If you’ve been reading The BV for a while, you’ll know we’ve never stood still for long. What began in 2020 as a local, digital response to a difficult national moment has grown into something far larger than we ever expected – our content reaching hundreds of thousands of readers across multiple platforms every month, built here in Dorset by people who live and work here. It’s been shaped by the county and the people in it.
From our May issue – this Friday – The BV becomes Dorset Life.
It’s a big step, but it’s one we’re genuinely excited about.
Why Dorset Life?
Because it just makes sense – and because it gives us the name we should probably have had all along.
The BV, for all its growth and national awards, has always had one persistent problem: confusion. The name is regularly mistaken for the free printed newspaper, and that has affected how clearly we can present what we do. Becoming Dorset Life removes that barrier – it says exactly what it is, and who it is for.
Because we have always written about Dorset’s local history, wildlife and conservation, farming and land use, equestrian life – and the people behind them.
For decades, Dorset Life represented a particular kind of storytelling about the county and the people who live here. That recognition hasn’t gone away, even years after the original magazine ceased publication.
The archive, and why it matters
Alongside this change, we’ve been proud to take on the care of the Dorset Life digital archive.
When we first looked into it, we discovered there was a real risk that two decades of work would simply disappear when the website domain expired. Thousands of articles on people, places, history, farming, wildlife, community life: all gone. That didn’t feel like something we could just let happen.
We were able to secure the domain and preserve that archive, which will remain publicly accessible. It’s currently left exactly as it was, but over the coming year, we’ll begin building a fully functioning, modern archive that can act as a long-term resource.
It’s important that we are clear about what that archive is. It is the record of a previous publication, produced by a different company, now in liquidation. We are not that company, and we are not continuing that publication.
What we are doing is ensuring that its work remains available, properly attributed and clearly presented.
A familiar pattern
There’s a line in the old Dorset Life’s history which struck a chord with us. In 1987, John Newth took on Rodney Legg’s original magazine, then-titled Dorset – The County Magazine. It was at a low ebb, and he rebuilt it into something far stronger. In 1992 he merged with another local independent title, and Dorset Life – The Dorset Magazine was born.
Different circumstances, different era … but a familiar story. A well-known title has fallen quiet, its digital archive at risk of simply being deleted. But this time it’s us who are in a position to pick it up, preserve what came before, and build something new under that same banner.
Not as a continuation of the old business, but nor are we starting from scratch. We’re bringing an established, award-winning publication with us.
What stays the same
For those who are new to us, it’s worth saying that Dorset Life – our Dorset Life – will still be:
- A fully digital magazine, never printed
- Independent, locally run, and based in the county
- Built around long-form features, with no clickbait or churn content
- Proper journalism – reporting on the issues affecting Dorset, covered in depth rather than skimmed for headlines
- A Community News section covering the smaller stories and day-to-day life across the county
- A focus on rural Dorset – West, Mid and North – rather than the BCP area already well served elsewhere
- Free to read, supported by local advertisers
In other words, everything that has defined The BV. The name is changing. The approach is not.
What changes
Primarily, this move gives us a stronger platform. With it we can:
- Represent the whole county, without any need for explanation of what our name means
- Work more effectively with partners and advertisers
- Continue growing the readership without the friction that the old name created
It’s a simpler, more direct identity for what we already are.
Looking ahead
We’ll be moving home to dorsetlife.co.uk from Friday 1st May. The archive will be available as a dedicated section, clearly separated from current content. For now, it remains exactly as the previous team left it. Our May issue will launch under the Dorset Life name, but with the same team, the same contributors, and the same editorial approach. If you’ve been with us for a while, nothing you value is going anywhere.
If you’re new here – welcome. You’ve picked a good time to arrive.
Laura & Courtenay
and the whole BV/Dorset Life team
