Dorset weekly round-up: 23 March - 29 March 2024

The pair were reunited on Tuesday morning

A story about the south coast's only breeding pair of ospreys was among our most read stories this week in Dorset.

A variety of local issues featured on the BBC News website, BBC Radio Solent and South Today.

We have picked five stories to keep you up to date.

Governments give up on pancreatic cancer, woman says

A woman whose mother died from pancreatic cancer has joined calls for more government investment in research.

Sam Weldon, from Wimborne in Dorset, lost her 78-year-old mother Sylvia Lloyd in January 2023, less than five months after the cancer was diagnosed.

Ms Weldon is supporting a campaign by the Pancreatic Cancer UK charity, which said successive UK governments had not done enough to improve survival rates.

Bride-to-be distraught after 'dream' venue shuts

Anne Chilcott and her partner Les Way found out about the hotel's closure via social media

A bride-to-be fears she may have to cancel her wedding in June after the hotel hosting it shut without warning.

Anne Chilcott, from Poole, Dorset, said she had been unable to contact anyone from Poole Quay Hotel since its sudden closure on Wednesday.

She said she needed to recover her £4,000 deposit to book another venue.

The hotel site is set to be redeveloped by MHA Burleigh Poole Ltd. The BBC contacted the developer's planning agents but did not receive a response.

South coast's only breeding pair of ospreys return

The only breeding pair of ospreys on England's south coast have returned to their nesting site in Dorset.

Male Osprey 022 arrived in Poole Harbour on Monday exactly 365 days after arriving back last year, following his migration to west Africa.

Female CJ7 was subsequently seen on the nest webcam early on Tuesday.

The birds became the first nesting pair on the south coast of England in 180 years in 2022, after being introduced in 2017.

Holi festival of colours first for National Trust

It was the first time a National Trust property has hosted a Hindu festival

Three thousand people gathered at a National Trust site for a Holi festival celebration.

Participants met at Corfe Castle in Dorset on Saturday to mark the Hindu festival of colour which falls on 25 March.

The Bournemouth, Poole, and Christchurch (BPC) Indian Community group worked with the trust to organise the event.

It was the first time a National Trust property has hosted a Hindu festival.

Signs reveal top-secret history of seaside location

Visitors to a coastal beauty spot can learn about the area's military past following the installation of signs at what remains of a former radar station.

Steamer Point, near Christchurch in Dorset, was once a site for secret research into military radar and satellite communications.

All that remains are three concrete bases that supported three huge aerial dishes, near the existing car park.

New signs installed near the bases will explain their historical significance.

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