Robert,
The sound of the guns travelling so far may not be hyperbole. During the major major battles on the Western Front in 1915 and 1916, the sound of the guns could be clearly heard by residents of coastal towns in East Anglia - particularly in Norfolk. The naval guns mentioned tend to be of a calibre, if anything higher than those used on the battlefield. Most English Super Dreadnoughts had 21 inch guns - larger than all but the biggest field artillery.
With the wind in the right direction the sound of naval gunfire would have carried a long way - especially as East Anglia and Dorset share the same flatness of terrain.
Nigel
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