Location: Isle of Portland
Top Things to do in Isle of Portland
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What to do and see in Isle of Portland, England: The Best Museums
The Isle of Portland is a limestone tied island, 4 miles (6 km) long by 1.7 miles (2.7 km) wide, in the English Channel. Portland is 5 miles (8 km) south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier beach called Chesil Beach joins it to the mainland. The A354 road passes down the Portland end of the beach and then over the Fleet Lagoon by bridge to the mainland. Portland and Weymouth together form the borough of Weymouth and Portland. The population of Portland is 12,400.
Restaurants in Isle of Portland
1. Castletown D-Day Centre
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 354 reviews
The Castletown D-Day Centre is a family friendly, interactive WWII museum that tells the story of the thousands of US military personnel who in June 1944 sailed from Dorset to the beaches of Normandy.
Reviewed By FamilyManWessex
A great WW2 museum where you are invited to touch guns and sit in and on the vehicles including a jeep, motorbike and sidecar troop carriers anti-aircraft gun and Sherman tank. Really friendly and helpful staff. A great family experience for our children aged between 5 and 15.
2. Portland Bill Lighthouse
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,492 reviews
For nearly 300 years a lighthouse has stood on Portland Bill to guide vessels heading for Portland and Weymouth and acting as a waymark for vessels navigating in the English Channel. A red sector light warns mariners of the hazardous Shambles Bank lying three miles offshore. Tours of Portland Bill Lighthouse are organised by AMH Support Services under licence from the Corporation of Trinity House.
Reviewed By SophieParry97 - Birmingham, United Kingdom
Me and my partner visited last week on a beautiful sunny day, lighthouse was very easy to find, beautiful scenery. Car park nearby was fairly priced, plenty of spaces available. Due to arriving late on the site we were unable to visit the shop underneath the lighthouse although the place was neatly presented from outside. I believe the option to climb up the lighthouse wasn't available due to the current corona virus pandemic. Upon exploring the surrounding area the entire site was litter free and well maintained, pulpit rock was also a very short walk from the lighthouse which was an interesting monument to visit. I thoroughly enjoyed the visit and am planning to return with my friends at a later date, definitely recommend!
3. Portland Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 200 reviews
Dinosaurs, shipwrecks and smugglers, Roman and Viking invasions, stone carving, seafaring, ground breaking scientists and world-famous authors, Portland museum packs in an astonishing collection that reflects the history and people of this exceptional island community! Portland Museum is a gem – tucked away in a beautiful corner of the island in two cottages dating to the seventeenth century, a stone’s throw from Rufus Castle and the stunning Church Ope Cove, on the South West Coast Path Although joined to the mainland by a tombolo, a wave formed beach, the island has always been regarded, and self-identified, as somewhere different and the museum’s collection reflects this. Staffed by volunteers from the local community, Portland Museum looks forward to welcoming visitors eager to find out about author Thomas Hardy and museum founder Dr Marie Stopes’ connections to the island. Portland Museum has something to interest everyone!
Reviewed By DonC567 - Saint Thomas, Canada
A diversity of exhibits of historical findings discoved in the local area including early Roman items, fossils, ship wrecks dating back to Viking explorers, etc. Dr. Marie Stopes, the founder of the museum, had an interesting life from the education field (double PHDs), political career, social advocate of birth control, etc. Well before her time!
4. The Grove Prison Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 37 reviews
Reviewed By 814steveg
This an interesting little museum, packed with artefacts relating to life in the prison/borstal/YOI. The volunteer curators and former prison officers, Paul and John, provided an excellent level of knowledge and many interesting stories of prison life. Doesn't take much time to see, so do pop in and have a chat with them if you're in the area.
5. Lyn Kirkland
One to one Workshops at my Studio on the beautiful Isle of Portland. Learn how to create highly textured paintings using the ancient medium of molten beeswax. Layers of pigmented wax are fused to a wooden panel and can be incised, embed photography and ephemera, buff to a high gloss. This workshop is suitable for practising Artists or complete novices. Interpret the Jurassic Coast in Wax.
6. Art on Paper
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