Dorset 3 - RSPB Arne: waders & the landscapes of the Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve 31.03.21

Sim Elliott

Apr 1, 20222 min read

I got to RSPB Arne from my hotel in Poole by train (to Wareham), by bus (to Stoborough Green ) and by foot (4 miles walk) to Arne is part of the Purbeck Heaths National Nature Reserve Home - Purbeck Heaths Arne is famous for Dartford Warblers (due to targeted conservation) and UK reptiles.

The RSPB first bought land here in 1965 to safeguard heathland species such as the smooth snake, sand lizard and Dartford warbler. In 1965 Arne was home to two pairs of Dartford warbler, 50 years later there are more than 70 pairs. RSPB Arne remains one of the few places in the UK where all six of the UK's native reptiles can be found. The reserve is a haven for wildlife and has many designations including SSSI, SPA and SAC status. Arne Nature Reserve, Dorset - The RSPB

It was so abnormally cold - 6 degrees, with a pronounced wind-chill (and it snowed at one point) I saw no Dartford Warblers or reptiles, although I did hear some Dartford Warblers.

My hotel (Travelodge) on Holes Bay, Poole, from the train station

Some views of Wareham (a Saxon walled town, you can still walk round the earth walls)

The Quay

The Renaissance-Revival Victorian Town Hall

The Bear Hotel

Eighteenth Century Alms Houses

The nineteenth century Oddfellows Hall, turned into a cinema in 1921

See: The history of the Oddfellows for the history of the Oddfellows, mutual, friendly society. For this history of the Rex, one of the oldest cinemas in the country see: The Rex Cinema - Rex History

From the bus stop at Stoborough Green