Slow Travelling Man

I'm just going for a bimble, I might be some time…

A Wander Through Weymouth

A town in Dorset…

Thanks to a kind friend of mine letting me use his flat over the years, I have been jolly fortunate to get to know the seaside town of Weymouth rather well. But the joy of this place (as with all places TBH) doesn’t lie in the arcades, the fish & chip shops, or the gaudy touristy tat, it lies in the history of the place. The place is just heaving with it, if you know where to look that is.

If you trace any aerial map of the South of England, if you trace a line moving eastwards your eyes cannot fail to notice the long curved arc of Chesil Beach along with what looks like a sort of foot at one end. Well, this boot-shaped sticky out bit is the Isle of Portland, & it is where I start my bimble. (Actually it is at a place called Smallmouth Beach at Wyke Regis that is NW of Portland).

Anyway back to the story. The little beach known as Smallmouth is shielded from the rumbumptious nature of the Atlantic Ocean by the Portland breakwaters, the Isle of Portland itself & the narrow shingle Chesil beach causeway. It is usually quiet, peaceful & the perfect place to sit down & enjoy a nice brew. But this spot wasn’t always so tranquil as 1) the Weymouth & Portland Railway used to run overhead, & 2) there was a massive torpedo factory located here. The railway which fed the factory, Portland docks, the quarries & the village of Easton, closed to passengers in 1952, but remained functional for goods until 1965, & although nothing much remains of the factory these days, signs of the railway still exists. The former trackbed from the Smallmouth beach to Weymouth is now a rather nice walkway/cycle route called the Rodwell Trail & still has lots of railway furniture still in place.

If one is walking or cycling along the Rodwell Trail keep a look out for the remains of Sandsfoot Castle. This Tudor artillery blockhouse structure was part of King Henry VIII’s ‘Device Programme’, which followed a geometric design to protect it from attack. Sadly due to safety issues you are not allowed to enter the ruins these days, but the gardens & adjoining small cafe, which sells a fine range of cakes, sugary snacks & pastry-clad morsels, are well worth a visit.

Smallmouth Beach with Portland in the background.

Smallmouth Beach: A perfect spot to sit & enjoy a brew!

Part of a railway bridge that used to span the causeway to Portland. (Demolished in 1971)

A cutting on the Rodwell Trail.

A long redundant platform.

The next part of my amble takes us towards Nothe Fort & gardens. Spurred on by the fear of French invasion, the powers that be (the Royal Commission of 1859) decided to implement a massive programme of coastal defence & fort building.

TBC chums….

Newton’s Cove

A view of Portland breakwater with the Isle of Portland in the background. (taken from Nothe Fort)

A sculpture located in Nothe Gardens commemorating the sailing events at the 2012 Olympics which took place in Weymouth.

Nothe Fort built to protect the harbour from French invasion. Finished in 1869.

Part of Nothe Fort.

Standing on Stone Pier that juts out at foot of Nothe Fort.

Fisherman’s cottages & derelict Brewer’s Quay behind (Brewer’s Quay has now been redeveloped I believe).

Er, The Cove….

Um, a view of Weymouth Harbour….(yes, I added the googley eyes to the pic for comedic effect #strugglestotakelifeseriously).

Standing on the harbour bridge at midnight…good title for a song don’t you think?

Another harbour view…

Unsettled skies over the statue of King George III on The Esplanade.

The sparkling lights of Weymouth at dusk. The picture was taken before the lookout tower was demolished (It’s the tall, thin pointy thing heading leftish).