Gillingham

Gillingham sits in North Dorset on the River Stour close to the county boundary with Wiltshire. The town acts as a service centre for surrounding farms and villages, with shops, post office and a secondary school. Narrow lanes and country tracks lead from the town into fields and patches of woodland that reach the edge of Cranborne Chase. River Stour meadows and floodplain channels are used by anglers and walkers and form part of local land management and drainage.

The railway station is on the line between Exeter and London Waterloo; timetables and station signs use the name Gillingham (Dorset) to distinguish it from the Kent town. Regular trains and local buses connect residents to larger towns for markets and services. Footpaths run along the Stour and across arable fields, with public rights of way linking farms and hamlets. The town retains a short high street and parish council buildings that reflect its role as a local hub.