Who on earth are the Beachcombers?
Good question. We're not entirely sure either, but here's our best attempt at an answer.
The Abbotsbury Beachcombers Association has been going for over 40 years. It is a volunteer-run community group with one job: bring the people of Abbotsbury and the surrounding villages together, as often as reasonably possible, for events that are fun, inclusive and full of village spirit.
We're not a beach cleaning group, despite the name (though we're not against a bit of that too). "Beachcombers" is really about the spirit of the thing: a coastal Dorset village that likes a good get together, whether that's a horticultural show, a game of bingo, or several hundred people standing in a field watching things explode in the sky.
Nobody on the team gets paid. We run most things from the Swan Inn, Abbotsbury's proper village pub, with the odd quiz night over at Strangways Hall, and every event exists to raise money for local charities and community projects while giving everyone a reason to leave the house.
What we actually do
Across the year that adds up to a fireworks night that pulls in visitors from Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport, a summer village fête with more vintage tractors than you'd expect, an annual horticultural show where the giant marrow rivalry is taken very seriously indeed, regular bingo and quiz nights, band nights, a Boxing Day Bonanza, and a New Year Party to see the year off properly.
Why it matters
Abbotsbury is a small village. Small villages need reasons to come together, or everyone just stays in and watches the telly. We'd rather you came and heckled the bingo caller.
Want to help us do more of this?
We're always short of hands on the day, and never short of ideas for the next daft theme.
