ABBOTSBURY Swannery’s willow maze has won a national award for landscaping.

It collected a special award at the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) national landscape awards in London.

The Willow Maze was planted and designed for the Swannery in January-February 2008 by The Company of Landscapers from Sherborne.

The maze is in the shape of a giant swan created in living willow and at the centre is a three-metre woven willow egg to which visitors to the Swannery can choose to find their way.

Judges said that the maze deserved recognition for its ‘high educational value, and for the contractor, designer and client working in harmony to produce an exceptional award winning scheme in its category for this year’.

The presentation was made by TV personality Clive Anderson who has visited the world famous Swannery and the nearby sub-tropical gardens in the past with his family.

Dave Wheeler, the Abbotsbury swanherd, can trace his job line back to a Benedictine Monk called William Squillor in 1393.

He said “The Willow Maze at Abbotsbury Swannery is incredibly popular with families because as well as being great fun it gives them an opportunity to learn about the environment and the history of the swannery as they complete the clues spread around the maze on their way to the centre.”