Cranborne Chase

The company that submitted the application hasn't specified what they'll be building, but locals are assuming it'll be drones.

The proposed development by Rotron Aerospace, which was acquired by American company Ondas Holdings earlier this year, has raised concerns about traffic, noise, the impact on the Cranbourne Chase national landscape and the potential military use of the technology manufactured there.

One of the organisers, Stephen Dobson, described the event yesterday as really cheerful... and a well-marshalled walk in the sunshine.

He said all but three participants came from Semley or neighbouring villages, including farmers, local business owners, parents and grandparents of children attending Semley Primary School.

So you've got the two contrasting landscapes there as well.

You've got the clay and the small high valleys of the Blackmoor Vale down in the bottom in complete contrast to the high chalk hills of Cranbourne Chase.

And this crosses the two where they merge.

We're going to start in the lay-by at the top of Zigzag Hill, which is quite commonly used.

But another issue that I encountered here, which people are probably familiar with, sadly, with this area, is fly tipping.

I saw evidence of that both at the lay-by where the walk begins and where the ancient ox trade meets the zigzag hill.

Once you've climbed down zigzag, of course, it was introduced in the 19th century to make the descent more manageable for those coming down from Cranbourne Chase or definitely up as well.

And the hairpins negotiate that steep gradient.

And I'm Ian.

Welcome to The Ramblers, your monthly podcast celebrating the people and places Cranborne Chase National Landscape.

Spanning 380 miles of rolling countryside, Cranborne Chase stretches from Longleat in the north to the Kingston Lacy Estate in the south, weaving through four counties: Wiltshire, Dorset, Hampshire, and Somerset.

Each month, we invite you to join us for interviews and walks exploring conservation, wildlife, history, and most importantly the vibrant communities that make this landscape so special.

For more information about the Cranborne Chase National Landscape, visit cranbornechase.org.uk. That's one hell of a garden and lake, isn't it? Don't you think? This is a...

This is quite nice, isn't it? It's quite a hamlet here though, isn't it? It is.

I mean, the... it's a real statement with that, that stone wall there.

[ on-hold music] Alfred Free Time

And if the skies are clear, you can head up to Win Green, where the Cranborne Chase Astronomy Club will be setting up around eight o'clock for a free evening of stargazing.

Everyone's welcome, whether you've spent years studying the stars or you've never looked through a telescope before.

Club members will even lend you one.

And obviously, we're, we live very close to Salisbury Plain, and there are other facilities very much like this around Wiltshire.

The, it's the security, isn't it? There'll be massive high fencing and, I mean, you can't see it 'cause of the trees, but, you know, around that perimeter, there'll be kind of sniffer dogs and security fencing and barbed wire, razor wire.

Now, nothing has been published to suggest such measures are planned, but Diana believes the development would be inappropriate in the Cranborne Chase national landscape.

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Even if you're not hearing the lyrics, underneath there's an undercurrent of social justice.

Up at Wind Green, the Cranborne Chase Astronomy Club hosts a free night sky observing session, setting up towards the top end of the car park at around eight, with no telescope needed because members will share theirs.

And at Motcombe Village Hall, also at half past seven, the Children's Society Quiz invites teams of up to six for fifteen pounds a ticket, including supper with a vegetarian option, plus a raffle.

Tell Alfred about your event.

Wednesday, and Graham Hatherley, a natural history cameraman, shows wildlife and astrophotography of the ordinary and extraordinary sights above the area's dark skies at Compton Abbas Village Hall.

The talk runs from seven till half past eight with tickets at fifteen pounds including a drink.

So at night we get this dark sky effect from the Cranborne Chase and because there's not so much, uh, development in the Cranborne Chase, they've designated it, uh, the National Landscape has designated it, it as a dark sky area.

So you do get beautiful views of, of things like these eclipses and the, and the star timelapses that I'll show.

The wild cats were frequently heard by the night wailing round the lodges of the rangers of Whittlebury and Needwood.

The yellow-breasted marten was still pursued in Cranborne Chase for his fur, reputed inferior only to that of the sable.

Fen eagles measuring more than nine feet between the extremities of the wings preyed on fish along the coast of Norfolk.

On all the downs from the British Channel to Yorkshire, huge bustards strayed in troops of fifty or sixty and were often hunted with greyhounds.