Welcome to the Dorset AONB - Dorset AONB Partnership

The Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is one of a family of protected landscapes in the UK, working to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of almost half of Dorset's countryside.

Rather than just one beautiful landscape to shout about, the Dorset AONB is a collection of beautiful landscapes - each with different histories, ways of working and stories to tell.

If you're out and about this summer, do take your camera too and enter our Site Seeing photo competition ... great prizes on offer!

Or do join us on Wednesday 5th October for our FREE 'So Where is the Land of Bone and Stone?' event and discover one of south Dorset's best kept secrets!Find out more

Dorset AONB Map

So where is the Land of Bone and Stone? 5th October 2016

Join us to discover more about this secret south Dorset landscape through Talks, Tours and Tea!

Hellstone Sunset c Tony Gill 250 Experts tell us that the South Dorset Ridgeway is as important as Stonehenge and Avebury for the sheer scale of barrows, henges, hillforts and stone circles that we can still see here today.

With over 1000 ancient sites here, this ridge of land between Dorchester, Weymouth and Bridport must be one of Dorset’s best kept secrets!

Please join us on Wednesday 5th October to find out more about the Land of Bone and Stone. Through talks and optional walks (and lots of tea and cake!) you can find out about the history, wildlife and geology that make the area so special – and how local action really can make a difference.

Depending on your time and interest, you can choose from :

2pm: GUIDED WALKING TOUR around Black Down - our experts in archaeology (Steve Wallis, Dorset County Council), geology (Sam Scriven, Jurassic Coast Team) and wildlife (Russell Goff, Ridgeway Ranger) give their insights Land of Bone and Stone

3.30pm: TALKS AND TEAS at Martinstown Village Hall

•John Gale (Bournemouth University) and Steve Wallis (Dorset County Council) will share their views on what makes the Land of Bone and Stone a nationally important archaeological landscape

•Marie McLeish (South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership) reports on opportunities for young people to learn more and our arts partners about bringing the landscape to life

•Case Studies from Ridgeway communities making a real difference to their local heritage in the South Dorset Ridgeway to inspire you

•'Marketplace' of South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership projects and things you can sign up to

Free tea and cake provided by Dorset Food & Drink

5.30pm: GUIDED WALKING TOUR along the South Dorset Ridgeway with Steve Wallis and John Gale, revealing the secrets of Bronkham Hill as the sun goes down

Annual Forum Poster Landscape 250 This FREE event is being run by the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership to show off the achievements and opportunities of one of their major projects - the South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Everyone is very welcome to come along but BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL so we can organise transport and enough cake!

To book your free place, visit the Eventbrite website or if you have further queries, please contact the Dorset AONB Team on s.dampney@dorsetcc.gov.uk.

40 Days in Dorset out now!

fortydaysfrontcover180 Our new leaflet with suggestions of great places to explore in the Dorset AONB is out now!

Pick up your copy from Tourist Information Centres and libraries or you can download your copy here.

2017 Calendar Out Now

Front Cover spread

Our first ever Dorset Food & Drink Calendar is now available, and all funds raised are going to two Dorset Charities, Julia's House and Weldmar Hospice. For more information and the story behind this visit https://www.facebook.com/dorsetfoodanddrinkcalendar/

Site Seeing Photo Competition

Almost half of Dorset is officially recognised as OUTSTANDING - an astonishing mix of beautiful landscapes and great views round every corner.

We want to shout about how great this landscape is but as pictures speak louder than words, we need your help!

Site Seeing1

Please send us photos of your favourite views, places you love and great days out in the Dorset landscape. And head for the South Dorset Ridgeway (aka The Land of Bone & Stone) between Dorchester, Weymouth and Bridport as we would love to see photos that capture the spirit of this enigmatic landscape too.

We have £500 worth of prizes, to be split between entries of the Land of Bone & Stone and the wider Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There will also be an exhibition featuring the best entries from both categories.

To enter, please submit your photographs by 30th September 2016.

Full competition rules and details of how to enter can be found here.

AONB designation contributes £65 million a year

The Dorset AONB Partnership are cheered by a new report, confirming that Dorset's outstanding landscape offers so much more than just great views!

The results from a ground-breaking study looking into the value to the economy of Dorset's outstanding environment has just been released. It takes a closer look at the Dorset AONB and the Jurassic Coast as two key environmental assets for Dorset.

Key findings include:

While there are many ways to measure the "environmental economy", a sound central estimate for Dorset shows the it contributes about £1.5 Billion per year and supports around 30,000 jobs. This is the same size as the county's manufacturing sector - but there is some overlap in the definitions.
The Dorset AONB influences around £65 million per year within the area - that's around 1,200 jobs.

Jim White, Chairman of the Dorset AONB said, "This study wasn't about putting a price on natural beauty, but rather look at how the AONB designation contributes to the local economy. I'm thrilled to learn how substantial that contribution is.

"We're keen to ensure that the AONB Partnership maintains this positive economic effect. That's why - as well as working to protect the goose that lays this golden egg - we have projects helping businesses directly such as Dorset Food and Drink and Dorset Woodlink."

The study was commissioned by Dorset County Council, the Dorset AONB Partnership and the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Partnership, and was carried out by economic consultants Ash Futures.

