Swanage is served by two major supermarkets: Co-Op and Budgens, both of which are centrally located and easy to access.
Co-Op has a large, short-stay car park on-site and also offers a free home-delivery service.
Budgens is located along one of the town’s main streets, Station Road, and has a short-stay car park behind it, as well as a limited amount of on-street parking on the street opposite. Both supermarkets have disabled bay parking.
Budgens stocks a wide range of household essentials, cooking ingredients, wines & spirits and baked goods. It also stocks the COOK frozen food range for an easy evening meal and supports various local producers.
The Co-Operative supermarket on King’s Road West has recently undergone refurbishment. It has an in-store bakery, all the usual brands of food and household items, and a good selection of organic fruit and veg.
How to find the main supermarkets in town
Co-Op and Budgens are less than a five-minute stroll from one another, making it easy to browse both stores and find exactly what you need for a meal, BBQ or beach picnic.
Whether you’re coming via Victoria Avenue, Kings Road West or via Shore Road from Studland, the Co-Operative Swanage and Budgens are easy to find.
And if you’re arriving to the area by bus or on the Swanage Railway, both bus and train terminate right outside Co-Op and a few hundred metres away from Budgens.
Co-Op
📍 52 Kings Road West, postcode: BH19 1HP
The Co-Op is essentially the first large shop you come to when you arrive in town. You can park here for a couple of hours, so you can run errands in town or grab a coffee before your shop.
Find out more about Swanage’s Co-Op.
Budgens
📍 36 Station Road, BH19 1AF
Budgens is on the one-way system in town, just past the roundabout by the railway station, along with many of the main shops, estate agents, pharmacies and cafés in Swanage.
(Postcode for Mermond Place car park: BH19 1DQ. Note that Budgens is also a short walk from the Central Co-Op car park, so you can do a bit of shopping in both stores)
Check what’s in store at Budgens.
Smaller food & household stores
As well as these larger stores, you’ll find a range of other homeware shops, food outlets, delicatessens, health food shops and zero-waste shopping options in Swanage. There’s also a range of charity shops where you can browse second-hand homeware, clothing, books and toys, with a dedicated Oxfam bookshop on Institute Road.
There are two butchers in town – JJ Moores and The Salt Pig Too (also a dine-in bistro). For fresh fish, try Swanage Bay Fish, and for handmade chocolates, Chococo is the place to go.
Find natural and vegan cosmetics at Swanage’s Buffmonger (you may also be interested in the zero-waste shop in nearby Wareham, Bare Necessities).
Budgens and Co-Op sell a range of pet supplies including dog and cat food and a small range of litter and toys, but there is also Pet Luv (just along from Budgens on Station Road), which stocks a wide range of pet and animal bedding, food, medications, grooming equipment, toys, leashes and harnesses – and four-legged visitors always get a treat for well-behaved shopping!
In addition to the mix of well-known and independent shops in Swanage you’ll also find interesting local produce in stock in some of the restaurants and cafés – if you’re stopping for lunch at Love Cake, grab a jar of chutney or local biscuits for a treat at home, or choose something yummy to take away with you from the urban farm shop and butchery at the Salt Pig.
There’s also a market every Friday in Swanage – this is held in Main Beach Car Park on Victoria Avenue between 8am and 1pm. Grab a bargain and pick up your weekly fruit, veg, olives and more.
Visit our Shops page for a more detailed look at shopping options in Swanage.
Supermarkets further afield
The nearest supermarket chains outside of Swanage are in Wareham, Poole and Dorchester, so you can stock up on your way down or after a day out exploring other areas of Dorset.
Wareham
The nearby town of Wareham has two supermarkets: a good-sized Sainsbury’s and a small Co-Op.
Sainsbury’s is located on South Street and has parking for a number of cars. You’ll find the Rempstone Centre car park off Church Street (Postcode: BH20 4NX).
The Co-Operative store in Wareham is on North Street (BH20 4AB). It has a small amount of parking at its rear. Short-term parking here is free for customers.
Fine more long-stay and short-stay parking in Wareham
Poole
Swanage’s closest larger town is Poole, which you can get to easily by driving, getting the No 40 bus or by catching the train from Wareham Station.
There are various supermarkets in and around Poole town centre, amongst a range of high street stores in its Dolphin Centre, including:
- Tesco – Two Tesco Extras selling the usual groceries as well as household items, appliances and clothing. Tesco also has an on-site pharmacy and fuel pumps
- Asda – Located just outside Poole’s main shopping area is a large Asda (postcode BH20 4AB)
- Lidl – There are two Lidl stores in Poole – one in Hamworthy and one at Creekmoor
Dorchester
Dorchester is the main market town to the west of Purbeck and makes for an interesting day out, with a range of historic sites, entertainment options and beautiful surrounding countryside.
Stop at some of the local supermarkets for supplies on your way back to Swanage:
- Co-Op – There’s a Co-Op in Dorchester’s town centre – park in the Trinity Street car park (DT1 1TT), which also give you direct access into town for high street shopping and independent coffee shops
- Waitrose – Dorchester’s Waitrose is set in the main part of town, within the Tudor Arcade (postcode: DT1 1BN). There’s a two-level car park beneath the store with lift access to the shop
- Tesco – A Tesco superstore can be found just outside Dorchester on Weymouth Avenue (postcode: DT1 2RY)
- Lidl – Dorchester’s Lidl store is located on The Grove. There’s also a petrol station adjacent to this store