Cerne Abbas is an old village located in the valley of the River Cerne, between steep chalk downland in the middle of Dorset, England. The village had a population of 732 at the 2001 census, a figure which has fallen from 780 in 1998.

Cerne Abbas is a picturesque tourist village with many attractions, including the river, streets lined with stone houses and the Abbey. The most famous attraction is the Cerne Abbas giant, a 180ft naked male figure carved into the chalk hillside. The giant, owned by the National Trust, is generally thought to be an Iron Age fertility symbol, but with no records before the 17th century this can not be confirmed. There is evidence, however, that there were Iron Age settlements on the downs nearby.

Cerne Abbas features in Thomas Hardy's Wessex as "Abbots Cernel".

External links

• Community website (http://www.cerneabbas.org.uk/)
• Census data (http://www1.dorsetcc.gov.uk/LIVING/FACTS/Census2001.nsf/6cadf4da179fc19500256663004afece/8fcab893a989068180256ec8002ee9de?OpenDocument)

Photographs:

• Images of Dorset: Cerne Abbas (http://www.imagesofdorset.org.uk/Dorset/103/intro.htm)