Or add a comment in my guestbook.

In the last couple of years I have had many (well a few) requests for information about the Dorchester complex of gravel pits so have put this together to try and help anyone interested in visiting the area. Hopefully it will eventually have links to other pages giving details of birdwatching sites elsewhere in the county.

Living in Benson it is almost "on my doorstep" and I, therefore, spend quite a lot of what little spare time I have at Dorchester.

If you need directions to Dorchester this link will help you.

Each of the sites marked with a number on the map has a brief description including the best viewing spots and what you might see, together with some of the more unusual species which have been recorded. Clicking on the numbers on the map will access these.

Access to all of the lakes forming the Dorchester complex is restricted and to stay on the right side of the law (and some of the landowners) my advice has to be that it is best to assume that there is no access. This only partly detracts from the area for birdwatching, as most of the waters are viewable from outside the boundary fences. In some ways this is to be recommended anyway as approaching the waters edge usually has the effect of driving the birds to the far corner of the lake or even into flight and away.