About Virtual Swanage

Promoting Swanage & the Isle of Purbeck since 1996

Virtual Swanage is one of the UK’s longest-running independent tourism websites, dedicated to promoting Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck since 1996.

Founded by Brian and Andrew Dorey, Virtual Swanage began as a small personal project and has grown into a comprehensive online destination guide. The site now features thousands of pages covering:

• Local events & festivals
• Accommodation and dining listings
• Independent business directories
• Attractions, walks, cycling routes, and activities
• Photo galleries, webcams, and local history
• Practical visitor information

Our mission is to promote tourism, support local businesses, and showcase the beauty and heritage of Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck. Content is independently produced, locally informed, and visually engaging, serving visitors, residents, and businesses alike.

Audience & Reach

Virtual Swanage attracts a highly engaged audience:

• Visitors planning trips to Dorset (UK & international)
• Local residents seeking news, events, and activities
• Businesses looking to reach a tourism-focused audience

Key Stats:

• Accommodation Listings: 21
• Directory Listings: 269
• Gallery Photos: 1,601
• Events: 666
• Festivals: 12
• Information Pages: 122

You can view our website traffic stats page for current and historical data and trends.

Why Work With Us

Virtual Swanage is more than a website, it’s a trusted hub for visitors and locals alike. With over 30 years of experience, we offer local expertise, loyal audience, and strong community presence.

Partnering with us provides:

• Targeted visibility to visitors, residents, and tourism-focused audiences
• Credibility and trust, featured alongside long-standing, respected content
• Multi-channel exposure, including website, social media, and newsletters
• Flexible collaboration options, from sponsored posts and premium business listings to event promotion and photography features

Working with Virtual Swanage means reaching the right people at the right time, helping you attract more visitors, increase bookings, or raise awareness within the local community.

We have online forms for accommodation, local directory listings and event organisers to submit their details on the How to Advertise page.

Contact and Social Media

Phone: 01929 421070

Website: www.virtual-swanage.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/virtualswanage

Instagram: www.instagram.com/virtualswanage/

Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/virtualswanage.bsky.social

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@swanagedorset

Ownership: Independently owned and operated by Apexweb Ltd, UK.

Our History

The Virtual Swanage website was started in August/September 1996 by Brian and Andrew Dorey on their Amiga 1200 computer to experiment with building webpages as a hobby which went on to become a successful web design agency.

The very first version of Virtual Swanage featured just five simple pages covering a brief introduction, a small photo gallery, a few cycle routes and local information. Today, the site has thousands of pages packed with practical travel information, events, accommodation listings, business directories, photo galleries, webcams, local history and much more.

Over three decades we have continuously evolved the site to meet the needs of an ever-growing audience. We added detailed walks and activities, event calendars, interactive navigation and maps, plus one of the areas largest archives of historic and contemporary photographs celebrating life in and around Swanage and the Isle of Purbeck.

For several years, Virtual Swanage also hosted a community forum where locals and visitors shared stories and discussions that later transitioned to social platforms like Facebook as community habits changed.

Below are some of the previous styles and layouts the website has used in the past 30 years as the internet and website styles evolved.

You can click on the small images below to view the full-size screenshots of the website.