For Beach Bums, Sun Worshippers and Everyone Else! (Weymouth Beach)

Member Name: chrisandmark

Product:	Weymouth Beach
Date:	31/10/06 (1239 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The sand sculptures are brilliant, gorgeously clean sand, donkey rides

Disadvantages: None at all

After spending a few idyllic days in Weymouth, I realised how special the beach is. I’m not a sun worshipper, preferring to spend my holidays actually doing something rather than lying on a towel with sand getting in all… well, everywhere. Weymouth Beach caters for everyone; beach bums who want a game of Frisbee, kids wanting to build sandcastles, more active beachgoers.

The beach is fantastic for those long morning walks; one end is made up of large pebbles but the further you walk, it’ll gradually turn from pebbles to gravel and finally to a beautifully textured sand. It’s definitely interesting, and for such a short distance it makes me wonder how the sea manages to keep dropping the pebbles in the right spot while keeping the sand undisturbed!

I actually prefer the pebbly section of the beach; I’m not one for lying in the sun all day and while the sand feels glorious on my feet after a dip, I’d much rather walk on the pebbles and check out the rock pools. The pools left when the tide has gone out varies from day to day, but roughly halfway up the main pebble beach is a pile of massive rocks. Just behind these rocks is where you’ll usually find the deepest and most interesting rock pools – I saw some tiny fish, loads of crabs and a couple of baby eels but a lad who obviously lived in the area said sometimes the pools are so deep there are lobsters crawling around in them!

The beach will gradually get busier with more structured entertainment as you walk closer to the sand section. Here you can hire a deckchair for £1.60 a day, or use one of the free beach huts when the heat gets too much for you. There’s plenty of room for lying your towel down and relaxing for an hour and a big craze of this beach is those mini beach tents which you kind of sit your bum in and lean forward through the opening. Very odd.

One of the very last few Punch & Judy shows is here at Weymouth Beach. It’s been a popular attraction here for many years; shows run three times a day and they’re absolutely brilliant. You’re asked to leave a donation of 80p for watching the show, and it’s worth this (and more) just to hear ‘That’s the way to do it’ in Mr Punch’s fantastic voice! The Punch & Judy booth is located close to an ice cream kiosk, which is excellent positioning as standing in the summer sun watching a puppet show is hard work sometimes so an ice cream or can of pop is definitely called for.

For the kids’ there’s a decent size funfair on the beach featuring mini bungee-style jumps, a row of large trampolines, on-the-beach tuition in a range of sports including volleyball and general exercises – a mini carousel and small play area for very young children make this one of the most family friendly beaches I’ve ever visited. The donkey rides are excellent; for £1 your little darling can go off on a gorgeous little donkey and walk to the sea and back up to the edge of the beach (along a dedicated ‘donkey track’) not once, but three times! Cracking value for money, on a recent weekend in Wales I paid £1.50 for what was literally a two minute ride along a grotty section of the beach.

Also try to visit the sand sculptures which are located on the sandy section of the beach. These are amazingly detailed models of Spongebob Square Pants and Pirates of the Caribbean characters, made out of Weymouth sand and lightly painted to both set the sand and give the statues a more realistic colour. Mark Anderson is the present Weymouth sculptor, and he took on this position from his granddad who was the original Weymouth sand master.

The tide isn’t too much to worry about; Weymouth is located in a type of massive bay and doesn’t exactly lie in open sea. Oh yes, the sea I was paddling in was definitely the sea but it’s a tamer version. I always find the sea at Weymouth Beach to be very calm and clear, with the only indication of an approaching tidal turn being slightly bumpy waves as they hit the beach. The tide does come in, but not all the way to edge of the narrow beach and even at night there’s still a large expanse of beach which hasn’t been covered with water. I love walking on the beach just as the tide is going out because the water leaves behind some beautiful shells and pebbles, not to mention starfish and the occasional turtle!

You can buy food to eat on the beach from one of several ice cream kiosks, or pop across the road and buy a delicious crab salad baguette to take back over with you. A guy walks along the beach sometimes selling cockles and crayfish tails out of a basket, but he wasn’t there this time around – which was a shame as his tiger prawns are the freshest I’ve ever tasted!

Dogs are welcome on certain sections of the beach, but remember it gets very hot when you’re sitting in the sun near the water so don’t forget to take a flask of water and a bowl for your pooch to cool down after chasing a ball along the sand for hours. Also, you much clean up after your dog – (smelly) bins are provided for you to put your dogs mess but there really isn’t much shade so think twice before bringing Rex on a day out to the beach with you.

Within walking distance of the beach is the main Weymouth beach front shopping area, specialising in anything and everything the average tourist would want to buy from I ‘heart’ Weymouth magnets to wetsuits. Also a multitude of pubs, newsagents and fish & chip shops are close enough for you to run across from your spot on the sand without it feeling like you’re walking to another country.

The M5 motorway will take you practically all the way to Weymouth; simply get off at Junction 26 and follow first the signs for Weymouth itself and then the beach or harbour signs which are clearly placed from all directions. If you live in a main city then its worth enquiring about coach trips to Weymouth, all of which allow a couple of hours in your planned day to sit and relax on the beach.

Summary: When in Weymouth, visit the beach!