Our verdict
A pleasant, low-key nature reserve rather than a big-views walk — good for a quieter pootle and genuinely interesting if you like dragonflies and pond life. Parking is very limited, so this suits a small group rather than a big day out.
A Dorset Wildlife Trust reserve a few miles outside Wareham, regenerated from old clay-mining pits into birch and oak woodland with deep, iris-fringed ponds. It supports great crested newts, 18 species of dragonfly and around 68 recorded bird species, with waymarked trails through the woodland and meadows.