Dorset View Magazine

05/12/2025

PREVIEW: Your Voice Dorset Podcast 🎙️

We ask Bournemouth Town Pastors, is Bournemouth safe?

Safety in Bournemouth has been a major issue in 2025, with national newspapers like the Daily Mail labelling the town as ‘crime-ridden’.

On the latest episode of Your Voice | Dorset Podcast, we spoke to Garry and Chris McDermott, the founders of Bournemouth Town Pastors, about their experiences.

Set up by the couple in 2017 after they moved to the area from Cambridge, the pastors patrol the town centre every Saturday night and one Friday a month from 10pm to 2am. Inspired by their Christian faith, they look after anyone who is drunk or has taken drugs, suffered an accident or injury, or is in distress.

Read more in Viewpoint December magazine ⤵️

21/11/2025

Dear Readers!

While heading to Verwood’s Remembrance Sunday services in November, I drove through Holt Heath and was shocked to see the devastation caused by the fire in August.

Of course, I’d seen pictures of the fire during the summer and reported on it for this magazine, but seeing the wreckage first hand was entirely different. The earth remains scorched black, and once vibrant shrubs and trees have been reduced to bare, charred twigs.

The fire, which was believed to have been started deliberately, burned across 177 acres of heathland. It required 17 other services from across the country to come and help tackle the blaze.

Seeing the remains of the heath fire was a reminder of the tough times that Dorset, and the rest of the world, has faced in 2025.

It put me in a pessimistic mood, but I try to resist giving into ‘doomerism’ — the mindset that society is headed for an unavoidable collapse.

Which is why it’s important to remember the good things that happen around us, and the people who give their time selflessly to help others.

People like the Bournemouth Town Pastors, who spend every Saturday night making sure people get home safely if their night out takes a bad turn. Read our interview on page 10.

Or the Ringwood and Poulner Toad Patrol, who voluntarily go out every night from January to the middle of spring to protect local wildlife. They are recruiting for new members; turn to page 34.

Or the great work by Dorset Cancer Care Foundation to help families affected by cancer. The foundation has been our Charity of the Year for 2025, and it’s been a privilege to help raise awareness of their services. Enjoy their final column with us on page 54.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Luke Graham
Editor

📢 Out now! 📢

December issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
🎅 Why Christmas in Wimborne is the place to be
🎄 Save the Children Christmas Parade
🐸 Toad Patrol wants you
🍰 Sweet dream realised after more than 40 years
🌺 Ferndown remembers
🌺 Wimborne remembers
💡 Are you missing out on Pension Credit?
🎆 Fireworks display lights up Broadstone
🚓 Standing up to anti-social behaviour in Dorset
❄️ Winter gardening
🏊 Christmas Day sea dip returns to Boscombe Pier
💛 Help now closer to home for families affected by self-harm
🔁 Another five-year term for Wimborne BID
🏛️ Museum re-opens after three-year closure
🌧️🚗 Safe driving in a storm
📝 REVIEW Suzuki e Vitara
🔌 EV charging network continues to grow
🏠 Get your home Christmas ready
plus much more

07/11/2025

🎄 Christmas time in Ringwood

Get ready for festive fun at the Winter Wanderland.

Ringwood’s popular Winter Wanderland will take place on Sunday 30 November.

Put together by Ringwood Town Council, Winter Wanderland is a series of festive-themed activities and events spread throughout the town to celebrate this special time of year.

Read more in Viewpoint November ⤵️

24/10/2025

Dear Readers!

Moving house is always disruptive. Even months after the move, there are usually still boxes to unpack and DIY projects to sort out. We moved at the end of July, and I still have a long list of Important Things To Do.

What was at the top of my wife’s list after we moved? Get new pets, of course.

Just what we needed after spending most of our savings on moving: more mouths to feed.

We contacted Mandy’s Guinea Pig Rescue and adopted a pair of three-year-old boys (practically middle-aged for guinea pigs). They were very calm around the children, and I had to admit they were quite cute.

My daughter named the ginger-and-white boar Sunflower. Perfect name, no notes. What did my son call the guinea pig covered head to tail in black fur? Milk. That’s toddler logic for you.

Sadly, Milk is no longer with us. After having him in our family for only two months, we noticed he had stopped eating his food. A vet told us he had a painful condition causing his teeth to grow over his tongue, preventing him from eating. Surgery would have been invasive and distressing for him, and the kindest thing to do was to put him to sleep.

We couldn’t leave Sunflower on his own (guinea pigs are highly sociable and must live in pairs or groups). After some frantic searching, Miss Honey’s Guinea Pig Rescue in Ringwood let us adopt a tiny eight-week-old. Sunflower was very happy to meet his new roommate, Spotty.

We have a jam-packed issue this month. Check out pages 36-38 for all you need to know about fun Christmas events coming up in your area. Enjoy!

