Rockley Park
A complete holiday experience, including a wide range of day and night entertainment, and plenty…
Our View
The reedbeds that form the Arne NNR offer a very special landscape of a vast expanse of open heathland and oak woodland on the shores of Poole Harbour. There is a variety of rare wildlife to see. In summer look out for Dartford warblers nesting in the heather, nightjars flying at dusk and as many as 22 species of colourful dragonflies. The reserve overlooks Poole Harbour, where thousands of wading birds, ducks and geese, including large numbers of avocets, black-tailed godwits and Brent geese,arrive in winter. Ospreys are regularly seen on migration in late summer and autumn, while the dainty white herons, the little egrets, can be seen throughout the year in Poole Harbour. Between May and July, listen out for the mechanical ‘churring’ of the nightjar drifting across the heather, while perky migrant stonechats scold from the tops of bushes and on posts and fences.
Features
Also in the area
About the area
Discover Dorset
Dorset means rugged varied coastlines and high chalk downlands. Squeezed in among the cliffs and set amid some of Britain’s most beautiful scenery is a chain of picturesque villages and seaside towns. Along the coast you’ll find the Lulworth Ranges, which run from Kimmeridge Bay in the east to Lulworth Cove in the west. Together with a stretch of East Devon, this is Britain’s Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, noted for its layers of shale and numerous fossils embedded in the rock. Among the best-known natural landmarks on this stretch of the Dorset coast is Durdle Door, a rocky arch that has been shaped and sculpted to perfection by the elements. The whole area has the unmistakable stamp of prehistory.
Away from Dorset’s magical coastline lies a landscape with a very different character and atmosphere, but one that is no less appealing. Here, winding, hedge-lined country lanes lead beneath lush, green hilltops to snug, sleepy villages hidden from view and the wider world. The people of Dorset are justifiably proud of the achievements of Thomas Hardy, its most famous son, and much of the county is immortalised in his writing.
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Restaurants and Pubs
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