Welcome to the Chideock and Seatown Community Website. This website belongs to ‘the community’ and is all about Chideock, North Chideock and Seatown. We hope these pages will be of interest to both local residents and visitors to our village.
Chideock is an amazingly busy village with lots of groups that anyone can join and lots of entertainment and events that are happening so please take your time to look through our website – not forgetting our stunning Photo Galleries.
If you are a visitor to this beautiful part of West Dorset please check out our Accommodation Guide.
- CHIDEOCK FILM NIGHT. ‘DOWNTON ABBEY – THE GRAND FINALE. tUESDAY 17TH fEBRUARY
CHIDEOCK HALL FILM NIGHT
Tuesday 17th February – 7.00pm for 7.30pm
Set a couple of years after the previous film, this last instalment opens in London, where the gentry are enjoying a season full of parties, theatre trips and outings to Ascot.
Meanwhile, back at Downton Abbey, there’s a storm in a teacup about the county fair and scandal is afoot. Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) is now divorced, and the paparazzi are hounding her. Otherwise, the tone is breezy and cheery, especially when Dominic West reappears as actor Guy Dexter, with Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) now his ‘dresser’. A fitting farewell to the aristocrats and their staff, with an emotional ending.
£5.00 Entry – cash or card payments accepted which includes free Tea/Coffee & Popcorn
Wine by glass or bottle, beer, cider & choc ices on sale during interval.
Continue reading → - CHIDEOCK W.I. REPORT
Chideock W. I.
At our November Meeting we had a most interesting talk from David Knapman of Axminster Heritage Centre regarding ‘Axminster Connections to Chideock’. David spoke about our inheritance of Roman roads, for example from Exeter to Dorchester, and their development over the years until the advent of railways. Highlights included George III’s visit to Chideock enroute to Exeter after his holiday in Weymouth. The King walked up Chideock and Charmouth Hills to lighten the carriage load, chatting to local residents as he passed by. The sale of milk and butter to the London populace was dependent on reliable transport links and Sidmouth to Chard to Bridport became known as ‘The Dairy Triangle’ as it hosted an abundance of ‘Milking Devons’. As local rail routes were established in the mid nineteenth century local farmers then turned more to rearing beef. What better name for an exceptionally prized cow than ‘Temptress’.
David’s two books on our local history, ‘Unsteady Progress’ and ‘Axminster Legacies’ are available from the Axminster Heritage Centre.
Continue reading → - COMMUNITY CAFE – 16TH JANUARY 2026
Chideock Community Café
Held in Chideock Village Hall
Friday 16th January 2026
From 2.30pm until 4.30pm
Come along with friends or to
meet some new ones
Everyone is welcome
Tea/Coffee & Cakes/Biscuits available.
We look forward to seeing you
Continue reading → - CHIDEOCK NEWS – DEC/JAN 2025/6
- CHIDEOCK W.I REPORT
Chideock W. I.
At our November Meeting we had a most interesting talk from David Knapman of Axminster Heritage Centre regarding ‘Axminster Connections to Chideock’.
David spoke about our inheritance of Roman roads, for example from Exeter to Dorchester, and their development over the years until the advent of railways.
During the eighteenth century the eight day journey from Exeter to London was reduced to three days and the introduction of Turnpike Trusts led to further road improvements on major routes but cross country routes were reported as steep, narrow, rocky and dangerous. David spoke of George III’s visit to Chideock enroute to Exeter after his holiday in Weymouth. The King walked up Chideock and Charmouth Hills to lighten the carriage load, chatting to residents as he passed.
It seems that butter also played a significant role with the London populace demanding sweet, reduced salt butter: the longer the distance the butter had to travel, the more salt it needed to preserve it. Consequently Epping Forest Butter was regarded as the best. Sidmouth to Chard to Bridport became known as ‘The Dairy Triangle’ as it hosted an abundance of ‘Milking Devons’. In 1844 when the Bristol to London Railway became available, milk could be transported to London very quickly, enabling large quantities of butter to be made there also. Rail routes were established to Dorchester in 1847, Bridport in 1857 and Axminster in 1860. Farmers then turned more to rearing beef with, for example, an exceptionally prized cow named ‘Temptress’.
David’s two books on our local history, ‘Unsteady Progress’ and ‘Axminster Legacies’ are available from the Axminster Heritage Centre: a nice Christmas Gift for your favourite historian perhaps….
The WI is having a break from a formal December meeting but we will be living it up at our Christmas Lunch. Get that prosecco on ice…..!!
We hope to see you at the Christmas Fayre on Sat 29th Nov…..unless we already have…meanwhile
Merry Christmas Everyone from Us All at WI.
Continue reading → - STEP OUTSIDE WITH A NATURE BUDDY
Date: 23/10/2025Step outside with a Nature Buddy
If you’ve ever wanted to spend more time outdoors but felt unsure about how to start, you’re not alone, and help is at hand.
The Nature Buddies Network is a Dorset-wide initiative designed to support people to get outdoors and enjoy nature to improve their health and wellbeing. Whether you’re feeling isolated, anxious, or lacking the confidence to get outside alone, Nature Buddies can help.
Managed by Dorset National Landscape in partnership with Volunteer Centre Dorset, and supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project matches trained volunteer Nature Buddies with people who could benefit from FREE, gentle, friendly support to enjoy the outdoors.
