The conversion of 19th century farm buildings at Wittenham Clumps into a landscape education centre is to go ahead thanks to a Lottery grant of £1,763,000.

The Northmoor Trust, which owns the Clumps, one of Oxfordshire's best-known landmarks, and Little Wittenham Nature Reserve, is also planning archaeological surveys and improved access to the historic beech-capped hillocks.

As part of the Wittenham Clumps heritage landscape project, funded by the grant, the trust will work on a long-term solution to the problem of replacing the ageing beech trees, which are a feature of the twin hills beside the River Thames at Little Wittenham.

The area is part of a Government-designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The disused buildings of nearby Hill Farm will be converted into a landscape evolution and education centre for visitors and schoolchildren.

The Heritage Lottery Fund said the grant towards the project was part of funding to safeguard the future of nationally-important landscapes in south-east England.

As well as telling the story of how the landscape around the Wittenham Clumps has been shaped by thousands of years of human habitation, an interactive exhibit at the education centre will allow visitors to explore different views of how the area may look in future years depending upon climatic, economic, agricultural and social factors.

Michael Houghton, a senior member of the Heritage Lottery Fund's south-east England team, said: "Natural landscapes play an increasingly important role in modern life, particularly in areas which are densely populated and urbanised.

"People often don't associate the countryside with their heritage, but these grants underline what a significant part it has played in shaping local identities and continues to play today."