Weymouth Things to Do

As a man who likes lighthouses, Portland Bill is one of the best lighthouses I've ever seen. The location of the lighthouse and the unspoilt scenery makes you relaxed and peaceful. I really miss this place ...

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West of Weymouth is the pretty village of Abbotsbury and here is the finest collection of swans I have ever seen. There has been a colony of swans here for over 600 years and they ae protected by the Chesil Beach. There are hundreds of swans here.
Very well laid walkways link various pens and nests and you can see the swans been fed at 12:00 and 16:00.
There is a play area for children, a cafe and a gift shop.
This is one of the most disabled friendly places we have ever visited - it was possible to take the car to the main area missing out a reasonably long walk and the paths were very whhelchair friendly. There is a discount for disabled people too.
One strange exhibit is Barnes Wallis' bouncing bomb - the type of bomb that breached the dams in the Rhur in Germany in 1943. They were tested near to here but although interesting in my opinion they really belong in a museum.

Built in 1887 to mark the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign, the clock was originally erected on a stone base on Weymouth sands and has never been moved. The paving from the promenade, which now surrounds it, was built in the 1920's.

The Chesil Beach is 29 km long, 200 meters wide and 18 meters high. It connects the Isle Of Portland to Abbotsbury and further west to West Bay. The beach is very steep and forms a clear storm beach that protects Weymouth and the village of Cheswell from winds and waves.
At the Isle of Portland end the beach curves sharply to form Chesil Cove.

Monkey World is the setting for the popular TV shows Monkey Business and Monkey Life. It is set amongst the woodland of Dorset and provides sanctuary in 65 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, including a Woodland Walk. On the site there is also a café and indoor and outdoor play areas for children.

The centre holds over 150 primates including over 50 chimpanzees - the largest such group outside Africa, gibbons, lemurs, macaques, squirrel monkeys, capuchin monkeys, marmosets and woolly monkeys mostly in large open enclosures with indoor and outdoor viewing areas.

Monkey World was started in 1987 to provide abused Spanish beach chimps with a permanent, stable home and now takes in apes for rehabilitation, animals rescued from all over the world (from experimental labs, circuses, beach photographers, the pet trade).

July and August: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
September to June: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Adults: £10.75
Children: £7.50

April 2011

There are some good walks to be made at Portland Bill around the light house and headland.
There is a large car park and some reasonably good public toilets. There is a cafe and a pub also here.
The light house contains a visitor centre.

Since 1983 Weymouth Sea Life Park’s mix of indoor and outdoor attractions has been a great day out, attractions include: - Otter Sanctuary, Seal Sanctuary, Penguin Sanctuary, Tropical Shark Nursery, Bay of Ray’s, National Seahorse Breeding & Conservation Centre and the Splash and Crab.

WeymouthSeaLifePark@merlinentertainments.biz

The fort was originally built around 1860 as a defence against a seaborne invasion that never came. Nothe had 12 gun batteries and over 70 rooms on three levels. Today it has many displays and life-size dummies illustrating life in the fort and Weymouth’s part in World War II. There is also a collection of weapons – from huge coastal guns to side arms – and another of military vehicles.