Weymouth

I visited Weymouth in Dorset, last Summer for the first time, and I was not disappointed! Visiting during School Holidays, I was expecting packed beaches, everything to be booked up and actually…it was completely manageable! One thing I’m glad I did do though, was research hotels / b&b’s and book early, as prices soar in the holidays.

I loved learning about a few fact about this town: situated in a sheltered bay on the River Wey, it had it’s beginnings in the middle ages and it mostly imported wine. The black plague was thought to have entered England via the neighbouring port of Melcombe Regis and in Georgian times, when bathing in the sea was deemed good for you by medical science, the popularity of visitors to this town really increased. Further influenced by King George III who visited to bathe in the sea during periods of illness (advised by his doctor that it would help with his ailments) it rose to become a really popular seaside resort that now regularly wins awards for it’s beach. It’s definitely had it’s ups and downs, being heavily bombed in the Second World War and suffering in later years when holidays abroad with guaranteed sun were so affordable that the Great British Seaside break lost it’s appeal somewhat.

With beautiful golden sands that stretch far and wide and with easy links to Durdle Door and other nearby attractions, it’s a great day at the seaside or, a 2 night, 3 day break like I did. We used public transport the entire way and it was really easy to get about. I think parking is fairly easy but I would happily get the train there again. So let’s check it out!

Walkers

It is on the Jurassic Coast, so you’re spoiled for choice with walks and trails. The South West Coastal Path is about 630 miles (on my dream to do list!) and Weymouth features as part of that so you could pick it up from there and complete a section. There are some great walks here too, that I checked out. My visit wasn’t really focused on walking in Weymouth so I didn’t get a chance to try them (yet!). With several of the walks starting from the bus stops that are along the beach, it’s easy to get involved.

If you want to take a somewhat challenging but thoroughly worth it walk, I really can’t recommend enough, making the trip over to Durdle Door. Classed as an iconic landmark, it really is something. We caught the Jurassic Coaster X54 coach (First Bus) which was a great door to door bus trip and with an open top, a great elevated view on the journey there and back. The adventure starts when you get off the bus and you walk down to Durdle Door. It takes some time and there are a lot of steps down, but you will not regret the journey, I am certain of it. I’ll talk more about it under the sightseeing section but as a walk in itself, it’s extremely scenic.

But back in Weymouth, even a simple beach walk at night after dinner is just a lovely thing to do.

Shoppers

Just back from the esplanade itself, there are several streets of shops, from books to clothing, to seaside rock; everything you may expect from a town and a seaside town is covered. You also have your classic beach and tourist shops along the esplanade; I couldn’t resist picking up bamboo beach mats for nostalgia sake from one of the shops that sells all kinds of beach related things. I also LOVE the crystal, gems and fossils shop I found, Fossil Beach (in fact this whole street, St Mary Street is a good one for that classic beach holiday feel). For a break from lying on the sand, it’s nice to lose yourself amongst the streets; there was such a happy holiday vibe when we visited. It seems almost every corner you turn there’s more!

Drinkers

Plenty of pubs! If you walk the entire length of St Mary Street, you’ll come out on to the harbour, with pretty, multicoloured houses across the water and pubs and restaurants to choose from on both sides. We had drinks in The George (quite a long wait for food at busy times so factor that in, if you don’t have your go-with-the-flow holiday head on!), but it’s position on the waterfront is lovely, especially at night. We also stopped at the Kings Arms, which is just a quick hop over the bridge on the other side of the harbour. Be sure to check out the sea mine from WW2 that is outside of the Kings Arms.

I don’t even think I could list out places I’d like to visit because there are SO many, that I think it would be a case of just seeing what takes your fancy on the day / night!

