The Lyme Lunge fancy dress dip is at 1pm on Friday 1 January 2027 on Sandy Beach, after the River Lym duck race at noon. Times, charities, prizes and parking.
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Community
Weymouth and Sherborne Among First Age Friendly Dorset Towns
Weymouth, Sherborne, Gillingham and Shillingstone are the first councils in the Age Friendly Dorset programme. More towns and parishes can join in 2027.
Christmas
Christmas in Dorset 2026: Three Switch-Ons in One Evening, Then a Month of Markets
Weymouth, Dorchester and Swanage switch on their lights on 28 November, Sherborne's market is 6 December and the Cracker 13 December. Updated November 2026.
Pantomime
Paul Burling Is Buttons in Weymouth Pavilion's Cinderella
Britain's Got Talent finalist Paul Burling plays Buttons in Cinderella at Weymouth Pavilion from 19 December to 3 January. Tickets start at £22.
Dorset Council
Dorset Council Must Find £36m as Its Budget Gap Doubles
Dorset Council has £36m still to find for next year's budget, up from £17.6m in February. Council tax is assumed to rise by the most allowed.
Dorchester
Dorchester's Best Christmas Window Could Win £500
Nominations are open for Dorchester's Christmas shop window awards until Monday 7 December. The winner gets £500 and the five most-nominated shops £100 each.
Sherborne
Sherborne chippy named in UK's top 20 fish and chip takeaways, the only one in Dorset
Somewhere Else Fishy in Sherborne has been named among the UK's top 20 fish and chip takeaways in the National Fish & Chip Awards.
News update
Swanage Railway
Flying Scotsman at Swanage: 5 Running Days and Road Closures
Flying Scotsman hauls Swanage Railway trains on 24, 25, 28 and 29 October and 1 November. Fares from £59.95, display days £29.95, and two road changes planned.
Schools
Wey Valley Academy Wins UNICEF's Top Rights Award
Wey Valley Academy in Weymouth now holds UNICEF UK's Gold Rights Respecting award, the scheme's highest stage. It is the only Dorset school teaching to 16 on the Gold list.
Community
Blandford St Mary Gets £456,780 for a New Village Hall
Blandford St Mary is getting a new village hall with £456,780 of developer money, plus £85,000 for its school nursery. Six more Dorset awards were published.
Weymouth
Weymouth Town Council Gives £26,000 to Eight Local Groups
Radipole Park's play area, the Veterans Hub and Air FM are among eight Weymouth groups sharing more than £26,000. The next round closes on 21 February 2027.
Roads
Dorset Gritting This Winter: 12,000 Tonnes of Salt and 23 Routes
Dorset Council grits 23 main routes once roads are forecast below 0.5°C. It has stocked more than 12,000 tonnes of salt, and a live map shows which roads are done.
Best places to live
The Dorset town 'punching well above its weight' named among UK's best places to live
Bridport has been named among the UK's best places to live for 2027, one of eight places in Dorset on the list alongside Sherborne, Lyme Regis and Wimborne.