About The BV
The BV is an award-winning, digital-only magazine for the Blackmore Vale and the wider Dorset countryside. Founded in August 2020, it was created to fill the space between a free local newspaper and a glossy regional title – combining proper journalism with contemporary rural life, without the baggage of print.
We publish one high-quality digital magazine each month, supported by daily online journalism. Everything we do is free to read, anywhere, at any time. Readers can subscribe to The BV so the magazine lands neatly in their inbox each month, but it’s never been ‘subscrciption only’: there’s no paywall and no ‘members-only’ barrier. Good local journalism should always be accessible.
What we cover
The BV has become a trusted, independent voice for rural Dorset and beyond, known for calm, reliable reporting rather than tabloid noise. We cover the issues that matter locally – planning, rural services, farming, environment, housing, community life – alongside thoughtful, enjoyable writing about modern rural living.
Alongside in-depth news and features, our regular sections include Dorset farming, equestrian life, wildlife, art and culture, Dorset walks, Dorset food and drink, property, Dorset jobs and business. It’s a broad mix, but always rooted in place, people and practical relevance.
Our writers
Our contributors are local, experienced and genuinely expert. Among our regular columnists are one of the UK’s top wine merchants, the CEO of Dorset Chamber, a member of the Guild of Food Writers, a world-renowned Thoroughbred breeder, an elite international event groom, a rising British Eventing rider, and a much-loved local historian and author. We also feature regular contributions from Fanny Charles, who edited the original Blackmore Vale Magazine for 23 years.
We work with a strong team of Dorset-based freelance journalists, supported by experienced sub-editors, to ensure everything we publish is accurate, fair and well written.
Digital by design
We don’t do print. We never have.
The BV is fully digital, interactive and designed to be read on phones, tablets and desktops. That choice allows us to invest in journalism, photography and design rather than ink and lorries – and to publish responsibly, without the environmental cost of print.
Our monthly magazine is presented in a high-resolution, ‘glossy’ digital format with strong photography and clean design, supported by robust online reporting between issues.
Independent and award-winning
The BV is independently owned and published by Bluebean Publishing Ltd. We are a small, focused team based in Sturminster Newton, Dorset, working closely with a wider network of contributors.
Despite our size, The BV reaches more than 350,000 readers each month across platforms and has won multiple national and regional awards for journalism, digital publishing and community reporting.
We support local independent businesses, charities and community organisations through fair, transparent advertising – never advertorial disguised as journalism.
A note on names
The BV is not connected to any printed newspaper with a similar title. We have never been printed, and we remain entirely separate.
Who we are
The BV is run by Laura and Courtenay Hitchcock. We work from home (hence no published postal address), but we’re always happy to talk. Come chat to us on Facebook. Coffee’s at 11, and we’re always open to posh biscuits.
If you’d like to understand more about how and why The BV started, you can read our 2020 origin story on the blog.
Good journalism. Properly local. Always digital.
(that’s five of the six of us just months before we launched The BV – any parent of grown up children will know how increasingly difficult it is to get all of you in the same place at the same time for a family photograph!)
Limited Company Number 5092542
The Blackmore Vale ISSN 2634-8810
