| Melbury Abbas | |
View looking down on Melbury Abbas from the southwest |
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Melbury Abbas
Melbury Abbas shown within Dorset |
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| Population | 301 |
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| Parish | Melbury Abbas |
| District | North Dorset |
| Shire county | Dorset |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SHAFTESBURY |
| Postcode district | SP7 |
| Dialling code | 01747 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | North Dorset |
| List of places: UK • England • Dorset | |
Melbury Abbas is a village in north Dorset, England, situated between Shaftesbury and Blandford Forum on Cranborne Chase. The village has a population of 301 (2001), 34.4% are retired. 6.1% of dwellings are second homes.
The village is known for its traffic problems as it is situated on what has become the main road between Shaftesbury and Blandford. The road, which is not officially classified at all, takes much of the traffic that should use the A350 primary route through the Blackmore Vale a few miles to the west, as the hilltop road is straighter and passes through fewer villages. Melbury Abbas is the only bottleneck on the hilltop road, where it dips down into the valley and narrows. Dorset County Council have considered bypass schemes, but none have got further than preliminary stages as the village is surrounded by important conservation land.
There is a small airfield in the adjacent village of Compton Abbas.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Melbury_Abbas Melbury Abbas] at Wikimedia Commons