Lyscombe

In March 2024, Dorset Wildlife Trust and Natural England purchased 335 hectares of land at Lyscombe, 10 miles north-east of Dorchester. This monumental acquisition - one of the biggest in the Trust's history - was made possible through funding from Natural England's National Nature Reserves programme, and planned nutrient mitigation credit scheme, alongside generous donations from Dorset Wildlife Trust members and supporters. Nestled within the breathtaking Dorset National Landscape (formerly Dorset AONB), this expansive landscape boasts a treasure trove of chalk downland, lush scrub, vibrant wildflower meadows, and ancient woodlands. It holds a number of prestigious designations, including a 50-hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI), and several Scheduled Monuments, including the unique Lyscombe Chapel. This land acquisition presents an exciting opportunity to create more space for nature and restore natural processes across the landscape whilst ensuring that the existing ecological and historic designations are protected and opening up more access for people to enjoy this stunning place. 

There were three key reasons for acquiring this land.

First, we need nature more than ever. Dorset Wildlife Trust and our partner wildlife trusts are calling for 30% of our land and sea to be connected and protected for nature’s recovery by 2030.  Making space for nature to become abundant will give our struggling wildlife the chance to recover, spread and thrive.

Second is tackling the climate crisis and contributing to our quality of life. Managing more land for nature and restoring natural processes increases the amount of carbon that can be held in healthy soils and woodlands. The creation of new wetlands can reduce the risk of flooding and reduce the nutrients flowing into our rivers and seas. 

Third, the visually stunning location of Lyscombe lends itself well to engaging people and communities, enabling people to play a role in addressing the climate and ecological crises, contributing to our goal of one in four people taking action for nature.  We will create opportunities for people of all backgrounds and abilities to learn about and enjoy nature and help to create a wildlife haven for everyone. 

This acquisition was made possible through funding from Natural England's National Nature Reserves programme, and planned nutrient mitigation credit scheme, alongside generous donations from Dorset Wildlife Trust’s members and supporters.

Whilst the primary interest of all the partners is to see the area managed for nature recovery, the more sustainable methods of land management at Lyscombe will also serve to reduce the levels of harmful nutrients entering Poole Harbour. Poole Harbour has been suffering for years from algal blooms, caused by excessive nutrients, originating from both land management like fertilisers and slurry and discharges from sewage treatment. Natural England's Nutrient Neutrality scheme is based on making a permanent management changes - ceasing nutrient inputs and arable cultivation in perpetuity.

By adopting a more sustainable form of land management, nutrients entering the top of the catchment at Lyscombe will be reduced both by removing inputs, and through natural recovery measures such as creating new wetland habitat that can capture nutrients.

One of our first priorities will be to assess the condition and survey the wildlife within the SSSI. With our considerable experience of managing nature reserves across Dorset, we will maintain and enhance the habitat using traditional conservation management techniques. Our aim is to establish Lyscombe as a national exemplar nature restoration initiative. It will demonstrate a pioneering approach to combining the management and enhancement of important heritage habitats with rewilding and natural regeneration techniques to transform the land into a wildlife-rich core area for nature recovery across the wider Dorset Downs landscape.

There are a number of Scheduled Monuments and listed buildings on the site which include ancient earthworks and field systems, barrows and a delightful ancient chapel, the chancel of which dates to the twelfth century. The barrows and earthworks will be an important consideration in managing the site. We will work with Historic England, Dorset Council and Dorset National Landscapes to ensure that they are all managed appropriately.

There is a small parking area at the main entrance to Lyscombe off Drake's Road - the postcode is DT2 7RF and and here is the what3words location. A number of public footpaths give access across the land and in particular, around the chalk bowl giving fine views across the Dorset countryside. Over time, we will consult and consider improvements to access and will be organising public events for the community and our members.

Dorset Wildlife Trust plans to make more space for wildlife to expand and thrive throughout this stunning landscape. We plan to use natural regeneration techniques and a rewilding approach blended with traditional conservation management to enhance and restore the habitats. We also look forward to improving visitor access to this stunning landscape, particularly on existing footpaths and rights of way to help local people and visitors to enjoy this incredibly special place. 

We will undertake extensive ecological, soil, hydrological and other environmental surveys across the land to establish baselines and ongoing monitoring of invertebrates, small mammals, bats, breeding birds and flora to help inform and develop our land management plans. At the same time, we will be working on installing fencing and other infrastructure needed to facilitate low intensity mixed grazing across the SSSI and former arable land as well as the grasslands and woodlands. The intention is to allow much of the site to rewild using natural regeneration techniques, supplemented by appropriate tree planting. The land is likely to develop into a mosaic of grassland and scrubby wood pasture which will also require grazing with the associated infrastructure and animal welfare needs.

Alongside this, we plan to create new habitat to attract more wildlife onto the land. The Little Piddle, a tributary of the River Piddle, rises at Lyscombe which means ‘reedy valley’ in Old English. This presents an exciting opportunity to restore the river for wildlife and create fen meadows in the valley bottom, leading to a reduction of harmful nutrients flowing into Poole Harbour via the waterways.