Weymouth

Weymouth (population c. 80,000) is in the county of Dorset, on the south-west coast of England.

It is one of the most popular seaside resorts in the south-west. The beach stretches for kilometres across a lovely bay and there are street cafes around the picturesque harbour, which is busy with fishing and sailing boats.

There are lots of shops, small and large, a cinema, a theatre, 10-pin bowling, squash courts, tennis courts, cafes, parks, minigolf, the Nothe Fort, a sealife centtre, go-kart racing, a swimming pool, a laser zone and much more.

The Isle of Portland is nearby, with a lighthouse, quarries from which the famous Portland stone was cut for St. Paul's Cathedral and a path down to a cove with smugglers' graves near a ruined church and castle.

The town is on the "Jurassic Coastline", a 95-mile stretch of coastline awarded World Heritage Status by UNESCO, with exposed cliffs which let us look back 185 million years. This coastline is famous for fossils, and fossil-hunting is one of the many activities which we run during the summer.

Chesil Beach, a unique beach 18 miles long with 180 billion pebbles starts at Weymouth. It runs past Abbotsbury, a small and unusual village close to Weymouth with an enormous swannery and stunning subtropical gardens.

Dorchester, the county town and home of Thomas Hardy, with many shops, Dinosaur Museum, Chinese Terracotta Warriors Museum, Roman Town House, Tutankhamun Exhibition, Teddy Bear Museum and Hardy's Cottage has something for everyone.

Lyme Regis, a beautiful small coastal town with a famous harbour wall, is just one of many popular destinations in the area.

As you can imagine, our programme of activities is very full.

Weymouth and Portland is the site of the sailing events at the Olympic Games in 2012. The events will take place in the huge harbour between Weymouth and Portland. The harbour is sheltered by very long walls built many years ago to defend naval ships.