The Seaham Weymouth

Nothe Fort And Gardens

by johngayton

After a couple of beers at the Red Lion you might want to walk them off with a visit to Nothe Fort and its gardens. These are located at the western entrance to the harbour and the gardens offer great views along the coast and over the town.

I didn't have time to visit the fort itself this visit but it certainly looks interesting. The fort was constructed during the period 1860-72 primarily as a coastal defence for Weymouth and Portland harbours. It wasn't until the Second World War that it saw action as part of the local anti-aircraft defences, although the main battery of AA guns was located where the gardens car par now is.

The Ministry of Defence sold the fort to the local council in 1961 but the various proposed schemes for it failed to reach fruition and the site fell into disrepair. During the late 1980's the Weymouth Civic Society, in conjunction with the Manpower Services Scheme, began to restore the fort and it is now one of Weymouth's most popular attractions and is often used as a venue for loval events and concerts.

The fort is open to the public from May until September and for a couple of weeks at Easter and during the October half-term break. Website has details of opening times, admission etc and a short overview of the fort's history.

The gardens though are open year round and there's no charge for admission.

Wouldn't you like to be beside the seaside?

by avanutria

"When it's warm, everyone hits the beach!"

"Warm" in the British sense that is. Around Easter we had a couple of days of warmer weather, and I got to visit the seaside town of Weymouth. It's quite a nice little place, especially if you enjoy peoplewatching.

Aside from the many pedestrian streets and shopping areas in town, the seaside itself had a lot to do. There were arcades, video games, and carnival rides. Trampolines, huge slides, pits of sand to dig in (which seemed a bit redundant at the beach) and rows upon rows of food stalls.

I read in a brochure that on hot days upwards of 100,000 people come to Weymouth, and 90,000 ice creams are sold. I felt bad for those last 10,000 who didn't get to have any ice cream...

"Balanced meals are important..."

I was enthusiastically shown this British delicacy. Entire meals made of sugar. Blech! The right is fish, peas and chips, nd the left is a full English breakfast.