When ever I say Portland Bill, for some reason I imagine it to be some sort of kids show? Portland Bill, Portland Bill, and his black and white dog... (well, I know Postman Pat has a cat so...)
Titles make it sound more official, don't you think? I always think so. Anyhow, so, we went out for an afternoon visit to Portland Bill Lighthouse. The main reason we did, we needed to get out for an afternoon and it's around 50 minutes down the coast. We'd never been there, which was another plus. Finally, a few weeks ago, I saw a house was for sale over there, with a view of the lighthouse and see - so, although we ruled it out as limited for our sons SEND, we wanted to look what the place was like.
When I say, look what it was like I mean from the outside as we wouldn't book to look round as that would be wasting the time of someone else. Just in case you are wondering about this house now, I know you are, here is an image of the houses where one is for sale, followed by a view from over here.
Of course, the main reason for us going was to check out what it was like over at Portland Bill Lighthouse, not just to check out that house - that was the last thing we did just before going. By the way, in case you're over there - there are some swings by those houses which were empty, so the kids had some time on the swings; just something to remember if you go that way.
I must say, on my first visit, I am quite impressed with this coastline. There is no sandy beach so don't expect to sit on there sunning yourself. It's a very dramatic bit of coastline. It’s got some great rock formations with crashing waves; a fantastic place for taking some photos. Not so good if your kids are into beaches though. Personally, I was very impressed and I know, at least, our daughter loved the clambering over some rocks. My son found some small stones to play with, he has a sensory thing at the moment where he likes dropping things through his fingers, so sand and small stones, etc are perfect.
You can see from these photos I took just how nice and dramatic it is; by the way, this is just a small number compared to the 60 or so I took - many of the surf breaking on the rocks.
Very impressive rock formation, but what about this for dramatic coastline
As I say, if you're looking for some dramatic coastline. Of course, there is more than just a few rocks. You can go for a long walk along the coastal path, walking along the top of this Dramagic Jurassic Coastline - I'm in a rhyming mood today, even though it is a dramatic Jurassic coastline.
The lighthouse itself is also very impressive. Of course, it would need to be as it needs to warn boats of these rocks of this, sticky out part of the south coast. You can pay to go inside, we didn't so I am not sure what you get to see. My son wouldn't enjoy it, and as he is non-verbal he can't explain what he is scared about with those smaller spaces (it's the reason we have not been on a plane for 3 years).
Anyhow, if you're wondering what this lighthouse actually looks like then take a peek at these next 2 images
Walking along the coastal path in the direction away from that great big rock in the sea, you come to some, well, some; I'm not sure if they were boat houses, beach huts (with no beach) or small huts you can stay in. Dotted around by them were small boats, boats people use to row out - which to me seemed quite a scary thought.
It's possible that these are just places around for a decorative feel; I did capture some in that, kind of, 'I'm taking artsy photos' type of way.
I think that the crane was used to put the boats in the sea. I'm not sure how much use it gets these days, other than some blokes sitting on there with a rod and some bears. Still, its an interesting structure.
It's not to say that the coastline over that side is any less dramatic because it's not
And that brings me back to the first images of the houses as they are more or less directly behind me when I took this image, well behind and too my left.
I know what you want to know. Do you need to pee around the back of a rock? Are you able to drink anything other than sea water? Well, the car park has some facilities - i.e. they have a toilet. I believe there is a disabled toilet too, however, I did not see that. The car park itself is quite reasonable, we paid £2 for 2 hours. I believe you can even pay for 24 hours on there and I believe it said that was just £8. So great if you have a camper van.
There is a cafe there, though that is a little more expensive. We paid £3.25 (well £6.50 as we had to) for some carton of chips. This wasn't a massive portion. They do burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches etc. also - but they are not so cheap.
There is also a pub not far up, easy walking distance, up by the houses. We did not go in, so I am not sure of the price.
Over all, I thought it was a nice few hours. I enjoyed the walk. I enjoyed the coastline. As its only around 50 minutes drive from me, I will be going again. I would say its worth a visit. I would say, take your own food and drink. Over all, if your in the area, I would say pay it a visiti if you love coastal walks next to some great, dramatic coastline - with the odd bit of seaspray to cool you down.
Have you been there? If so, why not leave a comment below tellling me and everyone else what you thought of it there.
This looks so beautiful, definitely helped by the weather but the coast looks amazing!
It certainly way. Think it will be worth another visit - just to see the surf on the rocks