Studland

Studland is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. It is famous for its beaches and nature reserve. It lies within the Purbeck administrative district, and is located about 2mi north of the town of Swanage, over a steep chalk ridge, and 3mi south of the South East Dorset conurbation at Sandbanks, but separated from it by Poole Harbour. The parish includes Brownsea Island within the harbour. In the 2011 census the parish had 182 households and a population of 425, though many of the houses in the village are holiday homes, second homes, or guest houses, and the village's population varies depending upon the season.DescriptionStudland is sited in the lee of Ballard Down, close to the east-facing Studland Bay, a 2.5mi long curved sweep of sandy beaches backed by dunes and heathland. The beaches are named South Beach, Middle Beach and Knoll Beach, with another at Shell Bay to the north.Although a coastal village, the houses in Studland are mostly sited a few hundred metres inland. At the start of the twentieth century Sir Frederick Treves described the village as "a medley of country lanes, lost among trees, with a few thatch-roofed cottages dotted about in a wild garden of brambles, ferns, and gorse." He noted that Studland had "no pretence to a quay", but rather "turns its face from the sea to bury it among its myrtles and fuchsia bushes." He lamented the arrival of tourists and the construction of villas in the village however, commenting that "The red brick epidemic... has seized upon it mercilessly."