Traditional county: Dorset · Region: South West
Explore Charlton Down, Dorset with this interactive street and satellite map. You can “grab” the Charlton Down map and move it around to re-centre it. You can change between standard map view and satellite map view by clicking the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. You can use the zoom buttons on the lower right side of the map to zoom in or out to street-level detail.
This page also offers OS MAPS — Ordnance Survey Outdoor mapping and the OS Explorer 1:25 000 sheets — plus a labelled National Grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid reference readout. See How to Use This Map below. You will find live weather, local and world news further down the page.
This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Charlton Down, Dorset, England. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture to zoom in and out.
Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen for a larger view. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key on your keyboard, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).
Drag the map to pan to any area of Dorset or beyond. Switch to Satellite view to see high-resolution aerial photography of Charlton Down and surrounding areas, including streets, buildings, parks and waterways.
OS MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows OS Outdoor mapping — contours, footpaths, bridleways and access land. Explorer 1:25k shows the OS Explorer sheets themselves: the orange-covered 1:25 000 maps walkers, fell runners and mountain rescue teams use, with field boundaries, rights of way and open access land. The search box finds any British town, village or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Charlton Down.
Reading the map like a paper Explorer sheet. Click Grid to overlay the OS National Grid, labelled along the edges exactly as a printed sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference such as NY 266 234 by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.
Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as an OS National Grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — the grid reference being what mountain rescue and the coastguard work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need mobile coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your grid reference stays correct even where the map itself cannot load, which in the Lakes, the Dales and the Highlands is often exactly where you need it.
Map search is available for a limited number of queries per session to manage costs. Be specific — search precisely for best results.
| Place | Charlton Down |
| Traditional County | Dorset |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Latitude | 50.752158 |
| Longitude | -2.456212 |
| Place Type | Village |
Charlton Down rises from the Dorset landscape as a deliberate architectural anchor amidst the rolling chalk horizons. It lies 2.7 miles north-north-west of Dorchester (from Dorchester: bearing 343°T, OS grid SY 679 948), and is situated north of Charminster village. The presence of Charlton Down within the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty grants it a serene composure, where the high, pale light of the south-west renders every limestone facade with a sharp, archival clarity. To the south-east, the rise of Wood Hill acts as a silent sentry, its slopes holding the weight of centuries in the form of a prominent bowl barrow. Not far to the west, the River Cerne traces a cooling, sinuous path through the valley, drawing the eye toward the horizon where the land lifts again. The layout of Charlton Down reflects a transition from its origins as a Victorian hospital complex into a residential expanse, where red-brick buildings stand with a formal, disciplined grace. Residents often look out toward the ancient, earth-mounded silhouettes of nearby scheduled monuments, which serve as quiet reminders of the long human tenure in this corner of the county. Life in Charlton Down maintains a steady, measured pace, defined by the interplay between its structured, historic architecture and the expansive, unhurried sky of the surrounding countryside.
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Explore Charlton Down, Dorset, with an embedded street and satellite map - switch between views using the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. Coordinates: 50.752158, -2.456212. Live weather conditions and 7-day forecasts are provided through Open-Meteo, while real-time local and world news feeds help keep the page current. Wikipedia and editorial summaries provide additional local information and context.
Search Maps opens a second, independent map. It searches OpenStreetMap for any British town, village or landmark by name; offers OS Outdoor and the OS Explorer 1:25 000 sheets as base layers; overlays a labelled OS National Grid so the map can be read like a printed Explorer sheet; measures distance and grid, true and magnetic bearings between any two points; and takes a single GPS fix reporting your position as an OS National Grid reference and as latitude and longitude. Map tiles require mobile coverage, but a GPS position does not, so the grid reference remains correct even where the map cannot load.
Location data is sourced from OS Open Names © Crown copyright and database rights 2024, Ordnance Survey, Open Government Licence v3.0, and verified by coordinates.
| Page built | October 2026 |
| Location data | OS Open Names © Crown copyright and database rights 2024. Ordnance Survey. Open Government Licence v3.0. |
| Map layers | Google Maps; © OpenStreetMap contributors; OS Outdoor and OS Explorer 1:25 000 via the OS Maps API — contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights; magnetic declination from NOAA NCEI (World Magnetic Model) |
| County data | Traditional county boundaries. Modern unitary authority: OS Open Names / ONS Geography. |
| Coordinates | WGS84 decimal degrees derived from OS National Grid (OSGB36) |
| Wikipedia validation | Article content matched by Wikipedia category membership (e.g. “Villages in Derbyshire”) and name verification against OS Open Names data. |