Nature Buddies can accompany you on a walk, help you visit local green spaces, support you to try an outdoor activity or even take part in nature-based activities with you at home.
It has been proven that spending time in nature – even just a couple of hours a week – can lift your mood, ease stress, boost your immune system and improve your physical wellbeing. Whether it’s a stroll through a local park or simply sitting among trees, let nature be your natural health service.
If you or someone you know could benefit from a Nature Buddy please visit: https://www.dorset-nl.org.uk/project/nature-buddies-network to find out more, or call Kate on 01305 228246 / email: kate.townsend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
Contact:
Kate Townsend
Project Coordinator
Email: kate.townsend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
Phone: 01305 228246
About Dorset National Landscape:
Dorset National Landscape covers over 40% of Dorset, stretching from Lyme Regis in the west, along the coast to Poole Harbour in the east, and north to Hambledon Hill near Blandford Forum.
The Dorset National Landscape is beautiful, but people make it outstanding. Our mission is to protect and regenerate this designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. And to make sure everyone can enjoy it.
As a small team, we work in partnership with many others. Bringing together landowners, the local community and other organisations to create and deliver our Management Plan. Through this plan, our team and partners make sure that Dorset National Landscape is a beautiful, thriving place that all people feel they can be part of.
Find out more www.dorset-nl.org.uk
About Stepping into Nature:
The Dorset National Landscape has been running ground-breaking health and wellbeing projects since Stepping into Nature was set up in 2016.
The Dorset landscape is full of opportunities to enjoy nature in fun, social and creative ways. For some of us though, finding opportunities to enjoy nature that suits our needs are harder to come by. Ability, confidence, and age can all influence what we can and can’t do. The Stepping into Nature project is about listening to our community in Dorset and working in partnership to enable everyone to enjoy nature.
Find out more: www.stepin2nature.org
About the National Lottery Heritage Fund:
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past. Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities. heritagefund.org.uk Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund
Continue reading → - CHIDEOCK NEWS – NOVEMBER 2025
- NEWS FROM CHIDEOCK. W.I.
Chideock W.I. October Meeting
Chideock W.I. met for a jolly celebration of all things contemporary with singer songwriter Miranda Pender. Miranda delighted us with her performance of ‘Musical Musings’, singing her own songs with acoustic guitar accompaniment. Miranda’s musings ranged from subjects as far apart as explorations into familial ancestry to the fate of the notorious captain of the Costa Concordia. Have you ever thought about a man who buys ‘petrol station flowers’ for his partner? Miranda has and, perhaps reminiscent of the late and wonderful Jake Thackray, she made us chuckle with her related fantasies. Miranda has a performance history in Essex folk clubs and now can be found on her own You Tube channel.
So What’s Next? Apart from the Book Group, Walking Group, Create with Company and Lunch & Natter
The W.I. CHRISTMAS FAYRE is fast approaching.
A DATE FOR ALL YOUR DIARIES: Sat 29th Nov, 12noon-3pm in Chideock Village Hall.
Tasty food, interesting stalls and produce and always a warm welcome. Free Entry. Looking forward to seeing you all.
Continue reading → - CHIDEOCK NEWS – OCTOBER 2025
- W.I. September Meeting: Guide Dogs for the Blind
W.I. September Meeting: Guide Dogs for the Blind
Geoff Hunt and his beautiful guide dog Pringle delighted us all with a heart warming talk about the Charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind. The Charity runs a very comprehensive programme, from the selection of the dogs through a breeding programme to the personal training of each dog with their new owner. A guide dog will usually be a labrador, golden retriever or alsatian but they can be cross bred, for example a labrador/ retriever cross resulting in a taller dog more suitable for a taller owner. The whole process, from birth to retirement of the guide dog, costs £100, 000, with the training itself costing £16,000.
Geoff explained that the dog’s well being is always at the heart of the very intensive training programme. At any stage of training if a dog is deemed unsuitable as a guide dog, they are withdrawn from the programme and are often found alternative work, such as ‘buddy’ dog, sniffer dog or medi dog, as the early basic training is the same. Sometimes they are offered up for adoption and make good pets for people as the initial training has been done. Geoff explained that a lot of time was lost during the covid pandemic as the breeding programme had to be halted and those puppies already in the programme missed out on early socialisation, thus making them unsuitable.
Geoff spoke fondly about his own experience, being accepted as a good match with Pringle and the instant connection they had. He said that Pringle has made a huge difference to his life, giving him confidence to go out and supporting his mental health. In preparation for having a dog he made sure the garden was secure, he had the bed bowls and food ready so that when a dog became available he wasn’t refused. He pointed out that the dog should have a 40 minute walk every day, ideally with a purpose, like an outing to a cafe or shop. Guide dogs should also have 30 minutes of free time daily where they are ‘off duty’: released from the lead or harness, to savour the delights of ‘just being a dog’. Wag wag!
Through Pringle Geoff volunteers for the charity and this has meant he has made new friends. Geoff and Pringle are very well known locally. He invited us to stop and say ‘hello’ if we see them out and about, of course mentioning Chideock WI.
Lynne Hartmann & Julia D-S
Chideock WI meet together at 2.30pm on the first Tuesday of every month at Chideock Vilage Hall. We have a superb committee who arrange excellent talks and events for us and run a variety of clubs which meet throughout the month. We are ALWAYS open to new members.
All women are welcome to join us, just come along.
Continue reading →
