Photo Archive: “Steak + Kidney Pie”, “The Swan Inn”, Abbotsbury, Weymouth,06/07/15.

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Abbotsbury, Dorset, font, Food and Drink, plus sign, potatoes, Public houses, pubs, Sign Writing, signs, steak and kidney pie, The Swan Inn Abbotsbury, vegetables, Weymouth

Souvenirs: Guide, Nothe Fort, Weymouth, 2012.

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artillery, artillery pieces, Ben Ainslie, Fortifications, forts, guns, London Summer Olympics 2012, Military History, Museums, Nothe Fort, Nothe Fort Weymouth, Olympic Gold Medal winner, Olympic sailing, sailing, Sir Ben Ainslie, Souvenirs, Victorian., Victoriana, Weymouth

I witnessed a small, but significant, moment in the history of the Nothe Fort back in 2012, as Weymouth and Portland prepared to be the venue of the London 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic sailing. That was the year Sir Ben Ainslie won his Gold medal in the Finn Class sailing, his fifth Gold at five consecutive Olympic Games [not that I was in Weymouth or Portland for the actual sailing, I was only there for the final preparations].

The Ramparts.

The Fort operates on three levels; the ramparts on top, the gun deck/parade ground below and the magazine beneath that. You enter the Fort at the gun deck/parade ground level, through the barbican; the main defensive feature on the landward side of the fortification.

The gun deck is comprised of 26 casements, which once open plan and housed the “massive Victorian muzzle loaded guns“. Casement 22 contains a reconstruction of the Victorian gun deck, where an impressive collection of very proud looking mannequins manned artillery pieces that look so colossal you would think they were immovable. There were no partitions between the casements back then, so it was possible to move along the gun deck without having to go out onto the parade ground. The casements also contain the reception and shop, the canteen and some interesting displays about the building of the fort and films about the various guns that have been positioned there throughout its history.

The gun deck.

On the ramparts above you can see one of the 6 inch guns that made the Victorian muzzle loaded guns on the gun deck below obsolete by 1905 [there were three guns originally, but now there is only one, but you can still see the emplacements were they once stood].

One of the 6 inch guns on the ramparts.

The magazine.

In the magazine below the gun deck you will find a series of underground tunnels and rooms. One surprising feature of the fort is that a third of the magazine was converted into a nuclear fallout shelter for civilian use during the Cold War.

The Nothe Fort is a fascinating place were Britain has faced external threats both real and imagined; arguably the fortifications finest hour was during World War Two when it served as an anti-aircraft position protecting Portland and Weymouth harbours, a conflicted its Victorian architects could never have imagined. The Victorians were right about one thing however, the Nothe Peninsula offers great views of Weymouth and Portland, so it is worth the trek up there even if you are not interested in history, especially on a sunny day, like that day back in 2012.

Belts and braces.

Photo Archive: Olympic Weymouth, 2012.

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Beach, beach huts, Boats, Dorset, King George III, London 2012 Olympics, Nothe Fort, Sea Views, Seaside., The Ship Inn Weymouth, Weymouth, Weymouth Harbour, Weymouth Jubilee Clock

Beach huts.

Weymouth is a lovely place and I had the pleasure of visiting the town in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics [Weymouth being the venue for the sailing events]. This photograph of some beach huts was my first on that day, but my dear friend Mr. W and I had started our walk much further up the seafront and we park the car either further away from the centre of Weymouth than that.

Bunting.

Our first sighting of celebratory bunting occurred a short walk further from the beach huts, on the front of some guest houses that must have boasted quite impressive views of the beach. Further up the promenade again, the bunting was joined by banners with messages like “Inspiring A Generation” (one of which I photograph next to Weymouth’s Jubilee clock).

Weymouth’s Jubilee Clock – erected in 1887 to mark 50th years of Queen Victoria’s reign.

Our walk along the promenade took a turn inland as I got distracted by a very impressive statue of King George III flanked by palm trees. I was delighted to find out that George III also enjoyed holidaying on the Dorset coast and showed a liking for Weymouth, to the extent that he bought a holiday home there! [You can read more about George III and Weymouth here]

Now distracted by a side street we headed into the hustle and bustle of the town.

Eventually we navigated our way to the harbour; passed “The Ship Inn” where I had a very enjoyable tea, or a late dinner, the year before.

King George III.

Don’t neglect the harbour in favour of the beach if you are visiting Weymouth this Summer. The harbour is a hive of activity, with the fishermen on one side, and a sense of fun, with pleasure craft of all sizes plying to and fro.

Here are some of my favourite photographs:

“The Ship Inn” – I recommend the fish.

WH.

A view from the bridge spanning the Harbour.

Crossing the Harbour in a rowing boat (note the Olympic bunting).

We walked along the harbour side and then along a pier dotted with anglers. After taking in the view (and resting our feet) we headed up to take in the view from the Nothe Fort, a Victorian coastal artillery position, which is open to the public. Naturally, the Nothe has the best views of both Weymouth on one side and Portland on the other and I do believe they used it during Olympics to observe the sailing events on the Weymouth .

A view of the harbour mouth.

After a Pint of bitter by the Harbour we headed back to the promenade and the beach, a voiding the narrow streets of the town this time.

We had a refreshing Pint in this pub on our walk back.

It was only then, after hours of walking on one of the sunniest days of that Summer, I realised I had failed to put any sun cream on the back of my legs and that they were red like lobsters! I still enjoyed the walk back along the beach though, despite this painful realisation. My last vivid memory of Weymouth is of a delightful helter-skelter, so I am going to leave you with a photograph of that. I hope if you visit Weymouth you enjoy it as much as I did.

Whenever the London 2012 Olympic Games are mentioned I always remember our medal winners, the Golds (medals, the post boxes and Luke Campbell’s gold telephone box) and… Weymouth.

“We all like to be beside the seaside”.