Tarrant Gunville is a small village and parish set in the chalk landscape of the Tarrant Valley in north Dorset, centred on the little chalk stream the River Tarrant and lying a few miles north of Blandford Forum. The surrounding rolling downland skirts the Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, giving the area a mix of pasture, hedgerows and small woods with good walking country and a quiet rural feel.
Historically it has been an agricultural and estate-centred community, with a parish church and a historic house and parkland that reflect 18th–19th century landscaping; a small ornamental lake and estate features remain visible in the landscape. Today farming still matters locally but many residents commute to nearby towns, and village life is that of a small, close-knit rural community with occasional local events and walkers passing through.