Portland to Weymouth

[salongirl]

I'm not sure if there are taxis down there waiting as like you said its a secure port and I don't have any excuse to be down there wandering about but I would imagine if there were they would be the kind of taxis that run on the meter and could be expensive. I would recommend booking one in advance from one of the local taxi company's as there's quite a few to choose from.

 

It's a shame that passengers aren't able to walk from the port because although the area round the port is quite run down and in no way a tourist attraction it's only a short walk to the local bus stop and they could just explore the coast path, go to portland bill, see the lovely scenery and views.

And Henry VIII Portland castle is only about 1/2 a mile from where the ships dock but I imagine barely any of the passengers are even aware it exists.

 

I do think the best option if I were visiting would be a hire car that way they can explore portland and all it's natural beauty, pop into Weymouth to see the Georgian seafront and venture along the coast road to abbotsbury to see a picturesque English village, I think that would all be possible in a day if you had your own transport.

[campergirl62]

More than happy to help with any information regarding the north of the county. I was born in Poole and spent a lot of my youth on Sandbanks beach. A bit far from Weymouth though and the beaches there are lovely any way. Just a thought that Kimmeridge is lovely to visit, Enid Blyton based some of her books there. Tyneham village is also nearby. The whole village was evacuated during World War 2 and was never inhabited again. You do need to check the nearby firing range times though as it will obviously be closed then.

 

 

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[LHT28]

AS I have said before we booked a private tour & was glad we did

Went to the Swannery, Dorchester & a drive in the country roads

 

We had stopped in Weymouth for free time, another couple decided they would take the port shuttle back to the ship

as we were loading up to go to Portland Castle they returned to the coach...the line for the shuttle was very long

they came back with us & we stopped at the Castle

 

I agree if you could get into the port on your own it is not that far to the castle though it may be a bit of hike if you miss the bus ;)

 

I would return anytime to the area ..

Next yr it is Southampton area we will explore

 

Lyn

[eandj]

How large is the Weymouth shore area? DH is thinking of just spending the day strolling and having lunch along the beach. Kind of a r&r day. But if the area is small and a couple hours would be it, we'll probably want to get further out to see the countryside and cliffs.

We'll be there Sept 1. Any idea of typical weather?

[Surreyman]

How large is the Weymouth shore area? DH is thinking of just spending the day strolling and having lunch along the beach. Kind of a r&r day. But if the area is small and a couple hours would be it, we'll probably want to get further out to see the countryside and cliffs.

We'll be there Sept 1. Any idea of typical weather?

 

Unfortunately the weather in England is never predictable. Quite often the start of September brings an 'Indian summer' a period of sunshine but this can in no way be guaranteed.

 

Weymouth is quite small but you can spend as long or as short a period as you like, if you just want to relax for a bit.

[salongirl]

Weymouth is quite nice for a stroll around town, there is the beach and promenade that stretches about 2 miles from the pavilion to overcombe (have a look on google satellite) if you were to walk the full length at a leisurely pace it takes about an hour so most tourists seem to walk as far as greenhill gardens then back again (which is about half way)

In Weymouth another nice thing to see is the old harbour and hope square (nice restaurants, cafés and pubs) you can even get a rowing boat across the harbour near the pavilion for about £1 which is quite nice, it's only takes a couple of minutes but it's a fun alternative to walking all the way round and back again... and then go up to the nothe fort viewing area, this has wonderful views across the bay to Portland and is where during the 2012 Olympics the had the viewing area for the sailing events.

 

If you then had time after doing all this I would head back to portland to see the view from The Heights and then see the lighthouses at the southern most point at Portland Bill

 

I did this with my friends from London when they visited and it would take up most of the day

 

I recommend googling these things and looking at the images

 

Weymouth beach

Weymouth old harbour

Weymouth hope square

Nothe fort

Nothe fort view

Portland heights Olympic Rings

Portland bill cliffs

Portland bill lighthouse

 

I hope this helps... Ps apart from bus/taxi fare this would be a cheap day out but obviously very weather dependant

 

As for September weather.... This is England anything could happen, it won't be really cold but it could rain or even be glorious sunshine

[BlueVinney]

I'm another Dorset resident living around equal distances from Weymouth and the Corfe Castle/Swanage areas and visit both frequently.

 

I wouldn't agree with JB's dismissing Swanage as unattractive. It's more like a smaller version of the 'Victorian English holiday resort' experience of Weymouth enjoying less facilities and entertainment but with everything presented in a more compact manner and less distance to walk. Something not available elsewhere is the Swanage Railway with frequent steam trains running to and from Corfe Castle village and the station there is only about 200 yards from the entrance to the Castle. There's also Durlston Country Park located on the cliffs adjoining the town with lots of wildlife and spectacular views to the Isle of Wight and right round to Portland.

