railway, roughly followed theAvon Valley from Bournemouth toSalisbury. With the closure of the lines which terminated in Bournemouth, theterminus station in the town centre was also closed, leaving only the through stations. The station atSemley on the West of England Main Line also closed. As this had been the nearest station toShaftesbury, travellers from that town would have to useGillingham, on the same line. An oddity is theSwanage Branch. Although omitted from the Beeching plan this line closed in 1972 and most of the track was lifted. However it has now been rebuilt as aheritage railway.
Dorset is one of only five non metropolitan counties in England not to have a single motorway. However, twotrunk road corridors run east–west through the county. In the north, theA303 London toExeter andCornwall road briefly enters the county, though for most of its route it is north of the borders with Somerset and Wiltshire. Further south, theA31, a continuation of theM27 motorway from Hampshire, serves as a northern bypass for theSouth East Dorset conurbation, merging into theA35 to continue west through the county, bypassing Dorchester and Bridport.
Severalprimary routes also run through the county. These are:
Other 'A' roads are:
The suburban roads of theSouth East Dorset conurbation (Poole,Bournemouth andChristchurch): the A341, A347, A348, A349, A3049, and A3060. These routes do not follow a straight line but do all link up forming an asymmetricalring road around thebuilt up area.
The road begins in the north west of the Bournemouth-Poole conurbation atMerley.[1] Queen Anne Drive at Gravel Hill travels east and becomes Magna Road. The road continues toBear Cross, then throughKinson and terminates at theNorthbourne Roundabout.
The A347 road runs north-south. Its northern end is atFerndown and from there it runs south on New Road throughWest Parley. AtNorthbourne Roundabout, the route continues onto Wimborne Road. The A347 turns into Whitelegg Way and continues around the north east boundary of Northbourne to theRedhill Roundabout where it goes south, coming off Wimborne Road onto Redhill Avenue. At theEnsbury Park junction the route crosses straight onto Boundary Road which continues to the Boundary Roundabout byBournemouth University. The A347 road goes eastwards along Talbot Avenue, cross the Talbot Roundabout and straight to the East Avenue Roundabout where the route re-joins Wimborne Road at SouthWinton. Wimborne Road turns immediately south atCemetery Junction and the A347 road follows it toRichmond Hill Roundabout where the route terminates.
The A348 road begins atTrickett's Cross,Ferndown and travels south towards along Ringwood Road towardsLongham. The route crosses theBear Cross Roundabout and continues south towardsTurbary Park, crossing theWest Howe Roundabout and follows Ringwood Road south over the Mountbatten Roundabout atKnighton Heath andWallisdown Road. The A348 route becomes theA3049 road and turns off at theAlderney Roundabout onto Canford Way towardsCanford Heath. At Mannings Heath Roundabout the route turns south onto Dorset Way and continues pastTower Park and across Tower Park Roundabout. The road then travels west forming the border betweenCanford Heath andOakdale, crossing theFleetsbridge gyratory and terminating at theUpton Services atHoles Bay North Roundabout.
The A349 road begins atOakley, travels south on Gravel Hill pastBroadstone andCreekmoor, throughWaterloo and terminates atFleetsbridge.
The A3060 road begins at theRedhill Roundabout, travelling a short length of Wimborne Road. The route goes east along Castle Lane West, through the suburbs ofThroop andMuscliff. The road crosses the Broadway Roundabout and Yeomans Way Roundabout enteringStrouden Park past theCastlepoint Shopping Centre. The A3060 continues east pastTownsend and crosses the Cooper Dean Roundabout onto Castle Lane East past theRoyal Bournemouth Hospital andLittledown. After the Riverside Avenue junction on the east side of the hospital, the A3060 road ends at theIford Roundabout, where theA35 road crosses theRiver Stour.
The only passengerairport in the county isBournemouth International Airport, and there are two passengersea ports,Weymouth Harbour and thePort of Poole.