Out and About

Improving the wild flower grassland at Stonehenge

DISTINCTIVE patches of brown grass at Stonehenge stand out among the green fields but these areas will soon be richer in wild flowers, thanks to the addition of seeds collected from Salisbury Plain. It is more than 15 years since the start of one of Europe’s largest grassland restoration projects in the Stonehenge landscape. National…

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Restoring the parterre at Kingston Lacy

THROUGHOUT the autumn, National Trust gardeners are restoring the parterre, a significant and integral part of the formal garden at Kingston Lacy near Wimborne. Kingston Lacy was home to the Bankes family for more than 300 years. The parterre sits to the east of the property and was first laid out by Walter Ralph Bankes…

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New Ridgeway walking trail

CHILDREN from a south Dorset primary school have helped to develop a new interactive walking trail to attract people of all ages to explore the magnificent sights of the South Dorset Ridgeway. Hosted by Bincombe Valley Primary School, and led by Dorset Youth Association with the support of Artsreach and the social and ethical house…

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Restoring Dorset’s fingerposts

FINGERPOSTS are a common feature of the Dorset countryside – and their design is thought to be unique, according to the South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership which has a project to refurbish these special signs. The fingerposts contribute to the character of the area but their numbers have fallen in recent years and many are in…

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