Readers of The West Dorset Magazine are being invited to join a big community effort to raise the final £50,000 to restore the five bells of St Thomas à Becket Church – famously eulogised in the 1879 poem Lydlinch Bells by William Barnes. And as part of the restoration, a sixth bell will be added […]
A Dorchester farm is in the running for the ‘Rural Oscars’ for its innovative vending machines selling Dorset ice cream, milkshakes and fresh produce. Eweleaze Dairy, at Martinstown, has been crowned winner in the south west category for best rural enterprise in the Countryside Alliance Awards 2026, which celebrate businesses that go the extra mile. Chloe […]
It appears Maiden Newton and Charmouth fire stations have been saved – for now. Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole has reportedly changed his recommendation to Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Authority, from closing eight on call fire stations to temporarily merging two suburban stations with town stations. Under the new plan, Hamworthy station will merge with […]
A Bridport man who served more than 17 years in prison for a brutal rape he did not commit has hit out after the true perpetrator was today handed a softer sentence. Andrew Malkinson was convicted for a 2003 attack on a young mum. He was jailed for life. Because he continued to protest his […]
Another set of glorious gardens will open for charity this month, as part of the National Garden Scheme, including the grounds of designer Jasper Conran’s Bettiscombe Manor. Read on for a selection of wonderful West Dorset gardens you can visit across Bridport, Beaminster and Dorchester. Do plan your trips, as booking in advance is advisable […]
Individuals and groups who go the extra mile for others were recognised in the 2026 Mayor’s Community Awards. Outgoing Mayor Caroline Nickinson presented the following Weymouth volunteers with their certificates: Sue Prescott has worked tirelessly over many years on community projects all around Weymouth. Whilst a school governor, over 20 years ago, Sue was involved […]
Sherborne Abbey has launched a £1m fundraising appeal to support a vital upgrade. Work on the new facilities started last month. The vestry will be adapted to provide toilets and a new vestry will be created beneath the organ loft. The Lady Chapel and Ambulatory will be made more accessible, including a wheelchair lift and […]
Jim Johnson is a man on a mission – to photograph the interior of every single church in Dorset. It will probably take several years, and cost him thousands of pounds, but the Sherborne-based snapper is not one to take the easy road – and admits quite freely it’s a ‘mad’ project. One has to […]
Six rowers are in a traditional Cornish pilot gig, pulling hard in practiced unison, and Dagger skims across Lyme Bay like she’s grown wings. From the pilot seat, there’s a breath-taking view of sunlight dancing on waves as they roll in towards the cliffs rising at West Bay and Burton Bradstock. Dolphins, seals, barrel jellyfish […]
We are Bird Media – two experienced journalists who have decided to break free and launch
their own news publication The West Dorset Magazine.
Editor Miranda Robertson has worked for a number of local papers, including the Dorset Echo, Salisbury Journal and The New Blackmore Vale. She lives in Maiden Newton with her husband Peter, son Robert, jug PugsieMfanwy, pug Hugo and the ginger ninja Kitten Mitten.
Karen Bate has worked for the Salisbury Journal, Wiltshire Living Magazine, Bournemouth Echo and The New Blackmore Vale. She lives with husband Stuart, daughter Florence, dogs Sir Alfred Sticks and Buddy and cat Milton. There’s also a bonkers horse called Mars in her menagerie.
