Anger as Dorset property withdraws public access to ‘stunning’ native landmark

For many years the lake and waterfall at the Bridehead Estate in Dorset have introduced pleasure to guests who used the permissive trail to get right of entry to a scene of pastoral loveliness that can have come instantly from the pages of a Thomas Hardy novel.

But there was once despair – and anger – a few of the masses, perhaps hundreds, who made ultimate pilgrimages to the village of Littlebredy this week after it was once introduced that get right of entry to to the general public was once being halted from 2 June.

“Coming here is like going back in time to the 1950s or 60s when life was much easier and simpler,” stated Caroline Lewis, from Weymouth, a retired civil servant and trainer who has been visiting for part a century.

“It’s beautiful and peaceful. I have lots of happy, peaceful memories here. It’s serene and soothing, and it seems selfish to close it off.”

Landscape photographer Rachel Baker has been visiting for 10 years. “I first stumbled on it when we did a day trip to west Dorset and stopped off in Littlebredy on our way home. It was such a beautiful, tranquil spot with hardly a human in sight.

“The waterfall is particularly stunning at autumn as it is framed by a Japanese maple, and the leaves go from golden yellow to a deep red. It became a bit of a pilgrimage to visit and photograph the waterfall every autumn.

“It feels a tremendous shame that the access that has been given to the public for so many years is being taken away.”

Kevan Manwaring, a college lecturer in inventive writing, stated it was once culturally vital. Hardy knew this house neatly, thus one of the vital major characters in his novel Jude the Obscure was once named Sue Bridehead.

The artist David Inshaw painted the cricket pitch at the property within the 1970s and, extra not too long ago, the waterfall was once used as a environment for a criminal offense scene within the tv display Broadchurch.

Manwaring stated: “We should be encouraging people to spend more time in nature, not less.”

The historical past of the property stretches again centuries. According to a knowledge realize in the village church, St Michael and All Saints, the “bredy” in “Littlebredy” comes from a Celtic phrase that means to throb or boil, regarded as a connection with the flow.

For greater than 400 years, the property was once owned by way of Cerne Abbey till the dissolution and on the finish of the 18th century, it was once purchased by way of Robert Williams, whose circle of relatives grew wealthy from furnishings making, banking – and a stake within the East India Company.

The flow was once damned to create Bridehead Lake. Acer, tulip bushes and pines had been planted and on the western finish of the lake, and water spilled out into the mossy waterfall.

The space and property had been handed down during the Williams circle of relatives and villagers and guests got get right of entry to to the lake and waterfall in trade for a donation to the village church. Over the years, other people have scattered ashes of family members – and pets – on the web page.

Last 12 months the 16-bedroom space and 2,000-acre property got here directly to the marketplace with a information value of £30m. Country Life described it as a “joyous home, full of surprises”.

The space and property is thought to have offered briefly. The identification of the brand new proprietor has no longer emerged however a realize announcing that “permissive access will be withdrawn as of Monday 2 June 2025” gave the impression on a fence beside the trail.

The Right to Roam marketing campaign has stated it’s going to problem and “defy” the ban.

Nadia Shaikh, from the marketing campaign, stated: “Bridehead’s beauty and tranquillity should continue to be accessible to all, not locked away behind estate gates. This landscape is more than just scenery – it’s part of the cultural and natural heritage of Dorset, intertwined with local identity and community life.

“This closure epitomises the precarious nature of public access to the countryside across England. It is part of a growing trend of micro-enclosures and the paywalling of the countryside. The government urgently needs to pass new legislation to protect access to places like Bridehead and extend access to the countryside elsewhere.”

Shaikh stated the property’s historical past was once “deeply tied to colonial exploitation” during the East India Company, including: “Maintaining public access is a positive step toward accountability, community healing, and celebrating a more inclusive, shared heritage.”