By Viviane Horne Last week Portland Museum ran its annual archaeology festival, so this month we have two young volunteers’ stories. Penelope Bentham was born in Lewisham, London. Her mum was a musician and her dad is a retired GP. Her grandfather was Robert Bentham, a geologist who worked on Ellesmere Island, Canada, with Ernest […]
Little miracles are happening across West Dorset. Engineers are quietly transforming disabled people’s lives, one bespoke invention at a time. Working for free, they help children mount and ride horses by adapting wheeled ramps. They make special gloves, so a man with a brain injury can hold a golf club. Another can play guitar again, […]
Did you know Dorchester was ahead of its time in social housing? It seems unlikely, doesn’t it? Yet the largely affluent county town was one of the first places to provide almshouses for people who couldn’t afford market rents. In 1613, a great fire destroyed 75 homes in the town, which was then the richest […]
‘Norchester’ developers have shed more light on how their plans will enhance community and protect nature. The North Dorchester Consortium, a partnership between Grainger Plc and Wyatt Homes, wants to build up to 3,750 homes to create the North Dorchester Garden Community (NDGC), nicknamed ‘Norchester’ by locals. The planning application for the first phase – […]
Every year, ancient objects turn up in Dorset’s fields, gardens and riverbanks, brought to light by metal detectors, dog walkers and gardeners. It falls to Ciorstaidh Hayward-Trevarthen, Dorset Council’s finds liaison officer and her assistant Nancy Grace to work out what they are. They are county custodians for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, a recording project […]
Weldmar Hospicecare has launched four spectacular new fundraising challenges for 2027. Supporters can climb Mount Snowdon under the stars, hike through Cambodian villages and jungles, cycle to the iconic Mont-Saint-Michel in France, or take part in the Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenge. All sponsorship raised by participants will go directly towards providing specialist care for adults […]
With the partial solar eclipse due on Wednesday August 12, there is a last-minute scramble for safety glasses, with big customer demand to find out where to buy solar eclipse glasses in Dorset. The items are changing hands on Facebook Marketplace for prices ranging from £3 – £20. And you might also still be able […]
Get ready to stomp and explore – Dino Day is roaring back to Portland Museum on Wednesday, August 19. Little ones can get stuck into paper dino crafts, making their own prehistoric pals, or take on the Dino Eye Spy Challenge, hunting for hidden clues. There’s also the chance to paint your own fossil, get […]
For documentary photographer Carlos Guarita, photojournalism is capturing that moment which will matter. The exact split-second when visual and psychological elements align, in the moment which will shout: “I was here, this happened, look.” In 1974, Carlos was following the news on the military coup in Portugal. He left the London theatre group he was […]
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.
