Local news, what's on and the information you need across Dorset, from Dorchester to the Blackmore Vale.
The Dorset Post

Dorset · Local news you can trust

Dorset news, what's on and local information

Tolpuddle Tolpuddle Old Chapel: Free Brent Shore Talk, Wed 4 November Dorchester Poundbury Mental Elf Fun Run: £12 Entry Until 13 November Crime Weymouth Vehicle Fire Appeal: Dorchester Road, 19 October

Coming up

All The events
  1. Wed 28 Oct Dorchester Wednesday Market Fairfield Market
  2. Wed 28 Oct Susan Calman: Tall Tales 7.30pm · Weymouth Pavilion · From £31.50
  3. On now to 31 Oct Bincombe Bumps Pumpkins, October Pumpkin Festival Bincombe Bumps · Free
  4. On now to 1 Nov Halloween Experience at Moors Valley Moors Valley Country Park and Forest
  5. On now to 31 Oct October Illuminate, Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens

Latest Dorset news

Crime Dorset Crime Figures: Down 9.8%, Home Burglaries Edge Up Recorded crime in the Dorset Council area fell 9.8% to 19,274 in the year to June. Home burglaries rose slightly, unlike the force-wide fall police reported. · 3 min read Wildlife SEA LIFE Weymouth Turtle Crush Tracked 890km Since Release Crush, the loggerhead turtle cared for at SEA LIFE Weymouth, has swum more than 890km since her release off the Azores in September, her satellite tag shows. · 1 min read Playgrounds Dorset Playgrounds and Parks for Children Dorset playgrounds from Moors Valley to Lyme Regis: ages, fencing, toilets, parking charges and dog rules for 14 play parks, checked 27 October 2026. · 11 min read Food & Drink Dorset Cafes and Coffee Shops: Where to Go Upwey Wishing Well is Dorset's 2026 tearoom of the year. Here it is with 11 more cafes, with hours, prices, dog rules and hygiene ratings, checked October 2026. · 9 min read Walks Walks in Dorset: Hill Forts, Coast Paths and Country Parks Twelve walks in Dorset, from Old Harry Rocks to Hambledon Hill: distances, car parks and charges, dog rules and the storm closures, checked 26 October 2026. · 11 min read Food & Drink Brunch in Dorset: The Best Breakfast and Brunch Spots Nine Dorset brunch spots, from Turkish eggs in Lyme Regis to £35 bottomless brunch in Weymouth, with menu prices, hours, dog rules and hygiene ratings checked. · 8 min read Weather Storm Austen: Portland Beach Road Open, Chiswell Flood Alert Portland Beach Road closed on Friday morning as Storm Austen hit Dorset, reopened by 1.30pm and was still open on Saturday night, the council says. · 4 min read What's On West Bay Visit: Parking, Broadchurch Cliff and Dog Rules West Bay visit: three council car parks and when they lock, why East Cliff keeps falling, and which beaches dogs can use, with dates. Bridport's harbour. · 7 min read Food & Drink Sunday Roast in Dorset: Where to Book, Checked October 2026 Dorset Sunday roasts cost £18 to £27 on the menus we checked. Eight pubs with roast times, booking rules, dog policies and hygiene ratings, checked 25 Oct 2026. · 8 min read Dorchester Dorchester Roadworks: Road Closures and Traffic Orders Near Dorchester Dorchester roadworks: Dorchester Road, Weymouth (now, until 19 Mar) and every other traffic order within 3 km, checked each morning with the council's... Swanage Swanage Roadworks: Road Closures and Traffic Orders Near Swanage Swanage roadworks: Northbrook Road, Swanage (between Gilbert Road and Court Road) (now, until 2 Nov) and every other traffic order within 3 km, checked... Weymouth Weymouth Roadworks: Road Closures and Traffic Orders Near Weymouth Weymouth roadworks: Dorchester Road (now, until 19 Mar) and every other traffic order within 3 km, checked each morning with the council's notice linked.
See all Dorset news

Dorset Council covers everything the Bournemouth conurbation does not, which is a very large and very rural authority with no single town at the middle of it. Dorchester is the county town and where the council is based. Weymouth is the largest place. Sherborne, Shaftesbury, Gillingham and Sturminster Newton are up in the north around the Blackmore Vale, Bridport and Lyme Regis are out west, Blandford Forum sits in the middle, and Wimborne, Ferndown, Verwood and Swanage are east and south.

The Dorset Post reports what the record shows across all of it. One council makes the decisions on planning, bins, parking and council tax for the lot, and publishes the evidence where hardly anybody reads it. We read it and write down what it says, with a link to the document on every fact.

Start here

  • Dorset house prices: the £326,381 county average, and what the middle home actually sold for in nineteen towns from Portland to the Hampshire border.
  • Trains to London: Gillingham reaches Waterloo in 2h 07m for £8,212 a year, Weymouth takes 2h 51m and costs £10,260.
  • Roadworks and travel: what is dug up and when, the A35 speed cameras, the chain ferry and the Weymouth park and ride.
  • Things to do in Dorset: checked 2026 prices, from free hillforts to a £15 car park at Durdle Door.
  • Planning news: 2.53 years of housing land against the five required, and a Local Plan that will not be adopted until 2029.

How the site is laid out

  • Local Info: house prices, trains, roadworks and planning for the Dorset Council area.
  • News: the public record, from the Vale to the coast.
  • What’s On: what is on across the county this week.

Every fact is linked to the document it came from.