A genuinely exciting, fast-changing place to watch nature recover in real time, and the open-access area by the car park means there's always somewhere for dogs off lead — but venture further and it's on-lead only, since grazing animals with young are on site all year round.
Dorset Wildlife Trust's 170-hectare rewilding project just outside Bere Regis, formerly Court Farm and acquired in 2021 — England's first large-scale community rewilding scheme. Fences have come down, Hereford cattle, ponies and pigs graze freely, and new wetlands have brought in harvest mice, field voles and all four of Dorset's land reptiles. Over 1,900 species have been recorded on site since 2021. There's a dedicated open-access area (a SANG) immediately by the car park where dogs can go off lead.