Pipley Wood Walk
1. The walk starts from the track at the far end of the Discovery Centre car park and follows the orange-topped marker posts. Turn left at the panel and follow the path round as it bends to the right. Here, heather and bracken grow alongside wood sage and bluebells. Listen out for the birds, there are lots here, including willow warblers and woodpeckers.
2. The bank that the path cuts through is an old field boundary, last used in the 1800s. Dead wood is left on the land as it provides food and shelter for insects. You may just see some sika or roe deer or hear the loud whistling call of the sika stags in the autumn breeding season.
3. At the junction go straight on towards the bird hide. The ditch on the right is a haven for dragonflies and damselflies, and in spring it is a mating ground for frogs and toads.
4. The bird hide overlooks Little Sea, a freshwater lake about 2km long. Over 350 years ago it was part of StudlandBay, but was gradually cut off to form a lagoon as the sand dunes built up. In the winter there can be as many as 3000 birds on the lake.
5. Retrace your steps back to the junction and turn right. The long glade was once an enclosure for grazing animals, which have since been replaced by a spectacular display of flowers in spring, and later on by bracken which attracts food for bats.
- The path takes you through ‘carr’ woodland, where the trees grow in wet ground with ferns, mosses and liverworts growing around the bases. Keep going on the path and as you walk into an area of aspen trees, look out for white admiral butterflies swooping through the glade on warm summer days. Follow the path to the gate then take the track back to the car park.
Features
Peace and Quiet
Only a stones throw from Bournmouth and Poole, Studland feels a million miles away. Famous for its glorious golden sands and dunes, stretching from the Sandbanks Ferry to the rocky headland of Ballard Down, it is an area of high biodiversity. In the summer, thousands of people come to enjoy one of the best shorelines in the UK, yet only a few metres inland it’s possible to have the whole place to yourself – your own private beach.
Back to Nature
This area is a designated National Nature Reserve and home to a profusion ofrare species. There are more plants here than in any other place in Britain. Not only is the area important for botanists, but it’s also a haven for reptiles such as the rare sand lizard and smooth snake. Little Sea is a wonderful hidden lake squeezed behind the dunes where visitors can watch shelduck and little egret. Sika deer are also commonly seen. Unusually -being so close to the sea - areas of wet woodland have formed where you can find anassortment of colourful fungi.
Studying at Studland
Although the Studland landscape looks completely natural, there are fascinating Second World War relics hidden along the shoreline which once guarded the coast from potential invasion. In 1999, the National Trust built a Study Centre, incorporating many environmental features, which attracts educational groups from all over the country. Topics studied includehabitat comparison, sand dune profile and succession, tourism management, sustainable living, environmental management and coastal processes, features and erosion