Cafe’s

We came across so many cafe’s and nice places for lunch. One place that drew us in was the EBike cafe, in the Deheers building (stand out Grade II listed building on the harbour). The ground floor cafe doubles up as a bike advice and repair shop and although we didn’t have a bike on us, we truly enjoyed their wellbeing drinks, the Golden Milk was just incredible! We also really enjoyed a sweet treat in the form of lardy cake (one for your list if you have not tried this sweet, tasty bread) at Belle’s Traditional Bakers – it’s a bold pink colour, you cannot miss it! There are so many lovely cafes around, we just were on the go so much or at the beach that we didn’t have time to stop in, but again, like the pubs and like the restaurants, there’s so much choice! I would like to try the Secret Garden Cafe though.

Restaurants

Well if you’re by the beach, you surely have to have fish and chips! We absolutely loved sitting outside with ours, from Bennetts Fish & Chips.

On my list for future visits:
Oliveto
Sea Beats
Catch at the old fish market
The White Pepper

Hotels

We stayed in a lovely b&b called The View on the Terrace. Sweet hotel with just 5 rooms, our sea view room was lovely and the couple that run it could not do enough for us, even down to sourcing a safety pin from one of the other hotels in the street. There’s a real community there. Brunswick Street is a quiet road full of b&b’s that is directly opposite the beach and also on the coastal path. It was so nice to be on the beach but away from the busy road.

Other places I looked at that were just out of my price range for the time of year but that I’d look at (although I’d happily go back to the View on the Terrace in a sea view room again):
Gloucester House
Chapter One Hotel
And many many b&bs!

Sightseeing

Well! If you can tear yourself away from the beach, where you’ll find donkey rides for the kids, amusements and arcades, as well as the best advert for Sandworld, in sand, on the beach, then there’s lots to do!

The concept of Sandworld was originally a man named Fred Darrington who began sculpting sand in the late 1920s as a relatively young man. In the 1990s he retired, and his grandson Mark, who had been his apprentice, continued to sculpt on the beach, keeping the family business going. In 2011 Mark and friend David Hicks who created Sandworld, an exhibition little further down the road. I saw the impressive sand sculpture on the beach representing the Queens 70 year reign and so I would love to visit Sandworld; they say allow between 1-2 hours to see it all.

We took the bus, as I mentioned, to Durdle Door which is possibly one of the most photographed stone arches in the world. The arch came about simply where the stone eroded away and the sea made it’s way through. You can swim up to the arch and back, several people did; but be wary it’s pretty choppy! It’s definitely a day trip to go there and back; taking a picnic is vital if you don’t want to hike back up the hill to the onsite cafe/camping area. If you’ve gone to Durdle Door, even if your legs ache, I recommend also going to Lulworth Cove too which is on the way back up the hill. If you want to see both of these but can’t make the walk, there is a boat trip that goes from Weymouth and stops at both. It’s really pretty too and just nice to be able to relax there. I hope I haven’t put you off with all of this tired legs talk- depending on fitness levels you may just ace it, but I did 2 weeks of hill climbs before I went and that helped it feel manageable. You also don’t have to go all the way down the steps, with amazing views from above, but even for me, who is afraid of heights, I just had to once I was there.

Look out for the King’s Statue in honour of King George III, the Queen Victoria Jubilee Clock Tower, Cenotaph and the Weymouth American War Memorial; all easily visible on the beach.

Other places I’d love to visit or try next time:
The historic sea fort, Northe Fort, which we didn’t get time to see but looks really great – I bet the views are great from there.
A jurassic coast safari
A boat trip out to lulworth cove
Greenhill Gardens
D-Day World War II Museum

Would I go again?

With so much left to see and do I would definitely go back here. We had some grey mornings but as is often the case at the beach in Summer, the clouds lift and the day is all sunshine. I’d go for a day trip, although it’s a good 2.5hrs away for me, but if you can get a reasonable deal on a b&b, I think do it, it’s such a feel good beach and it’s nice to wake up in a place like this. I can’t believe it took me so many years to finally get there. It feels safe and just a nice place to be. Good for couples or families or friends!