Preston & Lodmoor

Preston sits alongside the Lodmoor open space in Dorset, dominated by residential streets, local shops and community facilities. The village street pattern leads directly onto the marsh edge, so houses and playing fields are often within a short walk of reedbed and shoreline. A primary school and small parade of shops serve day-to-day needs, while footpaths connect the neighbourhood to the green space that defines the locality.

Lodmoor comprises a country park and a managed wetland reserve with a freshwater lagoon fringed by reedbeds. An RSPB hide looks out over the lagoon, where wintering wigeon and teal can be seen alongside lapwing on flooded grassland. A seawall and mixed-use path runs beside the reserve, used by walkers and cyclists, and the country park includes a caravan site and play area that back onto the marsh. The area’s layout — village, seawall, lagoon and reedbed in close sequence — makes birdwatching and short coastal walks a regular part of local life.