The Cerne Abbas Giant, a chalk hill figure towering 180 feet above Cerne Abbas in Dorset, is facing new challenges from changing weather patterns that threaten its preservation. For over a century, National Trust staff and volunteers have undertaken the demanding task of re-chalking the figure roughly every decade to maintain its distinctive white outline. This involves excavating the entire 460-metre design with pickaxes before replenishing it with fresh chalk—approximately 17 tonnes each time.

However, warmer winters and wetter summers have accelerated algae growth, which dulls the giant’s appearance more rapidly than in the past. Luke Dawson, lead ranger for the National Trust at west Dorset and Cranborne Chase, noted that increasingly intense rainfall contributes to greater water runoff, which can erode the chalk. In response, the Trust plans to enhance monitoring efforts to better understand these impacts and explore whether more frequent re-chalking may become necessary.

Currently four days into a demanding 14-day restoration, the Trust is working on its first re-chalking effort since 2019. This year, they have introduced a new technique to reduce the physical strain on workers, including specialists and 60 trained volunteers. Instead of embedding fresh, hard chalk into the cuttings, the team is trialing a “putty plaster” made by mixing chalk powder and water into a cement-like consistency. This mixture is “squidged” into the figure’s grooves and allowed to harden, an approach intended to ease the workload and possibly extend the figure’s durability.

Dawson emphasized the excitement that surrounds the re-chalking process, given its rarity every seven to ten years. However, he also expressed concern about the potential need for more frequent maintenance, which could strain volunteer recruitment. Some volunteers have already left during a recent heatwave, underscoring the physical demands of the work on the steep hillside, which slopes at roughly one in three. “It’s tough graft,” Dawson said, but added the team is committed to preserving the landmark.

The giant, holding a club and naked, is the largest chalk hill figure in Britain. In 2021, the National Trust commissioned research that dated the figure to the late Saxon period, between 700 and 1100 AD. University of Oxford scholars have suggested the image represents Hercules and may have served as a muster point for West Saxon armies. This historic significance, combined with environmental pressures, highlights the ongoing challenges faced in maintaining this iconic landscape feature.