Our work on Holt Heath

Published:: 14 August 2026

Dense purple heather, with a fern and trees behind — Dense heather is a key part of the habitat on Holt Heath | © National Trust images/Steve Sayers

Holt Heath is one of the largest remaining areas of heathland in Dorset, a National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is home to endangered birds such as the Dartford warbler and nightjar, as well as all six native UK reptiles and rare plant species such as sundews.

The heath stretches across more than 1,000 acres and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is the second-largest heathland in Dorset, second only to Purbeck, and has been farmed by humans for more than 5,000 years.

What is a heath?

Heathland is characterised by plants such as heather, gorse and bracken that grow on infertile and well-drained soils.

Historically, heathlands were important areas for humans. They provided grazing for livestock, heather for thatch, turves for fuel, bracken for bedding and potash, gorse for bread ovens and livestock fodder, and sands and gravels for building.

Constant disturbance resulted in a landscape that is now valued for cultural reasons as well as its unique wildlife.

The heath today

Holt Heath is part of a wider National Nature Reserve, which was designated in 1985. This covers the heathland but also wider semi-ancient woodland at Holt Forest and Holt Wood.

Within the heathland there is a mire (a wetland area dominated by living, peat-forming plants). Peat is a damp, dark soil, made of organic matter such as plants, mosses and even trees that hasn’t decayed properly. The mire system is designed to hold water and creates a home for migratory birds, rare damselflies, amphibians, reptiles and special plants and insects.

Why should we care?

Around 85% of heathland in the UK has been lost over the last 150 years, and the now fragmented habitats leave wildlife stranded and reliant on these special places. Lowland heath is a habitat rarer than the Amazon rainforest.

Heathland and mires are a great source of carbon capture. We are restoring the mire system as part of a Dorset-wide project to rewet fragmented and damaged peatlands.

Dartford warbler perched on the top of a gorse shrub with a moth in its mouth — Dartford warbler on gorse | © National Trust Images/Martin Bennett

How do we manage the heath?

Without grazing and management the heathland would become scrubby and, over time, revert back to woodland.

Between March and October you will see the Kingston Lacy Red Ruby Devon cattle on the heath. They play an important conservation role by nibbling on the scrub and vegetation, keeping it in check. They are also ‘super-spreaders’ of seeds across the site, helping wildflowers to thrive.

Our rangers carry out annual management work including gorse and fire break cutting, as well as working with partners to survey the wildlife and provide data that will inform our management plans for years to come.

We work in partnership with many organisations including Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Froglife, Pondlife and The Species Recovery Trust to maintain and manage this beautiful landscape.

Mire restoration

Mires are wet and boggy areas, and important habitats for plants, animals and birds, such as the bogbean, cotton grass, marsh gentian, bog bush cricket and curlews. Peatland is also an important carbon store.

At Holt Heath, the mire system and surrounding wet heathland suffered from historic peat cutting. This left an extensive network of ditches, which created excessive run-off and meant the mire was much drier than desired, especially during the summer months.

With the support of Natural England, we are restoring the mire at Holt Heath to support the nature that relies on this area to survive and thrive. Back in 2019 we installed a series of plugs within the ditch network, which slows the passage of water running off the heath and encourages it to form desirable shallow pools. The plugs are a mixture of wooden shuttering and ‘peat blocks’ from the surrounding mire. In total, there are 56 plugs installed at 50m intervals along approximately 3.50km of ditches. This contributes to the restoration of around 98 hectares (242 acres) of the mire.

We are delighted to be part of the Dorset Peat Partnership, which is leading a million-pound project to rewet and restore 172 hectares of fragmented and damaged peatlands across Dorset. In 2024 and 2025 we cut back vegetation to improve water retention and habitat in the mire, which will encourage the tiny but mighty mosses and sundews that play a vital role in the creation of peat bogs. Watch this space!

A close up of carnivorous plants in a bog — Carnivorous plants such as sundews thrive in boggy areas such as Holt mire | © National Trust/Eleanor Egan

Regeneration after fire

In August 2025 a devastating fire swept through 72 ha of the heath. The fire was so intense it effectively 'melted' the sandy soil, destroying the seed bank and leaving behind nothing but ash.

We are enormously grateful to the firefighters who saved the southern side of the heat, with its stands of mature gorse and heather, as well as a rich mosaic of grasses and shrub. This range of species, of different ages, provides food and habitat for a wide variety of insects and invertebrates.

We deliberately left the heath alone for a year after the fire, to see what would regenerate naturally. The National Trust and Natural England are now working together on a feasibility study that will help shape the next phase of restoration at Holt Heath.

The study, which is expected to begin in 2026, will see specialist soil scientists and ecological experts assess the condition of the site and map the extent of damage across the entire affected area.

We have seen some natural regeneration of the heath, with pioneer heather and gorse appearing. There is also grass and bramble, tough species that might out-compete the heather without conservation support. Our pedigree Red Devon cattle, a much-loved sight on the heath, will play a part in keeping vegetation in check.

However, we know nature cannot be rushed. It will take several decades for this area to develop into complex, species-rich heathland. We will be updating this webpage as our plans develop.