Country park gets £5.5m facelift

The 40-tonne Great Globe was erected in the late 19th Century

Restoration work is set to begin on a Dorset park as part of multi-million pound improvement plans.

The £5.5m project will give stone inscriptions in Durlston Country Park, near Swanage, a new lease of life.

Work is soon to begin on restoring the 40-tonne Great Globe, which was erected in the late-19th Century by George Burt, owner of the Durlston Estate.

Visitors will be able to watch stone conservation specialists as they carry out painstaking cleaning and repairing.

Castle work

Specialists Sue and Lawrence Kelland will also repaint artefacts in the park as people look on.

The next step will be the restoration and development of Grade II-listed Durlston Castle which will start early in 2010.

Project leader, Hamish Murray, said: "After more than five years of preparation, it's great to see the project getting under way on the ground.

"By Easter 2011, the work will be complete, and Durlston will be able to provide our visitors with new experiences, opportunities for learning and better access."