Isle Of Portland Dorset Photographs

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Title: Looking in the Direction of Weymouth Place: Isle Of Portland Please select a size: 640x480 - 800x600 - 1024x768 More information on using wallpapers is available here. About: From the Chesil Bank there are views across to Weymouth the bank provides shelter from the prevailing winds and waves for the town of Weymouth and the village of Chiswell. Photograph Added: 26th July 2007

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Title: The Chesil Bank Place: Isle Of Portland Please select a size: 640x480 - 800x600 - 1024x768 More information on using wallpapers is available here. About: On the drive from Weymouth to Portland very few people can fail to be impressed by the Chesil Bank or Beach the pebbles themselves form a high ridge and stretch for miles. Photograph Added: 29th June 2007

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Title: Chesil Bank Place: Isle Of Portland Please select a size: 640x480 - 800x600 - 1024x768 More information on using wallpapers is available here. About: The Chesil Beach is just as it says a great bank of pebbles. It is nearly 20 kilometres in length and links the Isle of Portland to the mainland. The pebbles are sorted by waves breaking on the beach and this results in the pebbles at the Island end ...... Photograph Added: 11th June 2007

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Title: Rough Going Place: Isle Of Portland Please select a size: 640x480 - 800x600 - 1024x768 More information on using wallpapers is available here. About: The seas off Portland are rarely calm and this fishing boat, registered in Weymouth, looks to be having a rough time. People fishing from boats, that are new to the area, should be very aware of the strong tides in the region and study the local char...... Photograph Added: 11th June 2007

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Title: Portland Museum Place: Isle Of Portland Please select a size: 640x480 - 800x600 - 1024x768 More information on using wallpapers is available here. About: Portland Museum is to be found in thatched 17th century cottages above Church Ope Cove There are exhibitions on shipwrecks and smuggling, a fossil collection with a garden, picnic area and shop. Photograph Added: 11th June 2007

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About Isle Of Portland Dorset.

Portland is called "The Isle of Portland" but it is connected to the mainland of Dorset by Chesil a fifteen mile bank of shingle that forms a narrow neck of land so Portland is technically a peninsula. Today a causeway leads to this beautiful and interesting place. Portland measures approximately 4.5 miles by 1.75 miles and at its farthest point stands Portland Bill where there is a 136 foot lighthouse erected in 1903-06. The sea can be very treacherous around Portland and it is very rare to visit without at least a stiff breeze and quite often a blustery gale blowing around the interesting rock formations. One of these formations is a huge detached block of stone known as Pulpit Rock.

The history and occupation of Portland has been traced back over 7,000 years and it is reported that the Romans called Portland, Vindilis, although no documented evidence has been found to support this. It is known however that Thomas Hardy based The Isle of Slingers on Portland with the Street of Wells representing Fortuneswell and The Beal is Portland Bill. The Portland islanders were referred to as slingers because they threw stones to protect .themselves and their island

Quarrying for Portland Stone was and to a certain extent still is a major industry for Portland. Many famous buildings all over the world including The United Nation Headquarters in New York and St. Paul's Cathedral in London are constructed of the fine white Portland stone.

The citadel or fortress on Portland was built in 1860 - 72 to house a garrison of 700 men and it was solidly fortified with 30 ton guns. Today Verne prison stands on this spot with impressive defences including deep-stone lined ditches which were left when stone was quarried for the harbour, High Angle batteries close by with large earthworks. Verne became a prison in 1949 and is a class C training prison for adult males.

Thomas Hardy described Portland as a "huge lump of freestone" hardly a complimentary description for so varied a landscape. The best way to view all the interesting scenery the "Isle" has to offer is to walk the coast path that goes most of the way around.

A lot of websites on the Internet give detailed accounts of the "Islands" geology which is so rich and varied that this part of Dorset's Jurassic Coast has been designated a Special Site of Scientific Interest. Rare plants, butterflies and birds also add to the interest and shipwrecks can be seen in some of the small coves.