4. Rivers of Dorset

 This is another personal one, prompted by a recent visit to Dorset, which is my home county. We stayed in the picturesque village of Evershot - a few miles north of Dorchester. There, I found myself at the well that marks the source of the River Frome, which runs a south-easterly course for thirty miles before entering into the natural harbour of Poole.

The scenic hilly backbone of the Dorset Downs is chalk, starting from the Isle of Portland, whose stone is famous world wide and distributed in buildings through most cities in England. The chalk seams extend northwards but mostly to the east to become the South and North downs that extend to the cliffs of Dover. As a result, chalk streams abound in Dorset, encouraging distinctive flora and fauna.

St John's Well marks the source of the River Frome in Evershot, Dorset

River Frome takes pride of place - not because it's the longest in Dorset, but is the longest to run the the whole of its course (30 miles) within Dorset boundaries. From Evershot the stream grows as it wends its way through marshland just outside Dorchester -a historic town, with its Durnovaria Roman roots; even earlier Maiden Castle fortress and Prince Charles's more recent curious project Poundbury. Leaving Dorchester at its eastern limits, the Frome then passes through marshy low country to Wool, with numerous tributaries and distributaries. Finally, traversing Wareham, another of my favourite Dorset towns, it empties into Poole harbour. At no point in it's journey does the river pass through a town called Frome, unlike it's namesake in the neighbouring county of Somerset.

River Stour. At 69 miles, the Stour is definitely the longest river to traverse Dorset. The river's source is the more famous Stourhead, the magnificent Palladian House and Gardens in Wiltshire- now owned by the National Trust. In fact, the spring source is approx 1.5 miles from the house and gardens, whence it picks up two tributary streams, and grows as it flows south eastwards, passing underneath the A303 and crossing into Dorset near Bourton. It continues through Gillingham and Sturminster Newton  before reaching the lovely market town of Blandford Forum. In Anglo-Saxon times Blandford grew up as a river fording point across the river from Bryanston, which appeared in the Domesday book, but which is now much smaller than Blandford. The Stour continues south, and outside the town provides home for a virulent biting insect (known as the Blandford Fly) that occupies the rushes and weed beds in that area. It is joined by two significant tributaries - the Tarrant, and then at another picturesque town Wimborne Minster by the Allen - before gathering strength for its passage to the sea, which it enters at Christchurch Harbour. Christchurch used to be in Hampshire but following boundary changes is now part of Dorset.

River Piddle. The delightfully named Piddle has a more prosaic alternative name of Trent as it nears the sea, but flows for much of its 19 miles runs through the Piddle Valley. From a source just north of the village of Piddletrenthide it follows (or rather has created) a course somewhere between the Stour to its north, and the Frome to its south, through, or past, Piddlehinton, Puddletown, Tolpuddle - site of the Tolpuddle Martyrs monument to the Trades Union movement -Affpuddle and Briantspuddle.  It empties into Poole Harbour a little to the north of the Frome outlet, and opposite the RSPB peninsula of Arne.

River Wey. Only 7 miles long, this stream gets a mention for nostalgic and historic reasons (ahead of its longer and better known namesake the Thames tributary in Surrey). There is chalk ridge comprising the South Dorset Downs that separates Dorchester and Weymouth and the spring emerges from the lower part of this above Upwey. Near to the source at Friar Waddon a pumping station provides mains water to the Isle of Portland several miles away. From Upwey, with its (locally) well known wishing well, the stream flows through Broadwey and into Radipole Lake. This is just upstream from Weymouth Harbour is a RSPB reserve now designated as a SSSI. In Roman times it served as a reservoir for nearby Durnovaria (Dorchester). The picturesque Weymouth Harbour is also the outlet for the freshwater of the river into the English Channel. The whole course of the Wey lies in the sprawl of Weymouth today, but in the past the river was the divide between Weymouth village and Melcombe Regis. The latter acquired its suffix by being a favourite holiday home for King George III. As a consequence of this patronage, the seaside resort of Weymouth boasts a large statue of George III; an impressive Georgian crescentic esplanade and the Osmington White Horse - a huge figure of the King on horseback carved in the chalky hills outside Weymouth.