A genuinely special piece of heathland — boggy, birdy and about as close as Dorset gets to true wilderness — but the ground is soft and wet even by heath standards, and dogs can vanish into deep peat pools off the boardwalks if you're not paying attention. Like much of the Purbeck heaths, tracks can close in dry spells if wildfire risk spikes — Wareham Forest itself lost over 220 hectares to fire in 2020, so it pays to check before a summer visit.
One of England's largest surviving valley mire systems, at the heart of Wareham Forest and managed by Forestry England as a National Nature Reserve. Dry heath slopes to the north hold some of the oldest heather plants in Dorset, while the wet valley bog below has boardwalks and tracks crossing peaty, waterlogged ground; all six native British reptiles and roe, fallow and sika deer are found here.