| Dorset National Landscape | |
|---|---|
 Eggardon Hill in the Dorset Downs, overlooking the vales and rolling hills of west Dorset. | |
 Location of the National Landscape in England | |
| Location | Dorset, England |
| Area | 1,129 km2 (436 sq mi) |
| Designated | 1959 |
| Visitors | 14.4 million (in 2016)[1] |
| Administrator | Dorset National Landscape Partnership |
| Website | dorset-nl.org.uk |
Dorset National Landscape is a National Landscape area in Dorset, southern England, formerly known as and still legally designated as the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The conservation designation means that the area is protected and promoted for its landscape value. The area was established in 1959, one of the early wave of National Landscapes to receive the designation.
Dorset National Landscape covers an area of 436 square miles (1,129 km2), nearly 43% of the area of the ceremonial county of Dorset.[1] It includes most of the Dorset section of the Jurassic Coast, England's only natural World Heritage Site, plus three Ramsar sites, nine Special Areas of Conservation, and three Special Protection Areas.[2] Other parts of Dorset included in the designation are the chalk hills of the Dorset Downs, the Isle of Purbeck and Poole Harbour, and the vales and rolling hills in the west of the county.
Around 75,000 people live within the boundaries of the area, which encompass the towns of Beaminster, Bridport, Lyme Regis and Swanage.[1] The area includes several popular tourist attractions, and tourists made an estimated 12.6 million day trips and 1.8 million staying trips to the area in 2016.[1]