The farm is a clean sweep of open land from the top of the slope immediately below Abbotsbury Castle to the sea. At the top, the steepest slope is covered with scrub. Below this, the land is an open arable landscape with fields averaging 10 acres divided by hedges and scrubby gullies and dotted with small ponds. The geology is somewhat varied. The Western end of the land is Jurassic with forest marble limestone overlaying the clay while the Eastern fields are influenced by the Tertiary sand and gravel of Abbotsbury Castle.

The range of habitats represented is good, with about 13 acres of genuinely species rich pasture, about the same area of long term pasture which is already showing some interesting plant species( including sorrel,several vetches and clovers,century, yellow wort, hard rush, fleabane and many grasses including fescues , sweet vernal grass and lesser cat’s tail), a large amount of scrub, mostly dominated by blackthorn but with some areas dominated by gorse or hazel. The scrub has in many places a woodland ground flora, with bluebells, dog’s mercury, early purple orchids and a range of ferns.Most of the hedges are largely blackthorn and hawthorn but some are dominated by ash.Other woody species present include field maple, sallow, dogwood, wayfarers tree, privet, crab apple, elder, holly and oak, all of which are valuable food plants. There are a few broken down walls, which house invertebrates and almost certainly reptiles (We have adders, grass snake, slow worms and lizards in equivalent places on our own farm but we haven’t been on this land long enough to have seen them here yet.) The several small ponds have newts including great crested newts and a range of dragonflies. There are wet patches in most fields. Only a few of these have an interesting flora at present because most have been cultivated or grazed heavily, but we hope to retain some of these, protect them from overgrazing and allow them to improve. The scrub and hedges are similar in character to and continuous with land on Tamarisk Farm were there are dormice. There are deer, hares and foxes to be seen regularly, large birds include grey partridge, red legged partridge, mallard, occasional shellduck and plentiful pheasants on the ground, buzzards and kestrels often in the air, less frequently with sparrowhawks and peregrine to be seen. Ground nesting and other small birds are plentiful, particularly in the remaining dense hedges and on the rough grazing. (Nine pairs of larks were observed on one morning this Spring.)

The farm is already rich in animal life and can become more so with the right management.

The main Farm buildings were put up in the late eighteenth century, when the land was in the same ownership as the rest of West Bexington and some of the neighbouring village, Puncknowle. We believe that it was at this time that the walls were built and the drainage system which runs the ponds was created.

The second world war presence along the coast has left Labour in Vain Farm with some pill box gun emplacements and underground bunkers. The war may also be the time at which some of the stone walls were robbed.

This farm was used for dairying in 1940s and 1950s, then except for Tulk’s Hill, went into continuous cereal production for the next many years. During this time it came into the hands of the National Trust. There were significant problems with soil erosion and creep. The top soil was very much damaged but the marvellous hedges and scrub developed as they were ungrazed. At the time of new tenants moving in in about 1988, much of the land went into grass, but most of this was used in arable on a rotational basis over the next 10 years.The farm was used largely for sheep and there was a tendency to overgrazing, so despite the rotation, there was little build up of humus and the soil remains very short on organic material. The tenants during this 10 years were not sympathetic to public access and the use of both National Trust permitted paths and public footpaths was less than ideal. During some of this time there was a Countryside Stewardship agreement which was not fulfilled perfectly.

The West Dorset coast is very much in the public view. It is a significant holiday area and has the well used Coast Path making accessible areas which otherwise would not be seen so readily. This farm is bounded at the top and bottom by the inland route and the main coast path respectively. From both, the views of the land are very fine. This application seeks to increase public access to the farm. This will allow people to choose their routes as they walk across it. It also seeks to improve the visual impact it gives by improving the boundaries, reducing field sizes, adding some extra areas of scrubby woodland, adding two ponds adjacent to footpaths, increasing the area of permanent pasture and allowing more wild plants and animals to thrive in the arable fields by having wide margins and by farming organically. These measures will not only improve the immediate impression of the farm, they will all also have benefits to wildlife which in their turn will improve the experience of walkers on the farm and beach.

Farming as we do the neighbouring land we have great satisfaction in talking to walkers who clearly enjoy the wildlife. We often hear comments on their pleasure in the butterflies, birds and flowers. We feel that Labour in Vain can offer as good an experience for the public as Tamarisk farm and Cogden.