Having spent a day at the Outdoors Show on Friday, and chatting to a few people at Brewers Quay yesterday about the work of the Trust, I was looking forward to joining one of our Rangers, Michael at a Hill Fort in our property portfolio - Hod Hill.

He was meeting a group of volunteers from Bournemouth University and volunteers from Bournemouth National Trust Volunteers to do some coppicing and scrub-bashing and I wanted to find out more and lend a hand.

Hod Hill is a large hill fort in the Blackmore Vale, 3 miles north-west of Blandford Forum. The fort sits on a 150 m chalk hill that is detached from the Dorset Downs and Cranborne Chase.

The fort is roughly rectangular (600 by 400 m) and there is a steep natural slope down to the River Stour to the west. The other sides have an artificial rampart, ditch and counterscarp (outer bank), with an additional rampart on the north side. The main entrance is at the south-east corner, with other openings at the south-west and north-east corners.

As with all of our outdoor properties, at this time of year there's a lot of management work to be done to ensure the health of the site and wildlife and coppicing and scrub-bashing forms an important part of that. It basically involves the removal of bramble and bracken and cutting back of trees to allow regrowth.

We met Michael on site and after a safety briefing we were soon hard at work cutting back the bracken on the steep slopes. The bonfire was soon roaring and we made good progress before lunch.

Once through the bracken it was easier to get at the Hawthorne and other trees and we had a good system going to cut & clear the unwanted growth.

A quick afternoon stop to toast some marshmallows (I guess there's a boy-scout in all of us!) and we had managed to clear a huge patch before the heavy showers arrived and the light started to fade.

I've had probably the best workout I've had for ages, had good fun and played a small part in the conservation of one of our properties so I'm feeling contented today! 

If you're interested in volunteering at one of our outdoor properties, you can join the Bournemouth National Trust Volunteer Group - see their website for details.

Alternatively, contact Caroline Richards, Outdoor Experience Manager for NT West Dorset:

Telephone: 01297480025 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it