My Dorset Landscape

Meet two men, from different generations, who share a passion for the South Dorset Ridgeway

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SITUATED between Dorchester and Weymouth, the South Dorset Ridgeway is a farmed landscape steeped in history with evidence of human occupation dating back thousands of years. The Dorset AONB and its partners work with landowners to ensure that its geology, landscape, flora and fauna are looked after for future generations to enjoy.

JAMES SHARPE, 44

SOUTH DORSET RIDGEWAY LANDSCAPE PARTNERSHIP MANAGER

I’m very lucky to live in the South Dorset Ridgeway landscape area that (with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund) we work to conserve and enhance. It’s a great place to bring up my young family. I usually cycle to work, up and over the ridge into Dorchester. Locally it’s known as the Sea Wall and it does feel like that with its steep side seaward, dividing the land between Weymouth and Dorchester. The landscape is very different on each side, the weather can be too.

I cycle between some impressive Bronze Age barrows (burial mounds) which are one of the features that makes this landscape so special. Then I head down and across the Winterbourne, round the side of Maiden Castle, one of the most complex Iron Age hill forts in Europe, and into town.

One of the great pleasures of the job is collaborating with experts who are so passionate about this area. In a given day I could be talking to archaeologists, ecologists, artists, farm advisors. Occasionally I get out from the office to work alongside our volunteers, which is always a joy.

How can the countryside inspire the next generation?