Forester's Cottage
Forester's cottage is a delightful, detached, 2-bedroom property. Each room has vaulted timber…
Our View
Holt Heath NNR near Wimborne is one of Dorset’s largest remaining areas of lowland heathland. Northwest of the heath are two separate areas of semi-natural ancient woodland – Holt Forest and Holt Wood –which also form part of the reserve. Dry heath, wet heath and mire communities are all represented. Locally common plants include common heather, bell heather, cross-leaved heath, bog asphodel, sundews and marsh gentian. Bird life includes large populations of Dartford warbler, woodlark, stonechat and nightjar. The heath is Dorset’s only site for breeding curlew and Holt Heath is one of very few places in Britain where all six of Britain’s reptile species – the smooth snake, grass snake, adder, sand lizard, common lizard and slow worm – are found. The black darter dragonfly is also found hovering around the heathland pools. The reserve’s woodland is predominantly oak – many of which are magnificent old pollards – while other areas are dominated by beech.
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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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