This month's podcast features two of the best conversations we've recorded in a long time – one simply delightful, the other genuinely thought-provoking. If you've never dipped into the Dorset Life Podcast before, may I boldly suggest this might be an excellent place to start?
Jenny heads to Scarlet's stable to meet land agent and long-distance walker Roger Sewill. It's a wonderfully atmospheric conversation, accompanied by the sounds of horses, as Roger reflects on his 200-mile journey across Dorset with Scarlet, his Dales pack horse, visiting 30 ancient hillforts and raising money for Dorset Wildlife Trust along the way.
Travelling at a horse's pace, he describes how the landscape, weather and water shaped each day, and how strangers repeatedly offered food, shelter and help. What began as a fundraising challenge became a story about kindness, connection and the enduring character of rural Dorset.
'I thought my body would start cracking up, but I just got stronger and stronger each day – and my mind has never felt happier and more with it.'
Jenny also sits down with Dorset councillor James Vitali to explore the growing tension between housing targets and the protection of Dorset's countryside. In a fascinating, thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation, he argues that a planning system fixated on national housing numbers is pushing large estates onto rural greenfield sites because they are often seen as easier options than building more sensitively within existing towns and cities.
He makes a powerful case for neighbourhood-led planning, where villages and small towns have a genuine say in how they grow rather than having development imposed upon them. He also links the loss of farmland to development with wider failures to support farmers and protect the county's long-term food security.
'There's a sort of knee-jerk attempt to dump houses on the sides of villages and towns in places like Dorset just to get the numbers up.'
There's also a Grumbler from Dorchester questioning the council's latest housing policies, and Laura's first letter as editor of Dorset Life.
This episode is based on stories from the May 26 issue of Dorset Life (though they're evergreen and relevant whenever you happen to discover them), available to read freely online. People, politics, place and purpose – all seen through a distinctly Dorset lens.
