West Bay (England) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

West Bay, formerly known as Bridport Harbour, is situated approximately two miles from the centre of Bridport

Bridport

Bridport is a market town in Dorset, England. Located near the coast at the western end of Chesil Beach at the confluence of the River Brit and its Asker and Simene tributaries, it originally thrived as a fishing port and rope-making centre...

on the Jurassic Coast

Jurassic Coast

The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. The site stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of ....

in Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, England, and is at the confluence of the River Brit

River Brit

The River Brit is a river located in west Dorset, England which flows into the English Channel. It rises just to the north of Beaminster and then flows south to Bradpole and Bridport, where it is joined by its tributaries, the River Simene and River Asker...

.

It has a fairly small harbour, two pier

Pier

A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...

s and two beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

es. The east beach is part of the Chesil Beach

Chesil Beach

Chesil Beach, sometimes called Chesil Bank, in Dorset, southern England is one of three major shingle structures in Britain. Its toponym is derived from the Old English ceosel or cisel, meaning "gravel" or "shingle"....

. West Bay and Chesil Beach make up part of the Jurassic Coast world heritage site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

, a title that has been much vaunted locally since it was conferred by UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

on the beautiful and varied geography of the southern coast.

Records of West Bay's harbour history can be traced back to the 13th century when sluices were constructed across the mouth of the River Brit to form a navigable entrance. The Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

reached Bridport in 1857, resulting in the decline of Bridport Harbour and its renaming as West Bay. Local business men including the archaeologist Augustus Pitt Rivers

Augustus Pitt Rivers

Lieutenant-General Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt Rivers was an English army officer, ethnologist, and archaeologist. He was noted for his innovations in archaeological methods, and in the museum display of archaeological and ethnological collections.-Life and career:Born Augustus Henry Lane-Fox at...

and the Earl of Ilchester

Earl of Ilchester

Earl of Ilchester, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1756 for Stephen Fox, 1st Baron Ilchester, who had previously represented Shaftesbury in Parliament. He had already been created Baron Ilchester, of Ilchester in the County of Somerset in 1741, and Baron Ilchester and...

funded an extension to the harbour, which was completed by 1883. Subsequently they established the West Bay Building Company to build villas and lodging houses for visitors. Only a terrace of ten lodging houses was completed, designed by the Arts and Crafts Movement

Arts and Crafts movement

Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...

architect Edward Schroeder Prior

Edward Schroeder Prior

Edward Schroeder Prior was an architect who was instrumental in establishing the arts and crafts movement. He was one of the foremost theorists of the second generation of the movement, writing extensively on architecture, art, craftsmanship and the building process and subsequently influencing...

in 1885. The terrace remains a prominent feature of the harbourside.

Construction work has recently finished to replace the west pier and rebuild the east pier. The new west pier has been named the Jurassic Pier. This is part of a new coastal defence

Coastal management

In some jurisdictions the terms sea defense and coastal protection are used to mean, respectively, defense against flooding and erosion...

scheme and also extends the facilities of the harbour with a new slip way and outer harbour. After the construction work, a small regeneration scheme is in operation, with new housing being planned around the harbour area.

This is due to the rough weather during the winter, with a high tide coinciding with westerly gales and high rainfall causing, in 1974, the entire bay area to flood.

West Bay was also the location of a television series by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

called Harbour Lights, which aired in 1999 and 2000 and starred Nick Berry

Nick Berry

Nicholas "Nick" Berry is a British television actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Simon Wicks in the British soap opera EastEnders from 1985 to 1990 and as PC Nick Rowan in the British drama television series Heartbeat from 1992 to 1998.-Career:Berry started acting at the age of...

. In addition, the beach was used in the introduction to the BBC

BBC

television series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is a series of novels which developed into a British sitcom starring Leonard Rossiter in the title role...

.

West Bay has a number of local caravan

Travel trailer

A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...

and camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

sites, as well as hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

s and B&B

Bed and breakfast

A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...

s both in the bay and in surrounding villages such as Burton Bradstock

Burton Bradstock

Burton Bradstock is a village in south west Dorset, England. The village has a population of 979 . Situated on the Chesil Beach, east of Bridport the village nestles around the church of St...

.

There is also the Bridport and West Dorset Golf Club situated on top of the east cliff (in the photograph) just a short walk from West Bay with a full 18-hole course and 9-hole "pitch and putt" course in the summer season.

There are lots of fishing trips available in the summer, including deep sea fishing. Boats can also be hired to row up the River Brit towards Bridport.

The bay has a number of kiosks, serving traditional fish and chips

Fish and chips

Fish and chips is a popular take-away food in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada...

, often with locally caught fish. There are also a few pubs, café

Café

A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...

s, and restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

s, the most notable of which is the Riverside Restaurant

Riverside Restaurant

The Riverside Restaurant is a seafood restaurant in West Bay, England. The building is situated on a causeway and as such the dining area is on two levels with views of the river and beyond to the sea. In 2006, The Guardian newspaper placed it at the top of the list of its Top 5 seafood...

, which has been voted by The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...

as one of its top ten seafood

Seafood

Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...

restaurants.

See also