Luke Graham
Editor

📢 Out now! 📢

November issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
🦛 Wooden animals return to Poole
🎅 Broadstone Christmas Parade to return
🗓️ Christmas events for your diary
😅 Is it a firearm? Is it a shotgun? No… it’s a tripod
🪖 Remembrance events in 2025
🤝 BCP councillors defect to Reform
❔ Is Bournemouth booming?
🏞️ Heathland restoration project for Dorset
🏓 Proposal for new padel courts
💐 Wimborne Minster Flower Festival wows visitors
🎙️ Your Voice Dorset Podcast with Tom Hayes MP
🎂 420 cards for Kathleen
🪙 Free finance workshops for carers this autumn
🥪 Join a picnic fundraiser for Gaza this Christmas Eve
🫂 Going the extra mile to help families with cancer
🎉 Celebration to be held for Jekyll and Hyde author
🧾 Save on your heating bills
🚗 20mph limit for Allenview Road
👟 Heartwarming Holt hero ‘steps’ up with trainer charity
plus much more

10/10/2025

‘Phenomenal’ carnival brings joy to Ringwood

The Ringwood Carnival once again drew in crowds to the town on Saturday 20 September, despite some bad weather.

The day featured two huge parades through the town in the afternoon and evening, as well as a full day of entertainment with bands, musicians, circus entertainers and stunt bike performers.

Read more in Viewpoint October magazine ⤵️

26/09/2025

Dear Readers!

Back in March, I wrote about my DIY project of putting together a simple bike shed.

When I opened the box and discovered the shed required over 200 screws to put together, I was mysteriously distracted by an urgent matter, and the bike shed parts were moved into the garden shed.

Several months and one house move later; I have finally assembled the bike shed. I nearly had a breakdown after discovering I had lost the instruction booklet during the move. Instead, I had to rely on a terrible two-minute YouTube video provided by the manufacturer, squinting at my phone to try and figure out how part 46b inserted into part 82f.

In the end, it only took a couple of evenings and a lot of swearing to assemble, and now our bikes (as well as the kids’ scooters) are safe from the elements and easily accessible.

Does that mean I actually went cycling during the lovely summer, or in the sunnier moments of September? No, of course not. It’s on my to-do list, though.

I hope autumn is treating you well. While the nights are getting darker, there are still plenty of fun things to do in Dorset, from seeing plays and trying new restaurants (read my review of Ferndown’s Love All Food on page 31) to joining community groups. Check out our listings and Around & About pages for a few ideas.

And if you’re planning on making a bigger change, like moving home, check out our Property & Mortgages guide on pages 41– 44.

Have a lovely month and enjoy the rest of this issue.

📢 Out now! 📢

October issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
🪧 Summer of protests in Bournemouth
🚧 Major works planned for Christchurch Bypass
👜 First fashion show for Lewis-Manning Hospice Care
✅ Top marks for girl who missed five years of school
😟 Dorset Local Plan sparks concern from local organisations
🗳️ Lib Dems win BCP by-election
🐝 Buzzing community garden promotes the importance of bees
🍽️ The next step taken by Wimborne Community Garden
🏪 Green light for new Aldi, despite local opposition
🏥 Patient power in action as Martha’s Rule rolled out
🪩 Retro music festival gets Highcliffe hopping
🎙️ Discover the life and times of Dire Straits
🎸 Get up and dance at daytime disco
👻 Delve into Poole Old Town’s spooky history
🎙️ Your Voice Dorset Podcast with local businesswoman Emma Burke
🏠 Guide to moving and mortgages
plus much more

05/09/2025

🎉 It's Carnival time! 🥳

On Saturday 20 September the market town of Ringwood will come alive with a bright and beautiful show of light, colour, noise and flamboyance. Ringwood Carnival is the largest event on the town’s calendar, a festival of fun.

So, what should you expect that weekend, to celebrate the end of summer?

The two processions for a start – the afternoon parade starts at 2pm for families, and then comes alive again at 7.15pm (sundown) for a bright, entertaining illuminated show.

But Carnival is not just the processions. There is a whole host of free entertainment taking place across the town throughout the day.

Read more in the September issue of Viewpoint magazine ⤵️

27/08/2025

Dear Readers!

I’ve moved house.

But not to worry, I’ve not moved far. I’m still in Dorset, still in Wimborne, and even still on the same housing estate. I’ve literally moved round the corner from my old house.

We moved to Wimborne in 2022 and love the area, but we had outgrown our modest two-bed and needed a third bedroom.

The new house is great, with lots of potential and a bigger garden, which has been lovely during the sunny summer weather.

Of course, the move itself was stressful. We underestimated the amount of stuff we had and how long it would take to move it all. There are still several unopened boxes, and a laundry list of DIY jobs to do that I’m putting off, but at least the kids have beds to sleep on.

The most annoying thing was getting our internet reconnected. I called my provider and booked a time for an Openreach engineer to come and sort it out. Then I got an email requesting me to confirm that I would be in for my appointment. Then an automated phone call asking me to confirm. Then a text message. Then a phone call and a voicemail. It was maddening! How many times must I confirm an appointment? Or how often do people miss their appointments that Openreach feels the need to be this overbearing?

Do you have any house moving tips or horror stories? Write in to let us know.

