In early February, two young boxers from Sturminster Newton Boxing Club headed to Rotherham for the England Boxing National Youth Championships 2025. Ruby
The Dorset Insider is a new sporadic column dedicated to shedding light on local matters with unfiltered honesty and a critical eye. The
The Grumbler – the open opinion column in The BV. It’s a space for anyone to share their thoughts freely. While the editor
When the last bank leaves town: rural communities must adapt to the rise of online banking and the loss of local branches
Lloyds Bank
From closed roads to poonamis, we know North Dorset’s flooding is getting worse – Rachael Rowe asks what’s causing it (apart from more
Edward Scott has survived a drone attack while delivering humanitarian aid in Ukraine, where he has been volunteering since October 2022.
Eddy is in
New issue of The BV
February’s BV is here!
February’s issue of The BV brings the global headlines close to home, as Dorset...
Your Community, Your Stories
The BV magazine – our home is in the Blackmore Vale, our heart is rural Dorset
From Cheese to Trees: BV Dairy Marks Anniversary with Sustainability Drive
This week, Shaftesbury-based BV Dairy celebrates a significant milestone—one year since joining farmer-owned dairy cooperative, First Milk.To mark the occasion, colleagues from BV Dairy...
Fighting for the future of rural high streets
This week we had an important debate on the health of rural high streets. The wonderful towns across the breadth of West Dorset may...
From Cheese to Trees: BV Dairy Marks Anniversary with Sustainability Drive
This week, Shaftesbury-based BV Dairy celebrates a significant milestone—one year since joining farmer-owned dairy cooperative, First Milk.To mark the occasion, colleagues from BV Dairy...
FOLDE Dorset celebrates back-to-back recognition at The British Book Awards
A Shaftesbury bookshop has once again been recognised among the UK and Ireland’s best independent booksellers, making the shortlist for The British Book Awards...
Fontmell Magna | POSTCARDS FROM A DORSET COLLECTION
This month Barry Cuff has chosen two postcards sent from Fontmell Magna, by the same person and to the same person, sent just a...
Weddings: then, now and back again
From parish churches to country barns – have modern weddings come full circle to their historic roots?Today, we think of a ‘traditional’ wedding as...
Out of the Archive – the Blackmore Vale Motorcycle Club
Following the profile of Blackmore Vale Motorcycle Club last month (Revving through history, The BV Jan 25), Francis Custard has kindly given The BV...
Love in triangles – the Bloomsbury set in Dorset
Dorothy Parker famously said of the Bloomsbury Group that “they painted in circles, lived in squares, and loved in triangles.” While this group of...
Winterborne Stickland | Then and Now
Step back in time with our ‘Then and Now’ feature, where vintage postcards from the Barry Cuff Collection meet modern-day reality. Explore the past...
Sixpenny Handley | POSTCARDS FROM A DORSET COLLECTION
This month Barry Cuff has chosen two postcards from Sixpenny Handley, both sent in 1913, the year before the First World War began.Sent to...
Latest Jobs
Blackmore Vale Jobs
SENIOR RESIDENT MATRON | Hanford School
CHILD OKEFORD BLANDFORD FORUM DORSET DT11 8HNwww.hanfordschool.co.ukCome and join...
Blackmore Vale Jobs
International Showjumping Groom Required at Ferne Park, Berwick St John
Family/amateur yard with excellent facilities and top showjumping horses. Candidate...
Blackmore Vale Jobs
Experienced IFA Client Services Administrator | Wessex IM
As an experienced IFA Client Services Administrator with a...
Blackmore Vale Jobs
Teaching Assistant with combined HLTA responsibility at Milborne Port Primary School
TEACHING ASSISTANT HOURS12.5 hours per week – Worked over...
Blackmore Vale Jobs
School Caretaker, with accommodation | Milton Abbey School
We are seeking to appoint a School Caretaker to...
Blackmore Vale Jobs
HOUSE MATRON | Milton Abbey School
We are a co-educational Boarding and Day school for...
Death Announcements
Blackmore Vale magazine death notices
Norman Holt
13.07.31 - 31.12.24Peacefully at his home on 31st December...
Blackmore Vale magazine death notices
PETER BRADLEY
Passed away peacefully at home after a short illness...
Blackmore Vale magazine death notices
MARIANNE JANE PARNIER
Aged 86 years, sadly passed away peacefully on the...
Blackmore Vale magazine death notices
Michael Paul Turmris
23rd April 1947 - 12th November 2024Much loved husband,...
The Random 19 Questions
Charles Church, master of the equestrian portrait
From washing dishes in Newmarket to Royal commissions, leading equestrian artist Charles Church answers the 19 random questionsInterview by Sally CooperCharles Church’s reputation as...
Actor and top actors’ agent Kerry Gardner takes on the Random 19
His own acting career may have peaked with Up Pompeii!, but as a theatrical agent Kerry Gardner went on to shape the careers of...
The Random 19 with world-famous sculptor Simon Gudgeon
One of our most popular columns - the one where we ask a local celebrity nineteen random questions. This month's brave guest is Simon...
The BV magazine is a monthly digital publication which launched in August 2020, and it is in no way connected with the original, much-loved Blackmore Vale Magazine (owned by Reach PLC, and which ceased publication early the same year), nor with any other, more recently launched printed publication with a similar name. Never the free paper you pick up from the floor of the petrol station, The BV is the half hour read you spend a weekend coffee with.
Dorset Island Discs
When every day is a fantastic day
Nick Heyward looks back on rough school days, dreaming of stardom, David Bowie, naming Haircut 100 … and the joy of reading in the...
Dorset Food & Drink
Dorset Farming
Frustrations grow with flawed flood plans
George Hosford on beavers, bureaucracy … and Ronnie, the...
47 Healthy Cows Slaughtered – James Cossins’ TB heartbreak
In the first BV Podcast of 2025, Terry and...
Dorset Farming
Open Farm Sunday was a fabulous day out
Barbara Cossins, founder of Love Local Trust Local, was thrilled with the success of Open Farm Sunday – but there is work still to...
Dorset Wildlife
Troglodytes troglodyte – the king of the birds
Wildlife writer Jane Adams greets one of the UK’s...
Graveyards: an excuse for weeds or a space that nature needs?
Rachael Rowe investigates how Dorset’s living legacy of churchyards...
Graveyards: an excuse for weeds or a space that nature needs?
Rachael Rowe investigates how Dorset’s living legacy of churchyards blend history, wildlife conservation and community careThere was a time when most people were buried...
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Recent stories
Don't miss the Dorset walks...
Dorset Walks
Hardy Monument walk with big views | 10.5 miles
This day's walk (we took more than four hours,...
Dorset Walks
Win Green to Tollard Royal Circular – 8.5 miles. | Dorset Walks
Win Green Down, the highest point of the Cranborne...
Dorset Walks
Cow Down Hill to the Salisbury Spire Spot
Gorgeous, simple route, with a perfect lunch spot half...
Dorset Walks
Easy Witchampton Circular | 10.3 miles
Easy walking on wide tracks through open farmland between...