Portland

We will be in Portland from 8am to 11 pm in May. I have not been able to find any private excursion companies so I'm wondering how easy it is to get to Dorchester and/or Sherborne. We are also entertaining the idea of just spending the day in Portland and Weymouth.

Thank you in advance for any info.

There is quite a few things to do in Weymouth & the shuttle from the port drops you right in town

we did a private tour to the Swannery with a stop in Dorchester & a drive through the countryside

Some go to Corfe Castle

Just look for Jurassic coast tours you might find some guides

we used

http://www.extramileuk.co.uk/special-occasions/jurassic-coast-tours/

I had 12 of us in a minicoach worked out well for us

Portland is a rocky island, connected to the mainland by a permanent causeway. It doesn't have a "centre" & can only be explored by car or bicycle (bikes available to rent, but you need to be pretty fit).

Your ship is likely to provide a shuttle to Weymouth, about 5 miles. It's a traditional British Victorian seaside resort, quite old-fashioned & well worth exploring on foot.

Despite its Olympic sailing exposure, Weymouth isn't an international resort, it's a Brits' family resort & most folk travel there by car or on coaching holidays. So there's little demand for tour operators, and coach excursions from Weymouth - for locals as much as for visitors - travel some distance, places perhaps best explored on some future vacation. But you do have a late sail-away. Here's the local coach operator's excursion page:

http://www.bluebirdcoaches.com/Day%20Excursions.htm

Local private hire taxi drivers know their area, are used to the occasional cruise ship visit, & although not official "tour guides" they can show you the coast, countryside, villages & sights of Dorset.

Consider eastwards to Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, Corfe Castle.

Or westwards above Chesil Bank, through Abbotsbury & along the Jurassic Coast to West Bay & Bridport.

Sorry can't suggest anyone but google Private Hire Taxi Weymouth.

Direct trains to Dorchester every half-hour or so, Weymouth rail station is a five minute walk from the shuttle drop point on the seafront - if you ask the shuttle driver he might be able to drop you even closer on his way through.

Train journey takes 10 minutes, costs £4.30 for a "cheap day-return".

Destination is Dorchester South rail station, there's no service from Weymouth to Dorchester West. Dorchester market (5 min walk from station) is on Wednesdays, the main High Street is ten minutes.

Maiden Castle (earthworks, not a stone castle) &, in the opposite direction, Thomas Hardy's house are both on the outskirts, each a 5 minute taxi ride.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

Sherborne is only about 25 miles from Weymouth, but by train it's complicated & slow-going. Expect it to take about 2.5 hrs each way by train, but only 45 mins by car.

By car you can make a two-minute diversion to Maiden Castle (in all honesty, that's all it's worth ;)), then thro' Dorchester to Sherborne via the A352 valley road, stopping off to look at the Cerne Abbas Giant (aka The Rude Man of Cerne Abbas). Then return to Dorchester via the excellent but unclassified lane over the Dorset downs with superb views - local drivers will know that road.

You have a wide choice for the day, google some of those places.

JB :)

Thank you LHT28 and John Bull for the quick replies. You have given me some good suggestions to research.

Thank you LHT28 and John Bull for the quick replies. You have given me some good suggestions to research.

If you have time in Weymouth try the fish n chips at the SeaGull cafe on the waterfront

Excellent ;)