Secret Dorset

Explore fascinating stories from Dorset. To share ideas with the team, please email SecretDorset@bbc.co.uk

Radio Solent,34 episodes

Episodes

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Where will it go next?
Steve Harris looks into the history of a Spanish galleon relic.
17 Jul 2026,4 mins
Descendants in Dorset
John Constable and his descendants have connections with the county.
10 Jul 2026,4 mins
Untouched for generations
Steve Harris takes a trip to Sandbanks to learn how it’s changed over time.
4 mins
Who put the R in Dorset?
Zoom out on a map and you'll find a tribute that truly raised the bar.
03 Jul 2026,4 mins
Making some of the world's most famous nets
A town’s net-making history dates back over 800 years. Steve Harris finds out more.
26 Jun 2026,4 mins
'Behind' the door from no. 2
A surprising snippet from childhood of T. E. Lawrence can be found in Wareham.
4 mins
Village's connection to a US president
David Allard visits Steeple and finds out about their connection to George Washington.
4 mins
Behind bulletproof glass
The story of the painting pivotal in the film The Grand Budapest Hotel.
4 mins
The Saxon saint whose remains lie undisturbed
Steve Harris visits the church where St Wite can still be found today.
06 Jun 2026,5 mins
Battle of the flags
You wait for a flag then four come along at once.
29 May 2026,6 mins
The boy behind Thomas the Tank Engine
Christopher Awdry inspired his father to create The Railway Series.
09 May 2026,4 mins
Lurking in a West Milton tree
The story behind the model that's been unnerving ramblers for years.
4 mins
Once the tallest building in Dorset
Poole Power Station dominated the skyline until it was demolished in the 1990s
4 mins
Swanage Beach explosion
Looking back at the 1955 event and how it is remembered today.
14 Feb 2026,4 mins,
UK's oldest working postbox
The history behind a 19th century octagonal postbox in Holwell.
15 Jan 2026,5 mins
The stegosaurus built out of rivalry
How did this metal dinosaur end up in Poole? Steve Harris looks in to the story.
08 Dec 2025,4 mins
Weymouth's homemade horror house
Enter if you dare. Michelle Langthorne tours Terror Castle, a one night only attraction.
31 Oct 2025,4 mins
It happened at Rampisham Down
A site in the middle of the Dorset countryside once sparked wild speculation.
18 Oct 2025,5 mins
The tale of 'Bethan's Rock'
How a young girl's donated rock became Poole museum's 'most famous' object.
08 Oct 2025,3 mins
The lost treasures of Sutton Waldron
St Bartholomew's in Sutton Waldron is unique with links to the Great Exhibition in 1851.
25 Sep 2025,4 mins
Last agricultural railway in the UK
Tucked away on a watercress farm near Bere Regis is unique piece of history.
02 Sep 2025,3 mins
'The butchers that sank the Mary Rose'
There's a family butchers that's been serving Bridport since 1515.
28 Aug 2025,4 mins
The Hardy of Hardy Monument
The English novelist and poet or vice-admiral? Why a monument was built for him.
02 Aug 2025,4 mins
Landmark's double life as emergency bunker
Learn about the Cold War "emergency centre" built below Nothe Fort in Weymouth.
19 Jul 2025,4 mins
And the county took over
Some Dorset towns were once part of Hampshire but why did they move?
12 Jul 2025,3 mins
A case of mistaken identity
Identical statues almost 100 miles apart, but who are they actually representing?
24 May 2025,6 mins
Portland stone: From sea defences to art
Exploring the history of Tout Quarry at a sculpture workshop in Portland.
17 May 2025,6 mins
Historic sport in Blandford Forum
Three walls, gloves and a hard cork ball is all you need.
03 May 2025,4 mins
The church mixing sermons with shuttlecocks
How Christ Church in Melplash has been partly converted into a badminton court.
31 Jan 2025,5 mins
Bournemouth's Russian enclave
Discover how Tuckton is linked to one of the most seismic events in political history.
24 Jan 2025,5 mins