We woke up to be greeted by a cloudy day, hardly
unexpected on a British Bank holiday weekend in May, no matter what was
forecast. But we had decided on a plan
and it was going to be followed. Off we
set on a 3 hour drive to the coast. Destination
- Weymouth a quintessential example of
what the British seaside is all about. As
part of the Jurassic coast, it gets its fame from fossils and beautiful
headlands and bays, as well as bucket and spade holidays. The journey was exactly like those of us born
and bred in the UK have come to expect.
One man and his dog and every caravan seemly ever produced, making their
way to the sea. The traffic slowed as
the motorway narrowed into single lanes.
Later than we expected we pulled into the car park. At least this was easy, unusually spaces were
plenty, although looking at the foreboding sky this was surely not a surprise.
Coats on, we headed to the promenade. Here we found families doing their best to
look like they were having a good time.
And indeed many of them seemed to be.
Despite the chill in the air people were on the beach, sand castles
being built and kites flying. There were several in shorts, the default
position of a British person and the coast, no matter what the reality of the
weather.
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| The Seafront |
Disappointingly all the beach
huts were tightly locked up and many of the seafront kiosks also had decided to
remain closed. Those that were open
however didn't disappoint, even the hard core traditionalists would have been
impressed with the colourful array of buckets, spades, windbreaks and spinners
on offer, along with inflatable dinghy's, beach games and all sorts of other money
spending opportunities that day trippers couldn't afford to miss. Polystyrene cups of tea were difficult to get
hold of but there are several nice cafes to choose from when it came to warming
up and people watching.
The beach itself
is a wide strip of land that hugs the coastline for several miles and is
heavily protected from the power of the sea by rock groynes and seawalls, all
of which ensure that Weymouth should keep its beach and therefore its tourists
for a while to come.
At the end of the promenade is the newly built
observation platform, a raised donut shape that carries you 53 metres into the
air for panoramic views over the Jurassic coast. Opened in 2012 in perfect timing to coincide
with Weymouth hosting the 2012 Olympic sailing events, I imagine this would get
busy, not today however, the gray skies putting off all but those who must have
booked tickets in advance. We followed
the crowds instead and headed for the amusements. A strange name for games that swallow up
money and for limited amounts of fun and small reward, spew out tokens for the
lucky winner to exchange for prizes. Still
it was packed, the colourful neon lights and the cacophony of sounds drawing
people in, including us to gamble on the two pence drop. If that's not enough, rides are also on
offer, things to spin you around fast and make you lose your stomach or my
personnel favourite the magic of the carousel with its beautifully decorated
horses and carriages.
Weymouth also has an old harbour with both
sailing and fishing boats. It's possible
to walk the stone walls and check out the boats and little boutiques, cafes and
bars around. It was full of hustle and
bustle as families jostled for good crabbing positions searching for the prime
spots along the harbour wall, completing for space with those who were looking
for a good spot to eat their fish and chips, freshly caught and cooked at one
of the many excellent fish and chip shops around. The smell of which wafts out of the doors and
encourages more people to join the queues coming out of the shops.
Suitably windblown and with our fill of sea air it
was time to head home. Did we wish we
could stay longer? of course, nothing beats a day out at the seaside no matter
what the weather.
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