Weymouth Harbour Live Cam

Weymouth & Portland is located at the heart of the UK's Jurassic Coast, recently designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We are easily accessible by road and rail, and numerous express coaches call at Weymouth from points all over the country. London and the M25 are just three hours drive from Weymouth & Portland and the M5, providing links to Wales and the Midlands, is only an hour away.

Weymouth Harbour, situated on the South Coast, has two Marinas that are managed by the local Borough Council providing over 450 permanent berths. The two sets of pontoons consist mainly of individual finger berths. The North Quay site is a modern marina complete with fresh water supplies, lighting and electricity at each finger berth . The second set of pontoons on Westwey Road also houses a purpose-built marina but electricity is not currently available on all berths. There are chain and sinker moorings which are now restricted in allocation to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council residents only and therefore waiting times for non-residents is considerable. There are also a few alongside twin berths that can accomodate vessels under 6.5m. The Council offers berthing facilities at an extremely competitive price with berthing prices being amongst the cheapest on the South Coast.

Weymouth has so much to offer the visitor from it's heritage heartland where historical buildings, a restored Victorian Fort, pubs, restaurants, visitor attractions and museums merge with the new town centre shopping complex, 10 pin bowling and 9 screen multiplex cinema. An ever changing view and atmosphere of the bay, harbour and new marina awaits you.

Weymouth's crowning glory is its award-winning beach. It's safe, it's soft and it's sandy. The impressive sweep of the Georgian seafront houses a wide variety of hotels, restaurants and pubs, cafes and shops, small character shops and the new town shopping centre.

There are many outstanding coastal walks around Weymouth and Portland or just a short drive into the surrounding countryside to visit some of the many memorable locations, visit TE Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia's House or the frequently written and filmed about Thomas Hardy Countryside with the beautiful scenery as seen in the much acclaimed film "Far From The Madding Crowd".

Weymouth's fame as a seaside town goes back over 200 years to the times when King George III and the Royal family spent their holidays in the resort, making Weymouth "The First Resort".

Much of the countryside surrounding Weymouth has been designated an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" and in December 2001 received World Heritage Status. From the European Award-winning coastline of dramatic cliffs, quiet coves, shingle banks and sandy beaches, to the patchwork quilt landscape of fields and rolling hills, Dorset offers an unrivalled variety of moods and scenery.

The Great Western Railway became interested in establishing a service to link the Channel Islands to the port in 1857 when the Weymouth and Channel Islands Steam Packet Services began regular sailing schedules. In 1865 the railway line was extended to the Ferry Terminal to form a unique Quay Tramway with services to connect passenger ferries and also goods shipped by cargo vessels using the port. In 1889 the Great Western Railway began to operate its own ships causing rivalry between railway companies as the Southern Railway operated the port at Southampton. This rivalry terminated in 1960 when the Channel Island Service ceased from Southampton leaving Weymouth as the main UK port to serve interests with the Channel Islands.

One successful leisure operation out of Weymouth Harbour from the 1880s until 1967 was a fleet of paddle steamers operated by the local firm of Cosens and Co. They operated trips at various times as far afield as Dartmouth and the Isle of Wight and even across the Channel to Cherbourg and the Channel Islands. In her day, one of the fleet, the Monarch, built in 1888 was the largest excursion boat on the south coast. The main destinations for these services however were Bournemouth and Swanage. Although the coastal day tripper cruising trade is much diminished vessels do continue to visit Weymouth during the summer months including regular annual visits by the last ocean going paddle steamer in the world, the Waverley.

Weymouth and Portland has a huge amount of history both maritime, farming, military, rural and current. Visitors to Weymouth and Portland will find our museums make a great day out for all the family. A thousand years of history at your fingertips!

Weymouth and Portland boast a wealth of appealing open spaces from eye-catching flower beds along the seafront Esplanade and in formal gardens to country parks, informal greens and trails. It's easy to take these in on a leisurely walk around the Borough.

Planting of the new trees will be carried out during the winter months whilst the young trees are dormant. This will give them the best possible chance of survival. The next two or three years will be the critical period before they become established. If a tree is planted near you, please feel free to water it regularly throughout the summer.

The Parks Unit of Weymouth & Portland Borough Council looks after trees on public land only. Many other trees are planted on private land and it is important these are looked after too. Trees can be damaged by pollution, hard surfacing or bad surgery. Certain trees are protected by Tree Preservation Orders or are within Conservation Areas which also protect trees. There are heavy fines for destroying and for lopping protected trees so always check with the Council's Planning Department first!

Yachting in Weymouth BayThe UK's Olympic class waters of Weymouth and Portland provide an ideal location for a diversity of water based activities. A mecca for watersports, Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour are perfect venues to discover your 'sea legs'.

From the hottest watersports around - Kitesurfing and Powerkiting to Sailing and Windsurfing to Diving and Angling, there are activities to suit all members of the family.

Our superb faciities are acclaimed world wide and with the successful UK Olympic bid, Portland Habour will host the watersports and our new multi-million pound National Sailing Academy is looking forward to meeting the challenge. The Academy has already hosted many national and international watersport events along with the Olympic Sailing Trials.

Yachts at portland HarbourPortland's sheltered harbour provides a safe environment with excellent facilities for a wide variety of waterpsorts including kitesurfing, windsurfing, diving and sailing.

Weymouth Bay is a haven for watersports activities and, like Portland, provides a superb base. A large diving and fishing fleet is readily available to take you to the areas reputed to be excellent for your challenging sport. Weymouth Beach provides separate designated approach channels for water-skiing, windsurfing and personal watercraft, keeping bathers and craft safely apart. Weymouth is proud of its reputation as the "Event-Full Resort" and uses the prestige to introduce visitors to over 100 leisure-based activities. So, whether it's a sailing or diving course, windsurfing lesson or specialist coaching there is no finer water to get your feet wet in!