Runners donned fancy dress and went for a plod on the Purbeck coast.

The first Christmas Pudding Plod fun run held at Dorset County Council’s Durlston Country Park raised more than £400 for two good causes.

With Swanage Town Mayor in attendance along with the Town Crier who started off the race, the 40 or so runners completed the course in fancy dress and had a great time despite the cold winter weather, and a last minute route change the night before.

The two causes to benefit were the Swanage Area Dementia Friendly Community Charity and the Durlston Pleasure Grounds Project.

The Durlston Pleasure Grounds Project, is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and will enhance Durlston’s Victorian landscape for nature and the community. Swanage Dementia Friendly Community aims to improve the lives of people living with dementia and their families.

Pleasure Grounds Project apprentice Izzi da Silva said: “This was the first Christmas Pudding Plod, held at Durlston, and it was a great success. Everyone was in high spirits and looked fantastic in their costumes. We are very pleased with the amount of monies raised for the two causes and we are hoping to make this an annual event.”

Project leader Ali Tuckey added: “Thank you to all those who ran the race, and to those who supported and sponsored the event and special thanks to the National Trust who supplied Christmas Puddings and Wessex Water, for keeping the runners hydrated."

Over the next three years, volunteers will work with rangers, artists and specialists to create a landscape which is inspiring, accessible, educational, playable and sustainable.

The Victorian landscape and features will be enhanced, inspired by Victorian owner George Burt’s vision for people to ‘Look round and read great nature’s open book’.

Plantings and habitat management will benefit wildlife and the tranquillity of the area will be maintained, creating opportunities for play, discovery and creativity, along with a base for training and volunteering.

The project will help Durlston become one of the best places in the country for people with disabilities or reduced mobility to enjoy wildlife and the countryside.

For more information on Durlston Castle or Country Park, the Pleasure Grounds Work Party or the Durlston Pleasure Grounds Project, contact Ali Tuckey, Countryside Ranger on 01929 424443 or email a.tuckey@dorsetcc.gov.uk or visit www.durlston.co.uk