BEFORE the National Trust came on the scene at Studland, it was a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and largely leased by Ralph Bankes to English Nature to preserve the area.

A truly peaceful untouched part of the countryside that I very much enjoyed going to with its narrow, hardly visible, natural pathways weaving through the dunes, gorse and wooded areas.

The beach untouched by any form of commercialisation and a great place to get away from the crowds. It was once a sublime combination of the works of nature and man. Not an ice cream van in sight.

Now, where the sea meets the beach and dunes, the whole length from Shell Bay to Knoll Beach is littered with bright signs and flags designating areas, some inviting dog walkers, some instructing and some restricting the areas for kite flyers, swimmers, boats, naturists etc and attracting all aspects of human life to their facilities.

Large posts and signs scattered around the dunes directing you to wide tracks cleared through the woods, or boardwalks and paths.

On the beach, netball equipment, slack wires and designated barbecue areas, polluting the atmosphere around them, with the added comfort of an ice cream van nearby.

Litter and dog poop bins everywhere.

Endless leaflets on the ferry and Knoll Beach shop advertising organised events practically every day of the year, with glow worms at night, or the odd fairy or two may be seen on boardwalk guided tours. Most of which has a price tag.

An increasing amount of building work over the years has taken over Knoll Beach to cater for any aspect of life that brings in cash for the National Trust.

The trust is a victim of the accessibility disease, (attracting those people who would never have previously bothered to have visited Studland anyway) partly linked to getting public money: partly to the grand dumbing down exercise of modern life.

No wonder the traditional visitors or locals who enjoyed Studland as it was, are now disappearing and being replaced by a different cult who seek not the peace, fresh air and natural beauty, but an area that offers the material needs of a seaside resort. One day I am sure I will wake up on the beach to hear the screams of delight as children rise up in the air of a big wheel at Studland.

R L WICKHAM, Banks Road, Sandbanks, Poole