Portland Easter ´06

Heading West

The Isle of Portland lies about a mile off the south coast connected to the mainland by a pebble causeway and Chesil Beach. The natural bowl formed by Portland and Weymouth have been used as a Naval harbour for centuries and was in active use by the Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence until the early Nineties.

Portland has always been a haven for divers and sailors of all types, and has recently seen some major redevelopment to the area to entice even more tourists.

As Dorset is one of Britain’s more rural counties reaching Portland requires a bit more time than one would imagine. From London the scubafish group took the A3 to Portsmouth, we then transferred to the A27/M27 heading west toward Southampton where the Motorway turns into the A31. Using the A31 and A35 the convoy headed toward Ringwood and Dorchester, finally arriving in Portland on the A354 with a journey time of around 3hrs 15 minutes.

A place to lay your head.

Accommodation for the weekend was provided by the Beach House guest house in Chiswell, which can be found directly on the approach into Portland. The Guest house is a family run business, providing a friendly personal service on a bed and breakfast basis. All rooms are clean and well appointed, with their own en-suit bathrooms. A Private bar and lounge is provided for guests, a useful place for completing logs after a long days diving.

The are a variety of pubs an restaurants in the area that cater for every need, notable mention however is Portland Roads Hotel.