7 Things You Didn't Know About Dorset

To say that Dorset is an interesting and historical county would be an understatement – there’s so much fascinating culture and uncovered secrets located within our county and the Jurassic Coast!

1) Dorset is one of Hollywood's favourite UK hotspots!

Dorset's landscapes and towns have been featured in many Hollywood staples, including; Wonka, Dunkirk, World War Z and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince! Alongside this, England's own Doctor Who has featured the Jurassic Coast's Durdle Door on numerous occasions.

2) Poole Harbour is suggested to be the worlds' second largest natural harbour!

Second to Port Jackson in Sydney, Australia, Poole Harbour is said to be the second largest natural harbour in the world! There are 5 small islands' situated within Poole Harbour, one of them being the tourist hotspot Brownsea Island, which we will discuss more next!

3) Dorset is one of the few remaining homes of the famous red squirrel! 

Brownsea Island, just a 20 minute ferry ride from Poole Quay, is one of the few spots in England where the red squirrel lives. The cute red squirrel used to be the primary breed of squirrel and found throughout the whole of the UK. Populations began to dwindle when the American Grey Squirrel was introduced to our shores in 1876. 

4) One of the worlds' hottest chillis comes from Dorset!

The Dorset Naga Chilli is one of the hottest peppers in the world, with a Scoville of 1,000,000 to 1,598,227! Bear in mind that the popular Jalapeno that we are all used, only ranks in at 4,000 to 8,500 Scoville.

5) The Jurassic Coast is England's only natural World Heritage site!

The Jurassic Coast is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised for its outstanding rocks, fossils and landforms! There are currently only 218 locations throughout the world within this category and we are lucky enough to have one right here in Dorset. 

6) The famous tongue-twister 'She Sells Seashells on the Sea Shore' originated in Dorset!

Mary Anning was a famous Victorian paleontologist and fossil hunter and became immortalised in this famous tongue twister. Anning would scour the beaches of Lyme Regis in search for fossils, and her work led to two dinosaur species being discovered! The Ichthyosaurus and the Plesiosaurus!

7) The United Kingdom's first ever supposed UFO sighting was in the Dorset town Fleet!

On the 8th December 1733, Fleet resident Mr Cracker reported a sighting of the UK's first ever UFO. He described the Unidentified Flying Object to be a silver disc flying through the bright sky, and said it looked like a star falling in the night. 

So there it is, hopefully you've learnt something new about your county today!

If you didn't think Dorset was an interesting spot before now, this proves that it definitely is!