Supermarkets in Dorset

Whether you’re moving to Dorset, settling into a self-catering holiday cottage, or simply after a proper big shop rather than relying on the local village shop, knowing where your nearest supermarket is makes life considerably easier. Dorset is well served by all the major chains, but coverage varies a lot from town to town — some areas have a full spread of options within walking distance, while more rural parts of the county rely on a single Co-op or Spar and a good delivery slot.

This guide lists the main supermarkets across Dorset by town, along with practical information on which supermarkets deliver where. If you’re searching for “supermarkets near me” while already in the county, the store locator links below will get you to the nearest branch faster than a general search.

Lyme Regis itself has a Co-op and a Tesco Express in the town centre, covering day-to-day essentials comfortably, though parking near either can be tight during peak summer months given the town’s narrow streets. For a full big shop, the nearest large supermarket is a Tesco Superstore just over the county line in Axminster, around a 15-minute drive away, with considerably more parking and a wider range than either of the in-town options.

Weymouth is one of the best-served towns in Dorset for supermarket choice, with an Asda, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, M&S Food a Spar and multiple Co-op branches spread across the town, including sites on Chickerell Road and Preston Road. With this many options within a few miles of each other, Weymouth is a good base if you want the flexibility to compare prices or simply have several choices within easy reach. Over on Portland, there’s a Co-op in Fortuneswell and a Tesco, covering the island without needing to head back across the causeway for essentials — useful to know if you’re staying on Portland itself, since the causeway can get busy at peak times.

Swanage is a little more limited than some of the larger towns, with a Budgens and a Co-op covering most day-to-day needs, both within easy walking distance of the town centre and seafront. For a wider choice, Wareham is around a 20-minute drive and has both a Sainsbury’s and a second Co-op if you need a bigger shop or a wider range than Swanage’s town-centre options can offer.

Bournemouth matches Poole for choice, with large stores from most of the major chains dotted across the town, plus a good number of Tesco Express, Sainsbury’s Local and Co-op convenience branches for topping up without a full shop. If you’re staying anywhere in or around Bournemouth, you’re unlikely to be more than a short drive from at least three or four supermarket options, which makes it one of the more flexible towns in the county if you have a particular chain you prefer.

Sherborne has a Waitrose on Cheap Street, alongside independent grocers and a good pannier market for fresh produce on market days. It’s a smaller town for supermarket choice, but the Waitrose covers most essentials and sits right in the town centre, making it an easy stop if you’re already exploring Sherborne’s abbey and independent shops. For a wider range, Yeovil, just over the Somerset border, has a fuller spread of major chains if you need it.

If you’d rather have your shopping delivered than head out to a store — particularly useful if you’ve just arrived at a self-catering cottage and want the fridge stocked before you unpack — most of the major UK supermarkets offer delivery across Dorset, though coverage does vary by postcode and by how rural the specific address is. Rather than rely on general assumptions, the most reliable approach is to check your exact postcode directly on each supermarket’s site — we’ve linked to the postcode checkers below.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda have the widest delivery coverage of any UK supermarkets, reaching the vast majority of postcodes nationally, including most of Dorset’s towns and many of its villages. These are generally your safest bet if you’re booking a delivery slot to a more rural address.

Morrisons delivers to a large share of UK postcodes too, though coverage in more rural parts of Dorset can be patchier than Tesco, Sainsbury’s or Asda. It’s worth checking your specific postcode before assuming a slot will be available.

Waitrose has more limited delivery coverage nationally, tending to focus on postcodes close to an existing store. Given Waitrose’s presence in Bridport, Dorchester, Poole and Sherborne, delivery coverage tends to be reasonably good around those towns, but thinner further out.

Ocado is genuinely difficult to generalise about for Dorset specifically — coverage depends on which regional depot serves a given postcode rather than simple distance from a town, and depot boundaries shift over time. Areas of North Dorset near Sherborne may fall within reach of a Yeovil-based depot, while coastal and southern Dorset postcodes are less consistently covered. Rather than assume either way, it’s genuinely worth checking your exact postcode on Ocado’s site before planning around it, since coverage can vary between two addresses that are otherwise close together.

Iceland offers a useful, budget-friendly delivery option and covers a large share of UK households, making it worth checking alongside the bigger names, particularly for frozen and freezer-friendly essentials.

Rapid delivery services including Sainsbury’s Chop Chop, Asda Express Delivery, and Tesco’s Whoosh offer delivery within an hour in some areas, but these tend to be concentrated in larger towns and cities. Availability across Dorset is patchier than standard next-day delivery, so it’s best treated as a bonus rather than something to rely on if you’re staying somewhere rural. In some towns, Uber Eats and Deliveroo also offer quick delivery from a selection of supermarkets.

If you’re already in Dorset and searching “supermarkets near me” on your phone, your results will usually be based on your current location rather than the town lists above — genuinely useful if you’re out and about and just need the nearest option. That said, a live “near me” search doesn’t always distinguish between a large superstore and a small convenience branch, so it’s worth glancing at the store type before you drive across town expecting a full range and finding a small Tesco Express instead.

The town-by-town lists above are more useful for planning ahead — working out which supermarket to head to for your main shop when you arrive, rather than searching on the day and hoping for the best.

Wherever you’re staying in Dorset, there’s almost certainly a supermarket within easy reach, whether that’s a full superstore in one of the larger towns or a smaller local branch for topping up. Combine a supermarket shop with a stop at one of Dorset’s farm shops or farmers markets, and you’ll have everything you need for a proper self-catering stay.

If you’re planning a trip and still need somewhere to stay, browse our full collection of holiday cottages in Dorset— each with a well-equipped kitchen ready for whatever you bring home from the shops.