13 August 2021

Quiz: How well do you know Dorset?

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is valued for the fossils along its coastline, which unlock secrets from 185 million years ago. But what else do you know about the English county?

3 mins

1. One of Dorset’s most recognisable attractions, Durdle Door, is named after the Old English word thirl. But what does that mean?

Whirlpool

Arch

To pierce

Window

2. What’s the name of this cockle-shaped bay?

Lulworth Bay

Kimmeridge Bay

Cockle Cove

Lulworth Cove

3. Which town, which is best known for its beach, is also home to Bennetts Water Garden?

Bournemouth

Weymouth

Swanage

Lyme Regis

4. The TV crime drama Broadchurch, which stars David Tennant and Olivia Colman, was filmed on this beach. What’s it called?

Charmouth Beach

Mupe Bay

Brandy Bay

West Bay

5. What is the real name of this town, which is nicknamed the Pearl of Dorset?

Lyme Regis

Portland

Wareham

Poole

6. Shaftesbury is best known as the set of a 1973 advert for Hovis bread. On which hill was the advert filmed?

High

Bell

Tout

Gold

7. How many kilometres is Chesil Beach?

8. In which town can you visit this abbey?

Dorchester

Salisbury

Sherborne

Blandford Forum

9. These chalk sea stacks go by a man’s name. What is it?

Harry

William

Edward

John

10. Who was Corfe Castle built for?

William the Conqueror

King Henry I

King Charles I

King William II

11. Which village is this 55m chalk figure closest to?

Nether Cerne

Cerne Abbas

Compton Abbas

East Compton

12. What’s the name of this lighthouse?

Peveril Point

Mudeford Lookout

Portland Bill

Nothe Tip

13. What is Bournemouth named after?

A river

A castle

A landowner

Heathland

14. Swanage Railway opened in 1885, closed in 1972 then reopened to passengers in which year?

1976

1979

1984

1989