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Dorchester 2: Footing the Portland Bill

Posted on 30 September 20212 October 2021 by Rob Ainsley

With rain and very strong winds forecast for today, I scaled down my plans for an eighty-mile research ride to, er, eight miles. Instead of heading out to the Jurassic Coast out Lyme Regis way, I’d stay on Portland itself, hopping down to the Bill: the southernmost point of the entire south coast, except for, er, all of Devon and Cornwall.

Southern Spain? Gibraltar from La Linea? No, Portland from the causeway road to Weymouth

Porland is sometimes dubbed the ’Gibraltar of Wessex’; half-close your eyes and it looks strikingly similar, a rocky island tenuously linked to the mainland by narrow sandy flats. But no ’apes’ here, of course, and the beer’s much better. I cycled up the steep hill to the top of the island, where there’s a cafe (closed) Tourist Information kiosk (closed) bar (closed) and restaurant (closed).

Give me a ring: Olympic monument on Portland

There’s also an ancient monument that commemorates a time when Britain was an international power, confident and collaborative on the world stage: the Olympic Rings from 2012, when Weymouth hosted the sailing events. There’s a commanding view from here down to Chesil Beach and the harbour waters busy with kitesurfers and other wetsuit wearers.

Rock on: Cycling through Tout Quarry in search of a Gormley

I had a nose round the adjacent Tout Quarry, with its half-hearted and rather missable (in all senses) ’sculpture park’ (I couldn’t find the Antony Gormley, but it looks a bit of an early hamfisted effort anyway from what I can see online).

So, the Bill, please. As so often, it proved bigger than I expected. I followed the road through fringe-feeling settlements down to the tip, which had an almost Hebridean edge-of-the-world look to it.

Portland Bill: Beyond there, the EU, or something

I enjoyed the gusty extremity of it all: obelisk, lighthouse, old lighthouse now repurposed as birding spot, and not-yet-open pub (just as well: heavy rain could have persuaded me to stay there all afternoon).

Quick walk round the block: Portland Bill Obelisk

I pedalled back to the north of the island to find a cafe for lunch, but only found the Cove House Inn again. Reluctantly, I treat myself to a burger and chips and two more pints of Jurassic, at a window seat inside this time, watching the timeless waves crash furiously against the beige concrete prom outside.

I rather like Portland.

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