Ballard Down
Ballard Down is a an area of
chalk downland in
Dorset, south
England. The down forms a
headland between
Studland and
Swanage bays in the
English channel, and once formed part of a continuous chalk ridge between what are now
Devon and the
Isle of Wight. The
scarp slope of the down faces south, over swannage. The down was an area of
calcareous grassland for up to 1,000 years, until
World War II when there was a sudden rise in the need for arable
agricultural land. Since then, however, the need for agricultural land has declined and the down, now owned by the
National Trust, has largely been returned to grassland. The National Trust allow grazing on the down in order to prevent them becoming the natural
oak woodland climax community.
The South Dorset Downs meet the sea at Old Harry Rocks, Ballard Down.