Holt Forest

Situated 6km to the north of Wimborne, Holt Forest is one of Dorset's largest surviving areas of ancient broadleaved woodland and was recorded in the Domesday Book as the Forest of Wimborne. Holt Forest is part of Holt Heath National Nature Reserve and is managed by English Nature, owned by the National Trust. It is a forest of national and international importance.

Accompanied by a conservation officer from English Nature, some of the treasures and management issues of the forest were explored during one of the events organised as part of an Open Day at the nearby Holt Heath National Nature Reserve. Oak trees over two hundred years old, the medieval bank and ditch from King John's deer park, internationally significant occurrences of lichens, the delicate flowers of the Broad-leaved Helleborine (Epipactis helleborine) and pollarded holly trees were just some of the many aspects of this ancient and complex environment examined on that day.