THIS weekend people can enjoy high quality artwork which unlocks the history of the South Dorset Ridgeway.

The art, part of the biennial Inside Out Dorset festival, is based in and around the village of Littlebredy.

There will also be a chance to see a Landance performance in the Valley of Stones between Littlebredy and the Hardy Monument.

Activate Performing Arts has brought the festival back following its unprecedented success in the 2012 festival, when more than 16,000 visitors attended.

It included the signature piece Harmonic Fields, artist/ composer Pierre Sauvageot’s transformation of the disused Bowers’ Quarry on Portland into a vast and ever-changing musical artwork.

Kate Wood, Executive Director of Activate Performing Arts, said: “The success of the 2012 festival, which was part of the Cultural Olympiad and gained both national and international acclaim, raised the bar and it has been a magnificent challenge to present a comparable pro-gramme, but once again we have brought together leading artists from at home and abroad in the biggest festival of free outdoor performance art in the south.”

Beginning tomorrow and continuing until Sunday, visitors will be able to see the work of nine artists.

The work forms a trail between the Hardy Monument and Ashley Chase and takes in Littlebredy.

Visitors can experience artistic encounters in secret woodlands and precious country estates, before striking out over hill and dale in search of unique creations. Ridgeway Responses takes place from tomorrow to Sunday from12pm until 6pm.

Starting at Littlebredy Village Green people can complete a short tour of the village taking in a performance by a Butterfly Lady, Ear Trumpet theatre, Lachrymae art music and a Caravan Obscura – a giant pinhole camera.

Landance, in collaboration with Impermanence Dance Theatre, consists of exciting promenade performances where contemporary dance, live music and visual art will fuse with the natural landscape of the Valley of Stones. Performances are free to watch but people must book on the Inside Out website or by phoning 07807 052515.

Professional dancers will create a new movement piece in which the landscape has a powerful and active role.

Performing with a trum-peter and sound artist, they will immerse themselves in this natural environment, interacting with it, to bring a stunning synthesis of energy and sensitivity, with reflective calm.

The performances are on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm and 5pm on both days.

For those visiting the Ridgeway Responses Trail there will be signs, stewards and detailed directional maps at a welcome tent on the day, at the starting point in Littlebredy and the other sites. For full details of Inside Out Dorset’s events in Bournemouth from September 25 to 28, see insideoutdorset.co.uk