Discover the Purbeck Heaths in Dorset

Sapphire seas and golden sands – that’s why thousands of people spend their summer holidays on the Dorset coast. But, if you take a closer look, there are hidden gems waiting to be discovered right near the shoreline. The Purbeck Heaths are a treasure chest of nationally and internationally important protected areas that contain priceless habitats and provide a home for precious UK wildlife.

We spoke to Peter Robertson, who has been Senior Site Manager at RSPB Arne for nine years. Peter explains why protecting Purbeck Heaths is important.

The scent of gorse flowers sugarcoats this landscape, but beware – this shrub isn’t entirely sweet. Its spiky foliage offers vital protection for a nesting bird. A small warbler perches on top of the gorse bushes: its metallic song rings out from the vegetation. Slate grey back, and russet brown – almost pink – chest. Darting through the dense undergrowth, it picks out small spiders to take back to its chicks. This is a Dartford Warbler, and Dorset is a major UK stronghold. The vegetation here – the gorse, the heather – is vital for many different species. Together, it makes up a habitat called heathland. And this heathland isn’t just found anywhere.

By the 1970s and 1980s, large parts of precious heathland habitat surrounding Poole and Bournemouth had been lost to development as the towns expanded. There was significant pressure for further housing development on what remained of the area’s heaths – Canford Heath is just one famous example.

In the 1980s, heathlands were recognised as vital homes for declining species, like Dartford Warblers and Sand Lizards, and were given legal protection across the UK. This Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) designation is used across England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, and earmarks areas with rare habitats, species or geology.

SSSI designations form the building blocks of the nature conservation we see today. Once a site has been designated, the land there must be managed to preserve or enhance those features, ultimately protecting them from development. While development is essential, it must happen in the right places. SSSIs protect precious places – like the Purbeck Heaths – from irreparable damage.

While the SSSI designation stopped development on the habitat itself, it didn’t prevent building right up to the boundaries of the heath. You can still see the evidence of this today at Canford Heath, with houses, schools and supermarkets built right on the edges of this nationally important habitat. This risks impacting the heathland and its wildlife through disturbance and pollution.

In 2000, Dorset’s heathlands were recognised for their global importance and received EU designations as Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). This gave the area and its wildlife stronger safeguards – most notably, ‘buffer zones’ were introduced around the heaths to protect them from encroaching development. This higher level of protection helped the RSPB and Natural England to win significant victories, protecting remaining fragments of heathland, like Talbot Heath, from inappropriate development.

These designations also unlocked significant funding for restoration of heathland at scale, and resulted in long-term partnerships between conservation organisations, local authorities and local communities.

The RSPB began working at Arne on the Purbeck Heaths in the 1960s to protect the Dartford Warbler, when just 10 breeding pairs could be found across the country. Other conservation organisations, like the National Trust, soon followed and began preserving the heathland for the rare species that depend on it in the area, too.

Partnership work makes the Purbeck Heaths all the more important. It’s a patchwork of habitats, all sewn together by the hard work and determination of conservation staff, volunteers, private landowners. They’ve removed fences from their boundaries making a bigger, better, more joined up landscape, and making room for more ambitious conservation work.

Mangalitza Pigs rootle through the bracken across the heaths, on the hunt for food. As they break up dense areas of the vegetation, they make the perfect conditions for light-loving plants on the ground to soak up sunshine – in turn making prime habitat for a variety of different insects and birds. Temporary pools are formed where these pigs wallow, making space for rare pondlife. They’re joined by ponies and cattle – together their hooves spread seeds across the heathland. Meanwhile, Beavers build dams, slowing the flow of water, helping the landscape to stay wet – even in increasingly hot summers. Thanks to the local landowners working together here, nature is allowed to take a hold.

White-tailed Eagles soar over the harbour, Smooth Snakes bask in the sunshine and Nightjars churr late into the evening. The peat bogs lock up carbon while the saltmarshes help our communities to stay safe from flooding. The Purbeck Heaths are one of the few places in the UK where nature is in a better state now than it was 60 years ago.

It’s a shining example of what happens when nature lovers – visitors and volunteers, nature charities, local communities and landowners – come together to make a difference. This is what can happen when our important wild places get the legal protections and designations to safeguard them from threats and ensure they’re effectively managed. Now, thanks to those protections, the habitats within the Purbeck Heaths are a jewel in the crown of UK nature.

And this jewel is ready and waiting for you to discover it. From rolling heathlands to shifting sand dunes, enjoy the natural treasures of the Purbeck Heaths with the RSPB, National Trust and more of our partners.