Tom Munro, Dorset AONB Manager said, "this is such a useful piece of work for us. I'd like to thank the hundreds of people who contributed by answering questionnaires and being interviewed. We're inspired by how much you value this wonderful place."

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT:

Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival

Sun Sep 11 @10:00AM - 17:00

Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival

A fantastic opportunity to eat cheese ( and much more)

http://www.cheesefestival.co.uk/

Inside Out Dorset - Wayfaring Event

Sat Sep 17

Inside Out Dorset, the acclaimed biennial festival of outdoor art & performance, is back in
Littlebredy this Autumn. Artists, And Now: will be creating Wayfaring - an installation and
performance event, high up on the South Dorset Ridgeway within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty complete with spectacular views over the Dorset coast and countryside.

And Now: specialise in making outdoor events with natural materials and fire and the
performance in the evening of the 21 September will contain fire and fireworks. The installation is open daily, 17-20 September and is FREE!

And Now: invite us to explore a hilltop location with commanding views across the South Dorset Ridgeway, discover an installation within the landscape and on the last night of summer before the autumn equinox, experience a one-off live performance, exploring the tensions and balances in our contemporary landscapes.

Each day seek out waymarkers along ancient and modern pathways, discover the unexpected and contribute to the growing installation. For the final evening, movement, sound, smells and the transformative power of fire combine in an atmospheric performance experience.

the artists
Artists Mandy Dike and Ben Rigby work together as And Now: to conceive, design and create visual performance, image and installation. Inspired by a passion for natural materials and the transformative nature of fire, they create unexpected, accessible and entertaining public experiences.

venue choice
The South Dorset Ridgeway is one of Dorset’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB): rich in archaeology, wildlife, geology, great walks and views. We are returning to Littlebredy to share this hidden gem of an area and to explore the relationship between the ancient ceremonial landscape and its contemporary farming use.

Full details can be found at:

http://www.insideoutdorset.co.uk/event/wayfaring/

Inside Out Dorset - Wayfaring Event

Sun Sep 18

Full details can be found at:

http://www.insideoutdorset.co.uk/event/wayfaring/

Inside Out Dorset - Wayfaring Event

Mon Sep 19

Full details can be found at:

http://www.insideoutdorset.co.uk/event/wayfaring/

Inside Out Dorset - Wayfaring Event

Tue Sep 20

Full details can be found at:

http://www.insideoutdorset.co.uk/event/wayfaring/

Creative Writing Workshops

Thu Sep 22

Creative Writing Workshops:

The Poetry and Prose of Deserted, Abandoned and Forgotten Villages

Thursday 22 & Friday 23 September 2016
10.30am - 4.30pm

Workshop leader: Ralph Hoyte

Venue: Artisan Craft Classes & Workshops, Elworthy Hall, Winterborne
Monkton, Dorchester, DT2 9PT

Places are free but booking is essential.

Do you enjoy creative writing - prose or poetry - responding to the landscape? If so, come along to these workshops and, working alongside other creative voices, produce your own response to abandoned villages in the South Dorset Ridgeway. You will also have the opportunity to record your work, and some recordings will be included in a new smartphone app based on the Ridgeway or in a podcast.

You will need your own transport, as well as a packed lunch and outdoor clothing - further details and a booking form are attached.

Please contact Mark Hewitt of DIVAcontemporary if you have any queries or require more information:

mark@divacontemporary.org.uk

Tel: 01308 459071

Creative Writing Workshops

Fri Sep 23

Creative Writing Workshops:

The Poetry and Prose of Deserted, Abandoned and Forgotten Villages

Tel: 01308 459071

Shaftesbury Super Sunday

Sun Sep 25 @10:00AM - 15:00

A new regular market for Shaftesbury starting on the 20th March, running through to November

Discover the many talented people living in Dorset and the surrounding area every 3nd Sunday of the Month with stalls stretching from one end of Shaftesbury High Street to the other.

Our first market will be held in the high street of Shaftesbury on the 20th of March, 10am – 3pm, please pop along and support your independent traders.

http://www.shaftesburysupersunday.co.uk/

So where is the Land of Bone and Stone?

Wed Oct 05 @ 2:00PM - 19:30

Join us to discover more about this secret south Dorset landscape through Talks, Tours and Tea!

Experts tell us that the South Dorset Ridgeway is as important as Stonehenge and Avebury for the sheer scale of barrows, henges, hillforts and stone circles that we can still see here today. With over 1000 ancient sites here, this ridge of land between Dorchester, Weymouth and Bridport must be one of Dorset’s best kept secrets!

Please join us on Wednesday 5th October to find out more about the Land of Bone and Stone. Through talks and optional walks (and lots of tea and cake!) you can find out about the history, wildlife and geology that make the area so special – and how local action really can make a difference.

The event is FREE and is being run by the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership at Martinstown Village Hall.

To book your free place, visit the Eventbrite website or if you need more information, please contact the Dorset AONB Team on s.dampney@dorsetcc.gov.uk.

Wimborne Minister Food & Drink Festival

Sat Oct 22 @10:00AM - 17:00

Wimborne Minster Food & Drink Festival

Now in it's 3rd year we aim to be bigger and better

http://www.foodevents4u.co.uk/

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