Palmers Brewery in Bridport is celebrating National Cask Ale Week by sending all 54 of its pubs across Dorset, Somerset and Devon some speciality bread made with Palmers Tally Ho! First brewed in 1949, Tally Ho! is a cult favourite with aficionados and has won many awards.

An original hand-carved stone barrel finial, a special feature of Palmers Brewery roof, had to be replaced during recent restoration of the Grade II thatched building – one of the rarest and most historic brewery buildings in the UK.

A family of three from East Wittering near Chichester enjoyed a week’s holiday in Dorset after winning first prize in Palmers Brewery’s Dorset Gold competition. Keith Rathbone, Emma Gillett and eight-year-old Aloka stayed at The Barns in Loders in a lovely cottage with an outdoor swimming pool.

The UK’s only thatched brewery – Palmers Brewery in Dorset – is being re-thatched. Nearly 2,000 fresh bundles of water reed are being fixed to the northern section of The Old Brewery in Bridport for the first time since 1977, by a team including two of the same thatchers.

Young sailors are benefiting from record sales of Palmers Dorset Gold. 5p of every bottle or pint sold goes to the Chesil Trust, a Dorset charity that enables young and disadvantaged people to enjoy the thrills of sailing. In the last year sales of bottled and draught Dorset Gold have raised £7,430.70, for the charity.

The New Inn at Cerne Abbas, Dorset Dining Pub of the Year, has re-opened its doors after floods swept through the village a week ago. "Everyone pulled together to help in the clean-up" said landlord Jeremy Lee, who was judged national Landlord of the Year by the Good Pub Guide.