ABBOTSBURY, a small village near the Dorset coast, has a history stretching back over 1,500 years. In the Middle Ages it was the site of the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter's, originally founded in Anglo-Saxon times. The Abbey swannery would originally have been used to provide a source of meat for the monks during the winter months. Today, Abbotsbury still has its colony of swans and a swanherd to look after them, but now the swans are protected. Not only are they the subject of scientific investigation, they also provide pleasure for the many visitors to Abbotsbury. Owned by the Fox-Strangways family, the swannery, the surrounding nature reserve, the sub-tropical gardens and the Tithe Barn are all open to the public. In the nature reserve there are hides and other facilities enabling visitors to enjoy the wealth of wildlife in the area.

First stamp: St Catherine's Chapel, Abbotsbury, with the head of a mute swan cob. A prominent landmark on its hilltop site, the Chapel was built for the Abbey during the reign of Edward IV in the fifteenth century.

Second stamp: Duck Decoy and Reed Bed at Abbotsbury Swannery, with a cygnet in the foreground. Today three of the Decoy's five original 'pipes' or netted tunnels are still being used to trap ducks so that they can be ringed for scientific purposes.

Third stamp: Nesting Site at Abbotsbury Swannery, with a breeding pair and cygnet by their nest. On 1 April, while the swans are laying and incubating their eggs, the Swannery is opened to the public and visitors can walk among the nests and see the birds at close quarters.

Fourth stamp: Tithe Barn, Abbotsbury, with a nest containing mute swans' eggs. This large fifteenth-century barn is of a type commonly used in the Middle Ages for storing produce which was collected as a form of tax levied to support the Church.

Fifth stamp: The Fleet at Abbotsbury, with the head of a young, 'first-winter' mute swan. A wildlife site of international significance, this salt-water lagoon which runs for many miles on the landward side of Chesil Beach is rich in plants that provide food for the swans.