Portland has changed

The Portland that I grew up near (Weymouth and Portland may be the name of the Council but they are two very different places) had a large Naval Base, a Prison and a lot of rugged rocks.

Now the Naval Base has gone and the area around the harbour that used to require a security badge to get to is now freely accessible.

From there the other changes to Portland are apparent.

Verne Prison is still on the top of the hill, or rather built in to it, but the area around it has been transformed, first by the departure of the Naval Base and then by the arrival of the Olympics.

Former naval accommodation has been remodelled for people with smaller, slower and less deadly boats, and other buildings have sprung up to serve the same market.

The change is even more apparent when you look at the harbour which has been colonised by hordes of small boats looking for all the world as if they had always been there and the days of drunken sailors in the Harbour Club being escorted back to base by the Military Police had never happened.

But around the corner there is one memento of the life that Portland used to lead.

This is a Lynx helicopter built not too far away by Westland, the company famously supported by Michael Heseltine when Thatcher wanted the USA to own this part of our defence industry. She won and he resigned.

The other type of helicopter that used to be seen regularly above and around Portland was the much bigger Sea King, also from Westland.

When the Navy was in Portland its presence was obvious from the uniforms in the town, the occasional fracas in the pubs  and the buzzing above your head. Now that has all gone and the people and machines that have replaced it are all but invisible. Portland seems to be asleep, waiting for an other event like the Olympics to wake it up.

Portland on a good day

Most of Easter was damp and grey but the Monday was warm and sunny so we could swap the indoors for the outdoors and the outdoors that we chose was Portland in Dorset. And we took my father too.


First stop was Portland Bill at the southern tip of the isle where the sea races past wildly at times but not today. Rocks that are times unreachable due to the violent waves are instead exposed to the equally powerful force of holiday makers.

There is little to do on Portland besides scramble over rocks and the lads on specialist bikes (much like BMXs but without saddles) were most impressive as they did so.

The Lobster Pot Restaurant provided a welcome drink and snack and nothing says that you are on a British seaside holiday than a plate of egg and chips.



The geology here is pretty simple, the layers of Portland Stone can be seen clearly and are almost level. The huts seem intimidated by the stones and are trying their hardest to fit in by adopting a square grey look.



Returning to the mainland takes you down the steep side of the isle through the small town of Fortuneswell. Here the houses cling desperately to the side of the hill in fear of sliding into the sea. Just nipping out to the shops to get milk in the morning must be enough to keep Portlanders fit.



Portland is joined to the mainland via the majestic Chesil Beach that stretches 29 kilometres north-west towards Abbotsbury. The beach rises steeply but still provides an inadequate defense against the fiercest seas so further defenses have been built at the crest of the beach and the houses nearby (including the delightful Cove House Inn) have their own defenses like window shutters and raised doorsteps.

Portland can be fearful, gloomy and unwelcoming but when the sea is tame and the sun is warm then it is a good place to stretch your legs, breath the fresh salty air and admire the views.

A trip down memory lane

During a short break in Weymouth to see my dad and sister I managed to get some time to walk revisit many of the places that were important to me when I was aged around 7 to 12, this time with a camera.

Sadly the place that I spent a lot of my time back then, the woods off Mount Pleasant Avenue, have been replaced by the Relief Road and there has been much other building on what was woods and fields.

Even the river Wey seems to have decided that there is no place for nature in the new Radipole and it now dribbles its way towards the sea when once it flowed friskily. The water is brown and the river channel is narrow and chocked by plants. It seems to have lost the will to live.

Radipole Manor (pictured) is much as it always was but is currently being worked on; hopefully this will be a tasteful repair rather than yet another conversion to flats. I went to school there when I first moved to Weymouth in 1964 as it was being used as a temporary classroom during the building of the new Radipole County Primary School nearby.

The best part was playing in the large wooded grounds, something that the Health and Safety bureaucrats would not allow today.

A sign of the times

I am not planning to turn this blog into a rant vehicle but the absence of an apostrophe in the phrase "childrens play area" really bugs me.

This is a new sign at the recently rebranded Springhead pub in Sutton Poyntz on the east side of Weymouth. Somebody has obviously paid a decent wedge for this sign but neither the writer nor the purchaser picked up the grammatical error. Sad.

The pub itself is only average but is in a great location with a duck pond at the front and views of the White Horse from the garden in the back.

Art Deco in Weymouth

The Riviera Hotel Weymouth is a rather impressive building with stunning views across Weymouth Bay to Portland. Originally built as a holiday park it has is now a hotel aimed, judging by its brochure, almost exclusively at the silver generation. Unfortunately the area it is in, Bowleaze Cove, is mainly a large caravan park with attractions aimed at that market, e.g. amusement arcades.

My first house is for sale

I bought my first house when I was 25 after being gently forced out of the family home. I had been away to university but had then got a job back at home and so stayed with my parents.

I worked during the day, went out with my mates during the evening and slept during the night, for which I paid my parents £50 a month rent.

This arrangement worked well for me, i.e. I had a comfortable B&B, but mum thought that as I was earning quite well that I should buy a house. so she found one for me and I bought it. That was in 1982 and it cost me £22,000. I lived there for about four years during which time I got married and got a new job in London with Logica; both of which prompted us to look for a new house. We moved up to Kingston upon Thames in 1987 having sold the house in Weymouth for £35,000.

My sister, who now lives just around the corner from my first house, has just told me that the house is for sale again, this time it's on the market for £235,000!! This is what the estate agent says about it.

An opportunity to purchase a quite unique detached property situated close to Weymouth town centre and all its associated amenities. Benefiting from Upvc double glazing, gas central heating and valuable off road parking space, the accommodation in brief comprises of four bedrooms, lounge, kitchen/diner and bathroom. Internal viewings are highly recommended to appreciate the flexible accommodation.

LOUNGE 5.2m (17.1') x 3.8m (12.6') Upvc double glazed window to front, wall mounted radiator, coving, stone built fireplace.

KITCHEN/DINER 5.0m (16.3') x 2.7m (9.0') Range of wall and floor units with work surface over, inset sink unit, inset gas hob with oven under, built in dishwasher, plumbing for washing machine, space for fridge freezer, Upvc double glazed window to front and side, wall mounted radiator, door to side, wall mounted boiler.

BEDROOM ONE 3.8m (12.5') x 2.4m (7.8') Upvc double glazed window to side, wall mounted radiator, coving.

BEDROOM TWO 3.5m (11.5') x 2.7m (8.9') Upvc double glazed window to front, wall mounted radiator, coving.

BEDROOM THREE 2.8m (9.3') x 2.7m (9.0') Upvc double glazed window to front and side, wall mounted radiator.

BEDROOM FOUR 2.0m (6.6') x 1.9m (6.2') Upvc double glazed window to front, wall mounted radiator.

BATHROOM Comprising of pedestal wash hand basin, low level W.C, panelled enclosed bath with shower attachment, coving, Upvc double glazed window to side, wall mounted radiator.

OUTSIDE To the side of the property is a hardstanding area suitable for off road parking space with an up and over door.