Image: The visitor centre will open in July 2013

Work has now started on the construction of a £1m visitor centre at Hengistbury Head Nature Reserve in Dorset, which is due to open to the public in July 2013.

The eco-friendly building will transform a thatched barn next to the site's Iron Age Double Dykes, extending the existing Barn Cottage using straw bales and a green roof.

Nugent Vallis Brierley of Frome, Somerset, are the architects behind the scheme, while York-based Querceus Design will lead the interpretation design. Herbert H Drew and Son is the lead contractor.

Once complete, the visitor centre will house an exhibition area for archaeology, ecology and geology detailing 14,000 years of Bournemouth's history, as well as learning space.

A retail outlet similar to a National Trust shop and work space for a number of community organisations are also planned, with the Heritage Lottery Fund contributing £432,000.

Developer contributions worth £300,000 will also fund the new visitor centre, while the rest - £300,000 - has been invested by Landfill Communities Fund via Canford Environmental.

Click here for more information about the new visitor centre at Hengistbury Head Nature Reserve.