Monday July 21, 2025
Sidenote: At last we went to sleep at a normal time and slept through the night. Turns out it takes us 6 days to get over jet lag!
Today we docked in Portland, England which is a military port. Because of this, you can’t just walk off the boat; you must get on a bus once you exit the ship. Conveniently there is a free shuttle that takes you into Portland first and then into Weymouth. I’m not sure if it is Princess providing it or the town, but either way, a free shuttle is my favourite kind of shuttle!
We decided not to stop in Portland as there wasn’t much that we wanted to see there and headed straight into Weymouth. This is a typical British Seaside resort in Dorset in the southern part of the island.
When we exited the shuttle we walked a few blocks and were in the downtown area. Our first stop was because the bridge was open to let a few boats through, so we had to wait until the bridge came down again!
Next we wandered into the main shopping area and quickly discovered food. We are definitely drawn to food on this trip. Steve picked up a meat pie that was warm and delicious and we also picked up some Bailey’s fudge. We took our purchases down to the waterfront (which is long and beautiful in this town) and found a bench to enjoy our breakfast. Might I just add that both of our food purchases were delicious!
My next move was to go touch the ocean. The beach was beautiful with fine soft sand. I did not expect that, and wondered if it was natural or if they shipped it in. I just looked it up and it is indeed natural. It is part of what they call the Jurassic Coast which has 185 million years of geological history!
Steve didn’t feel the need to touch the water so just watched me 😀 I can now say I’ve put my feet in Weymouth Bay which is connected to the English Channel. The water was quite cold, but that didn’t seem to stop many people from playing in the ocean. I wouldn’t say it’s as cold as the ocean at home… but close!
Side note: Hmmmm... this is making me think... I like to count the countries (I think we're only at 47... so many more to go!) we've been to. Maybe I should also try to count the bodies of water I've put my feet into?
Next we decided to walk along the waterfront. There is a beautiful wide promenade that stretches for approximately three miles! The beach has an amusement park with rides and games and many little cafes where you can pick up a drink, ice cream or a treat for your beach day.
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| They have these cute little canopies where you can sit to get out of the sun. |
There are many memorials to veterans and soldiers lost in a multitude of wars as you walk along the waterfront. One thing I learned is that Weymouth played a significant role in the D-Day landings. Over half a million troops passed through Weymouth and Portland harbours in the months leading up to D-Day.
One of the main features you see on the walk is a clock tower called the Jubilee Clock Tower.
It was built in 1888 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The tower was to be paid for by the people, but when they didn’t collect enough Sir Henry Edwards gave the clock tower as a gift. Is this kind fellow one of my ancestors? I don’t know! Perhaps I’m a descendant of an English sir!
You can also see the site where King George III use to come in the summer to “take the waters” for his health. This ended up making Weymouth a very popular seaside resort, because who doesn’t want to vacation where the king vacations? While he stayed in Weymouth, King George III stayed at Gloucester Lodge right on the seafront which was for a time a hotel, but has now been converted into flats.
We walked for a very long time along the promenade and ended up at a church with a statue of Queen Victoria in the front. We decided we would use this as our turnaround point as it was starting to look pretty residential after this. We couldn’t go into the church, as they were running some kid programs, but it looked quite lovely.
We walked back along the business side of the street which included restaurants, lots of B&B’s, shops and amusement arcades.
As we were walking we decided when we got back to the main shopping streets that we would get some more of that delicious fudge! We wandered through the shops (and bought more fudge!) and then decided to head over to the harbour to have a look.
We saw lots of boats of course and surprisingly a lot of families crabbing. They had lots of little rock crabs in their buckets. I’m not sure if it was just for the fun of it, or to eat, but it looked like you were going to need A LOT of crabs to get any sort of meal.
When we got to the end of the harbour we found a staircase heading up a hill. Of course we went up there! When you’re having a day of exploring in a new place you just go where looks interesting, and a mysterious staircase into the unknown is a must do!
At the top was a beautiful park (Nothe Gardens) and an area which led to Fort Nothe.
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| View back to Weymouth waterfront from the top of the hill. |
We didn’t go into the fort because it looked pretty small and was about $26 CAD per person to go inside. But in case you are interested it was built between 1860 and 1872 and houses a battery of cannons as part of the defences of Portland harbour. It is also apparently one of the best preserved forts of it’s kind in the country. If this is the kind of thing you are interested in, it might be worth the $26 for you 😀
Instead, we decided to walk down a nice residential street and came across a very cute and zen “Peace Garden”. It was originally the site of a burial ground that fell in disrepair, and was repurposed to be a place of calm and serenity.
We had a little wander in the garden and enjoyed the beautiful space. We were the only people there! That isn’t an easy task…to find a place where no one else is, when you and about 3500 other passengers descend from a cruise ship into a small town.
We headed down the hill and miraculously ended up right where our free shuttle bus back to the ship was ready to pick us up.
When we arrived back at the ship we had a little food, a nap and then watched a movie in our room.
Suddenly it was time for dinner. Because we decided to eat a little later today, we ended up at a shared table. Tonight the service was VERY slow (yesterday was so fast!) and dinner took forever! It took so long we didn’t actually make it to the first show, which was the plan. Instead we had to go to the 9:30 show. This show was called Magika. I’m not a fan of magic at the best of times… but I go because Steve likes it. In this case I have to say that neither of us were fans.
Next we headed to the comedy club which was pretty good… but not amazing.
And that ended our day in Weymouth. Tomorrow is a sea day as we sail across the Irish Sea towards the port of Cobh, Ireland.
Tuesday July 22, 2025 - Sea Day
Not much to report today. Just a day of relaxing, eating and enjoying the entertainment on board. The ship dancers and singers did a great show called Bravo which was very enjoyable in the evening.
I'm pleased to report that the water has been very calm so far! Feeling very lucky about this as someone who is prone to seasickness.
Celebrity Mistaken Identity Counter = 2
Today in the buffet on the cruise ship, one of the servers came over to our table and asked Steve if he was on TV. A little puzzled at first Steve wasn't sure what he meant. Then he explained that he and his manager (he points over to the side) think he's Gordon Ramsay. Also not the first time this has happened! I don't see it myself, but many other people do! Photos below for you to decide for yourself...
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