The Beaches
Weymouth is one of the finest beaches in the country with its golden sands at the southern end of the beach, and the less crowded pebbles to the northern end; there is something to appeal to all. Coupled with the excellent swimming conditions, Weymouth’s calm waters have it all. The Esplanade is but a stone’s throw from the beach and the sand or stones can each be reached in moments.
Not only is it a beautiful spot, Weymouth enjoys above average sunshine hours than most – see the weather section for more information. Although the fine weather cannot be guaranteed (I will obviously book it for you); Weymouth beach is a great place to relax on the soft sands and top up your tan.
The salt sea air is an accelerator of your golden finish and you will easily pick out the local people due to their year round tanned complexion. If sun bathing is not your thing, there are the water based activities to keep you occupied. Pedalos and floats adorn the silk smooth water all summer long. If you enjoy swimming, the whole bay is ideal. If you are based at the Greenhill end of the beach, you can swim out to the summer rafts that are anchored a few hundred metres offshore and watch the grey mullet swim past. For children there are a number of beach based activities. There are the traditional Weymouth swing boats that have stood in residence for over 40 years, the trampolines, along with a number of other merry-go-rounds, a play pool type thing, and the donkeys. No sea side experience is complete without some candy floss and an ice cream. The beach is laden with concessionaires offering up such fare. A day on the beach can not only be fun and a great day out, it is also both extremely reasonable and also environmentally friendly (if this is your thing). Your stress levels will go down and also, if you have children, you will find that the sea air will knock them out for the night come bed time, allowing you to relax with your loved one.
The Esplanade is an ideal place to stay for a beach based holiday. Situated just yards away, The Esplanade has several beach facing rooms, one with a balcony. It also boasts several family type rooms and a suite that will cater for families of all shapes and sizes. With the front door of the Hotel locked to the outside public, along with the added security of your room, you can happily put your children to bed and relax in the bar with a couple of drinks and watch the night sky creep in. Baby monitors are available to borrow for added comfort.
At the extreme eastern end of Weymouth Bay is Bowleaze cove. This is a mainly shingle beach with patches of sand (for children), and is commonly used by bathers as well as fishermen and those wishing to launch either a motorised vessel like a jet ski or use a wind or kite surf. There are clearly marked channels for all of the relevant uses and the cove also benefits from having good leisure facilities. There is the large Waterside Holiday Park housing mostly caravans, and thus there are a number of cafes and restaurants where you can feed and water yourself. There is also a small amusement park and arcade offering rides as well as the traditional sea side slots. It is an ideal place to go for a change, or if you wanted to walk from The Esplanade.
Sandsfoot beach is a good 30 minutes walk or a 10 minute drive from The Esplanade. Opening out in to Portland Harbour, it is a good place to swim, or learn to swim. Less crowded than Weymouth’s main beach, it is a lot quieter with less facilities, but an ideal place if you want to get away from it all. It is mostly used by locals and is easily accessible from the Rodwell Trail.
Chesil Beach is a large beach. Up to 200 metres wide and typically 11 metres high, is a bank of pebbles running 18 miles from Portland in the south, to West Bay in the north. For much of its unbroken grip on the Jurassic Coast, it is separated from the mainland by a salt water lagoon known as the Fleet. Chesil is an amazing beach in that it grades itself; the stones at Chiswell, Portland are the size of your fist or a small potato whereas at its other extremity the pea sized shingle is the size of your small finger nail. It is a popular tale that smugglers coming ashore on Chesil Beach could judge their position by picking up a handful of shingle, thus enabling them to return to the site of their stashed goods without leaving markers. See www.chesilbeach.org/Chesil/pebbles for information regarding the geology of the pebbles as well as a great photo displaying the cross section of different sizes.
Chesil is great for walking on, although the walking is hard, playing on, and relaxing on. It is a great place for beach combing, especially in Chesil Cove at Chiswell on Portland, which has a great promenade, a good café and a welcoming pub. On sunny clam days, grab a cake, a fish dinner or an ice cream and watch the rollers come in. On a stormy day, grab a pint and sit by the fire and really watch the rollers come in. However it is mainly used by fishermen and divers. See the fishing and diving sections for more information. It is however safe to swim from in the correct conditions. It is however only recommended for stronger swimmers – see swimming. www.chesilbeach.org is a great site giving lots of detailed information about the unique phenomenon that is Chesil Beach.