A charity in South Devon has purchased a woodland to protect it in perpetuity.

The Sharpham Trust owns and cares for a historic 550-acre estate on the banks of the River Dart below Totnes.

The Trust operates four mindfulness retreat centres, which welcome around 3,000 people annually, to benefit from meditation and spending time in nature.

Recently ten acres of woodland came up for sale on the opposite side of the river at Ham Point.

The Trust exists to conserve the estate and already owned a section of the woodland along the riverbank opposite Sharpham House.

Trustees were keen to extend ownership and thereby protect this important habitat and protect the heritage views across the river, which have been unchanged for hundreds of years.

Trust Director Julian Carnell said: “As an environmental charity we have become increasingly aware of the threats to the River Dart and the wildlife that relies on it.

“Working with our partners Ambios at Lower Sharpham Barton Farm we have recently planted 5,000 trees on the estate but it is also important to protect the fragments of woodland that have survived along the river.

“Purchasing Ham Point Wood means it will be protected from development and essentially left alone to carry on benefiting nature.”

Julian is also Chair of the River Dart Catchment Partnership which brings together multiple organisations, landowners, farmers and community groups with the aim of improving the condition of the river.

Woodland plays an important role in improving water quality and reducing flood risk whilst also supporting a wide range of wildlife.

The Partnership aims to work with partners to increase woodland planting across the catchment.

Co-Chair of the Trustees Dr Julie Richardson said: “The native woodlands that remain along the Dart have been there for hundreds, if not thousands of years, and have an important role to play ecologically as well as being aesthetically beautiful and good for our mental health.”