 

As an ex-employee of a US corporation I would expect any American visitors to enjoy either location as something completely different from their experiences back home. The only down sides could be the English weather (although we have had a brilliant late Spring, early Summer) and being aware that there may be restricted opening hours of some facilities from mid-September onwards.

 

Hope you enjoy Dorset.

[eandj]

Thanks salongirl for the detailed info re Weymouth. We will indeed decide our day's activities on the weather. Your ideas are just what we'll need.

[digtexas]

I wanted to follow up on my earlier posts wherein I decided to hire a car in Weymouth after docking in Portland. First of all I reserved a taxi to pick four of us up at the port in Portland. The port also serves as a Naval base and the security is so tight that only pre-arranged buses or taxis are allowed near the gates. They will not allow local taxis to hang out nearby, so it is difficult to impossible to walk out and flag a taxi at or near the port. We could have taken the free shuttle to Weymouth and perhaps found a taxi there.

Anyway, back to my story: we had a taxi from Weyland Taxis meet us at the port and for 12 pounds he was to drive us to the car rental place which is about 5 miles from the port in an industrial park. As his taxi was a nice, roomy van with plenty of room for the 4 of us (unlike an English taxi tour that we took in Belfast that was very uncomfortable for 4) and I was not sure how difficult the driving would be, we inquired about forgetting the rental car and hiring the driver to take us to the Abbotsbury Swannery and subtropical gardens, and for a picturesque drive along the coastline west of Abbotsbury. He got approval to take us around for 30 pounds per hour and we agreed. Well, it turned out to be an excellent decision as I have not driven in the UK for years and did not know the local roads, many of which were very narrow, winding, blind, etc., and I got to appreciate the scenery rather than worry about driving.

The Swannery was wonderful, the gardens were nice, Abbotsbury is a beautiful little Dorset village with honey colored stone buildings with thatched roofs...very quaint. He drove us to a little beach town with amazing Jurasic cliffs coming right up almost to the water. After a spin up Portland Bill, above Portland, we went back to the ship by around 2 PM. After lots of days and many tours, we just wanted to relax on the ship in the afternoon.

Anyway, four a 4 hour charge, 120 pounds, plus a 20 pound tip that we gave the driver, who was a great guy, we saw as much as we cared to see for about $60 per passenger....much cheaper than any ship's tour, and in our own private vehicle operating on our schedule. I highly recommend Weyland Taxis, who are well established in the area. Plus the driver knew little back roads and places that I would have never found on my own, even with a GPS.

[salongirl]

That sounds like a great day out Danny, Abbotsbury really is a lovely little village and it must have been nice to be able to admire the views yourself in a way that you can't really if you are driving, especially along the coast road.

I don't recognise the name of Weyland taxi's though, might it have been Weyline?

I hope you enjoyed your time in Dorset :-)

[roothy123]

You're right - no need to go to Stonehenge unless you're really into solving the age old question of how they got there. There was so much to do around Portland and Weymouth that I had a hard time deciding last year when I was there on a cruise. I had a wonderful time just taking the "sometimes it runs, occasionally it doesn't" special tourist bus around Portland. I am a lighthouse lover and Portland Bill was charming. I wanted to go to the Quarry for the art work but ran out of time. I also went to Weymouth, took a little rowboat over across the way, and explored around there. It was an absolutely fabulous end to a fabulous cruise. (Portland was our last stop). Oh, and when back on the ship, I looked around, and found the chalk horseman on the hill! I didn't expect to be able to see it from the ship....

 

 

Here are some links I used: http://www.visit-dorset.com

http://www.dorset-transport.info/weymouth-transport.html.

http://www.dorsetforyou.com/public transport.

Traveline.info.http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/dorset/assets/pdfs/journey_planning/maps/WeymouthNetwork.pdf shows info on bus routes.

http://www.visitweymouth.co.uk

– great youtube of X53 route Edited August 4, 2014 by roothy123

[digtexas]

That sounds like a great day out Danny, Abbotsbury really is a lovely little village and it must have been nice to be able to admire the views yourself in a way that you can't really if you are driving, especially along the coast road.

I don't recognise the name of Weyland taxi's though, might it have been Weyline?

I hope you enjoyed your time in Dorset :-)

 

Yes, my mistake, it was Weyline Taxis, and our driver, Chris was a very fine gentleman. We very much enjoyed our time in Dorset. Thanks to all who contributed and helped us out.