Around the Village

There’s plenty to do around the village, from clubs and groups, regular and one-off events to Keep Fit and Pilates classes and scheduled walks.  Whatever your interest, you are almost certain to find activities or groups to suit.  We have a fine Village Hall, a well-stocked village shop (The Old Chapel Stores), The Gaggle of Geese pub, Primary School, Pre-school and Toddler group and an historic parish church.   Use the buttons below to find out about other activities and facilities in and around the village:

General Information

Be Ready for Winter!

Be ready for winter with this Toolkit from Dorset Council - lots of useful information, contacts and tips.

Free  support to help farmers navigate the Agricultural

Transition expanded in the South West

Business Information Point, alongside other local agencies are providing free, tailored one to one advice, workshops, and specialist webinars to help farmers and land managers navigate the changes brought about by the Agricultural Transition. Following the success of earlier phases of the Future Farming Resilience programme, Devon County Council have received Defra funding to expand the initiative which will now cover Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly.    The support will include: Transition workshops: Local workshops to discuss the changes coming  through the transition and look at new funding options, as well as planning strategies for the future. The upcoming workshops we are running locally are: Wednesday 19th April - 7pm to 10p at Buckland Newton Village Hall, Buckland Newton and Tuesday 23rd May - 7pm to 9.30pm at Pamela Hambro Hall, Winterbourne Stickland One-to-one  support: Access free one-to-one support with an experienced agricultural advisor to talk specifically about your farm business and develop an agreed and documented action plan.   Small  group webinars: Attend small group webinars covering topics such as digital skills, succession planning, woodlands, environmental schemes, soil management, diversification, marketing, business planning and grant schemes.   Digital training: Build digital confidence and gain IT skills to better manage your farm business. The sessions are delivered in a no-nonsense, practical, and supportive manner, free of jargon!  For  full details of the support and to register on any of the workshops please visit our website - https://businessinfopoint.co.uk/ffr/  or call 0800 592 872. Free workshop for farmers and landowners as Direct Payments are brought to a close Please find a link to an article regarding an upcoming workshop for farmers and land managers whose Direct Payments are set to be reduced and stopped in the coming years.

Country Watch Dorset

Dorset Police have launched Country Watch Website, a one-stop rural resource centre for all things rural crime related in Dorset. #CountryWatch Check out the website here: http://www.countrywatchdorset.co.uk/

Other Local Websites and Publications

Buckland Newton Community Facebook Page 

•            share & promote positive news relating to our village & its

surroundings. 

•            support our thriving local groups, societies, committees &

businesses.

•            buy, sell, swap pre-loved possessions.

•            enable the village community to advertise their skills, to promote

their events, ask for trader recommendations or get advice on a local issue. 

Anyone can join the community page, and once you do you can post your

event or views.  A team of moderators oversees the site and makes sure

that all those posting respect the rules of the community page. At present

your moderators are Amanda McKenna, Keith Darbyshire and Simon

Colquhoun.

Buckland Newton Parish Council Website

Lydden Vale News

The local printed Newsletter, the Lydden Vale News, is delivered free to

every household in the village.  Editorial: lyddenvalley@gmail.com 

Advertising: lyddenvaleadverts@gmail.com 

There is an online version of the newsletter; for most recent available (March 2023) issue, click on Lydden Vale News to view page-by-page or Lydden Vale News (pdf file) if you have a fast internet connection, to download the whole issue.  There is also a rolling 12-month Lydden Vale News Archive, so that you can refer back to earlier issues. The LVN Editor - Amanda McKenna, and Treasurer - Vinny McKenna.  E- mail contact as above. 

Food and Drink

Old Chapel Stores

Sue, Pete and their family welcome you to their village shop.  Opening

Hours:  Monday to Saturday 7.00 am to 6.00 pm, Sunday 8.00 am to 12.00

noon.  Meats from Butchers Roger Else (Stalbridge). Plus all sorts of

tempting bakery goodies from Evershot Bakery as well. Plus:  Hardware

Department upstairs.  Pop along for more information on what is available

and support your local shop.  Facebook page at

www.facebook.com/TheOldChapelStores

Gaggle of Geese

Simon and Sarah at the Gaggle of Geese welcome bookings from those looking for a venue for special occasions - such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, children’s parties, fundraisers etc. Just get in touch for a chat about how we can help you celebrate at the Gaggle.  Pizzas! - most Saturdays - with the summer sun, we are making the most of the garden and are firing up our pizza oven Wednesday and Saturday evenings. Eat at the pub or takeaway.    See the Gaggle website for days and times.  How to contact The Gaggle: Aside from popping in to the pub, you can also reach us or leave a message on 01300 345249 or e-mail on hartandhops@gmail.com  Latest news and details of events can be found on our Facebook page -  https://www.facebook.com/gaggleofgeesepub/  - website at https://gaggleofgeese.co.uk/ . Pizzas! - Wednesdays.  If you have visited the Gaggle of Geese garden recently, you may have spotted our new shiny Airstream complete with new pizza oven!  Following our successful summer of pizzas and wood-fired menu, we are continuing to offer them on Wednesdays - eat at the pub or takeaway. Check out our Facebook page and website for latest pizza news and menus. Tikka Curry Van generally visits Buckland Newton on alternate Wednesdays (alternating with Basilico Pizza Van).  See Dates for your Diary below for up-to-date information. ‘Catch of the Day’ Fresh Fish Van visits the Gaggle of Geese Car Park 3.00 pm to 3.30 pm Wednesdays.