Please enjoy this month’s bumper 56-page issue, and make sure to enter our competition on pages 32–35 for your chance to win £500 in shopping vouchers.

Luke Graham
Editor

📢 Out now! 📢

September issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
💷 The Great Dorset Givaway
🔥 Heathland hellfire
✅ Dorset remains a safe place to live
👮 Mobile police stations coming to Dorset
🗳️ Wimborne BID prepares for pivotal ballot
🥇 Medal success for Mila
🏏 Wicket women
🏥 Tranquil garden for hospital patients
📚 Volunteer service brings the library to you
🎂 Former fighter pilot turns 100 years old
💉 Vaccine protecting babies in the South West
🎙️ Your Voice Dorset Podcast with panto dame Jamie Riding
🕺 Get up and dance at daytime disco
🦖 Dinosaur to star in Wimborne Minster flower festival
🅿️ BCP hikes parking fines for bad drivers
👭 New networking event for wellness businesses
🗳️ By-election for BCP Council
plus much more

08/08/2025

Triumphant return for pedal car race

A total of 25 teams put the pedal to the metal at the British Pedal Car Grand Prix in Ringwood on Sunday 13 July.

Despite searing hot temperatures, huge crowds gathered for the return of this epic event, which was cancelled last year at late notice.

The teams raced around the streets of Ringwood in homemade pedal cars for two hours, aiming to complete as many laps as possible.

The winning team was racing duo The Polton Boys from Royce UK, who tallied up 63 laps with an overall time of 1:58:36.6. Second-place team Peletony Racing also managed to complete 63 laps, but with an overall time of 1:59:51.5.

Read more in Viewpoint August issue ⤵️

25/07/2025

Dear Readers!

This month we’re celebrating all things AFC Bournemouth, as this top local team prepare for the 2025/2026 Premier League campaign beginning on Friday 15 August. Check out our excellent spread with club news, details and game fixtures on pages 26 to 33.

If you’re not a sports fan, there’s still plenty to do around the county this month as we enjoy the summer weather. There have been several brilliant festivals this past month, including Westival and Poole Goes Vintage, as well as Shake and Stir in Southbourne in late June. You can read our reports on these excellent events in our Around & About section.

It’s important to support events like these in the county. It’s easy to be complacent and assume that, if you miss it this time, you can simply go next year. But that is not always the case. For instance, if you wanted to go and see the Bournemouth Air Show but had never gotten around to it, I’m afraid you’ve missed your chance: last held in 2024, BCP Council recently voted to permanently ground the air festival as it has been unable to find a new sponsor or commercial operator, and the council can no longer afford to put on the show. You can read more about this story on page 37.

Not to be too pessimistic, but between cash-strapped councils and a cost-of-living crisis, there’s no guarantee that the county’s fun (and often free) events will continue year after year. So please support them if you can.

Luke Graham
Editor

📢 Out now! 📢

August issue of Dorset View 📰

Read 👀 online 👉 https://www.dorsetview.co.uk/dorset-view-magazine/

Printed copies available from one of over 70 community collection points including CO-OP Wimborne, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, TESCO Ferndown, SAINSBURYS Christchurch and Ferndown.

GPS tracked door-to-door distribution is underway.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
⚽️ AFC Bournemouth prepare for the kick-off of the 2025/26 Premier League season
📉 BCP Council faces £171m financial black hole
🔥 Wildfire devastates Holton Heath
↩️ Council U-turns on tip plan
🪖 Ceremonies to mark VJ Day 80
🎨 Wimborne’s new mural unveiled
🧑‍🍳 Top chefs to attend Wimborne Food Festival
🩰 Harry Redknapp opens new Wimborne dance studios
🧜‍♀️ Farewell to the Great Tail Trail
🎉 Friends of Victoria Hospital celebrate 90th anniversary
🛩️ Air Festival has its wings clipped
⛵️ New summer event for Christchurch
🤡 Fun at Westival
💃 Shake & Stir sees Southbourne turn vintage
👩 Meet the woman behind the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show
🅿️ BCP Council shifts gears to reverse parking plan
🪟 The value of a sea view
✈️ Pull a plane for charity
plus much more

14/07/2025

🌟 Starry Skies

By Mark Hardaker FRAS

The warm summer nights of late July might tempt you out into the garden to gaze up at the sky. If so, by midnight, the sky should just be dark enough to catch sight of the Milky Way at its best.

Find a location with a clear view to the south and let your eyes get used to the dark. This takes about 10 minutes. Look for the Milky Way, a faint whitish glow that stretches up from the horizon, heading up and to your left as you look, passing up through the constellations of Sagittarius, Scutum and Cygnus, where it divides into two streams.

According to the latest estimates, our Sun is just one of the 200 billion stars that make up this, our Milky Way galaxy. That’s 200,000,000,000 stars. And our galaxy is one of an estimated two trillion galaxies in the known universe. Our printer doesn’t have enough zeros to print how many stars that makes; these are numbers which human beings simply cannot comprehend.

👀 Read more in Viewpoint July issue ⤵️