Portland UK

Portland ,U K.

Unsure of what may be here, we were delighted to find there was such a great deal, and all of it so pretty ,interesting and with more lovely weather to enjoy.
Portland is in Dorset ,and an Island, very near to Weymouth. I was thinking it may be like Plymouth, anything but. The shuttle bus took us from beside the ship ,15 mins to Weymouth ,along Chesil Beach, 18ks long ,a Tombola, which is a spit to joined to land at both ends, golden gravel ,and is quite unique.[Not as we know it ]. From our drop off point a short walk around the corner, to a very old and pretty town ,all the older things of England, A Kings Arms, a Royal Oak ,and the little joined houses, over looking the narrow harbour, filled with boats of all descriptions. A large bridge across ,lifted to let boats come and go. How lovely we thought, so set out to walk to the Harbour mouth, past many pubs and fish restaurants, boats for fishing trips, and fish market as well. Things like Plaice on the menus, scallops, and much more, a place where there is still real fishing happening. Catches sold direct to the many places to eat , along the harbour. So much to see, all clean and tidy. We crossed over to a wider area and were slightly dumbfounded, a huge beach stretched into the far distance, a typical English seaside city ,golden sand, hotels ,shops accommodation for miles, donkeys for rides, deck chairs lined the promenade ,Punch and Judy as well ,it went on for a great distance. Happy dogs enjoying the sand and sea ,many collies here.. Holiday makers in large numbers ,a huge surprise and delight.!
The street’s back ,several ,old and quaint, had many shops, cafes ,and simply everything, quite busy but not crowded. We walked for long distances today…. Lots of shops had holiday items of the buckets and spades, little sun shelters, I must say the humble spade has come a long way, there are very good designs. This sand is good for sand sculptures. Back to see the bridge lifted ,and a chat to some locals, with more places to see. Off to Fort Nothe , along the harbour on the other side ,a climb up many steps ,and a great view over everything along the coast. This is the Jurassic Coastline, the white cliffs visible in the distance. Some squirrels , a friendly one ,who lingered for pictures. Met special older locals, who were such a delight…a warm and sunny day in every way…
Portland has a small Castle, [Henry the V11] ,and a breed of sheep that are unique, which I was not lucky enough to see ,the Castle is a well retained one, but sadly the grounds are not. A lovely harbour, that was used for the sailing in the 2012 Olympics ,man made and one of the deepest of that kind, in the world ,here since Henry’s time… This is a place that could be explored much more ,we loved it all.
Later closer to sailing time we had the local Choir, I thought WDFF ,but a sprinkling of chaps as well, they were so very good, and sang for quite some time, The Wild Mountain Thyme, Danny Boy, and so much more. Also the local Militia, in uniform ,complete with cannon, to fire a few rounds…in our honour, very loudly… as we sailed away. !The seas are mirror calm still, what amazing weather we have had for our UK part of this cruiseЧитать далее