Boosting Broadband in Rural Areas

Dorset Council is appealing to town and parish councils to help spread the

word that help is available to boost broadband in rural areas.  For more

information, please see the attached article - voucher funding may be

available for households/businesses with slow broadband.

Fibre broadband is available to most residents in Buckland Newton.  You will need to contact your broadband supplier (ISP) to change over to fibre; this is not automatic and will usually cost more than a non-fibre connection.  Houses served by Cabinet 2 (by the church) still cannot get fibre and there do not appear to be any plans to change this situation. Outreach Post Office The outreach Post Office is open in the Village Hall on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 9.00 am to 12.00 noon.  

Prescriptions

Prescriptions are delivered from Cerne Abbas Surgery to Old Chapel

Stores, usually after 3.30 pm, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Defibrillator

The village has its own defibrillator, housed in an unlocked cupboard on an

outside wall of the Village Hall by the kitchen door, under the veranda.  In

an emergency, ring 999, then click here for list of runners who will bring the

defibrillator to you.

Recycling and Refuse Collection and Calendar

You can find details of your rubbish and recycling calendar at

https://mapping.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/mylocal/

Travel & Traffic / Road Closures

See Parish Council Travel & Traffic page

Weather Forecast

The nearest Met Office Weather Forecast location is Minterne Gardens. 

Click for a 7-day weather forecast.

Flood Warden

The village Flood Warden (01300 345707) or e-mail floodwarden@sky.com   

In case of flooding, the village now has a supply of sandbags. If you are

unlucky enough to require use of these at some time in the future please

contact the Flood Warden to find out how to obtain sandbags.

More from the Village…

Bonfires - please consider your Neighbours

Please be considerate if you wish to have a garden bonfire.  Smoke from

bonfires can be a real nuisance if neighbours have washing out to dry. 

Particularly with coronavirus, smoke can also cause extra difficulties for

those with breathing problems, such as asthma sufferers - please think

before lighting a bonfire.  For more advice from Dorset Council on bonfires

please see: https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/environmental-

health/bonfires.aspx

Regular Events

Buckland Newton Pre-School.  This operates 8.45 am to 3.15 pm, Monday to Friday in term time.  Breakfast Club available from  8.00 am.  All at Buckland Newton School during term time.  It caters for children aged from 2 years, if space available.  For further information, contact the school office on 01300 345393 during school hours or e-mail the School Office.   Lunch Club.  A 2-course meal with tea/coffee on the second Friday of each month, at Buckland Newton Village Hall or a Pub. Over 90 or 80? Maybe in your seventies?  Living alone and no longer driving, except to potter around the village?  You have a disability or long-term health problem, and would love to get out to meet old friends or make new ones?  If so, we would be delighted to see you.  Village Cafe.  10.30 am to 12.00 noon, every last Friday in the month (except August and December) in Buckland Newton Village Hall.  A great opportunity to meet people in the village if you are new to the area or just meet your friends for an hour to catch up with them.  £1.20 buys you cake and coffee/tea.

Dates for your Diary

Below is a list of events taking place over the next few weeks.  You can also check the Buckland Newton Community Facebook page for last- minute news of events.  If you want your local event publicised here, please e-mail Webmaster ; also please e-mail if you have to cancel your event so that the events diary can be kept up to date. Thursdays 9th March, 16th March, 21st March, 30th March, all at 7.30 pm. Holy Rood Church Lent Group.  For more details see the Church Services page. Saturday 29th April, Gaggle of Geese. Birthday Celebrations - join us to celebrate opening the Gaggle five years ago! Local bands, community photo, fun & food! Saturday 29th July, Gaggle of Geese.  Gaggle Fest - our annual music festival. Family friendly day of live music, hog roast, pizzas, garden bar, play bus, BBQ and more! Early Bird tickets available soon! Monday 28th August, Gaggle of Geese.  Village Fete - the annual community event raising money for local good causes. Stalls, crafts, BBQ, fun & games! Sunday 5th November, Gaggle of Geese.  Village Bonfire and Fireworks - our popular fireworks evening. The Defib Committee and Runners - could you help? We are looking for more volunteers to go on the ‘Runner’ List (published in the LVN every month) and also for more people to become Committee members. Jan Burnett, Diana Wells, Fizz Lewis, Sandie Stout and Jane Willis currently comprise the Committee.  At the moment there is little to do for Committee members apart from helping with the annual training meeting which we hold in February (see above). We meet, usually once a year to discuss this, call out of the defibrillator over the year and its maintenance, ensure runners are able to continue. The Fete is wonderfully supportive of the village defib. If you are interested in going on the committee or becoming a runner, please contact Fizz Lewis 345521/Jan Burnett 345356 or any other committee member.