Wild Lyscombe

Having spent early summer back in my home town in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, I’ve now made a foray to the off-island up north - mainland England - and pitched down north of Dorchester.

Why mid-Dorset? Well, it’s on the chalk, and I love the chalk almost as much as I love the sea. But this is also the home to a pretty grand land acquisition led by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Called Lyscombe, this acquisition now represents probably the grandest rewilding project on the southern chalk.

My reason for being here? I’ll be offering some input to how the trust and its partners set about unleashing nature at this site, building on a legacy of organic, nature-friendly management here under the stewardship of its most recent owners. And I’ll be helping to draw surrounding landowners into building something even larger than Lyscombe itself. I’ll be helping to record, report and celebrate how nature recovery unfolds.

I think I’ll be writing a lot of posts about Lyscombe over the coming months. Stay tuned!