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West Bay Dorset Photographs
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Title: West Bay Harbour
Place: West Bay
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About: The entrance to West Bay Harbour has been altered significantly in recent years to allow boats easier access.
Photograph Added: 12th June 2006
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Title: Cliffs At West Bay
Place: West Bay
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About: These cliffs are normally bright in colour. Photographed here nearing sunset has made the cliffs even more spectacular.
Photograph Added: 12th June 2006
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View area map / aerial photograph.
About West Bay Dorset.
West Bay is located about one and half miles from Bridport on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset. The area was previously known as Bridport Harbour and it has two piers as well as two beaches with the east beach being part of the Chesil Beach. West Bay is near Eype with Seatown to the west and Freshwater with Burton Bradstock to the east
West Bay is a great seaside location for family holidays close to wonderful countryside and coastal walks. The area offers fossil hunting, fishing trips, scuba diving, river boating and many more leisure activities. Sometimes known as the Dinosaur Coast because of the exceptional fossils, West Bay's famous East Cliff sandstone exposes 180 million years of history. The writer Thomas Hardy made reference to West Bay in some of his books but under the changed name of 'Port Bredy'. The BBC filmed the TV drama 'Harbour Lights' in this area, starring Nick Berry, though West Bay was renamed 'Bridehaven' for the series.
The history of the harbour at West Bay dates back to the late 14th Century when a local merchant called John Huddersfield began the construction of a harbour. At this time the area was known as 'Bridport Harbour'. It was not until 1884 when the Bridport Railway was extended down to the harbour that the Great Western Railway decided to rename Bridport Harbour to West Bay. The shipbuilding industry was no longer a viable proposition in the area and the hope was to attract more seaside visitors with a new less industrial name.
As part of a coastal defence scheme £167 million has recently been spent to replace the West Pier and strengthen the existing East Pier and also develop a new outer harbour with slipway. This has been necessary as prevailing wind and sea currents have changed over the centuries and the harbour entrance had become impossible to navigatefor almost half of the year. A new West Pier built on a different angle like a ‘Banjo Pier’ configuration has hopefully solved this problem. Rock fortifications has also been used to hopefully protect West Bay from serious damage and flooding for at least the next fifty years. On 8th March 2005 HRH The Duke of York, Prince Andrew officially opened this new £17million Harbour Defence Scheme
West Bay is the ideal location for a family holiday as it is brimful of fun and activities and its busy waterfront with bright kiosk is usually buzzing in the summer.
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