We often stay at West Bay Cottage ourselves. Here are some of the things we get up to time and time again on nice and easy days. All just a short stroll away:
Sit on the front garden bench with a coffee in the morning sun.
Walk to the end of the Jurassic Pier and breathe in the sea air.
Pop into the West Bay Discovery Centre to uncover a little of West Bay’s story. They have changing exhibitions alongside the permanent displays so it’s worth going back whenever there is something new.
Stroll around the harbour and look at the boats and all the busy fishing and crabbing activity.
Visit Watch House Café on East Beach for breakfast or lunch. Sit outside with views across the bay.
Walk up and down East Pier and probably take another photo of the cliffs (to add to the hundreds I’ve already taken!).
Visit Sladers Yard and admire the beautiful furniture, art, and craftsmanship.
Eat atRubicon Kitchen harbourside shack. It’s a wonderful lunchtime spot for fresh fish by the harbour.
Relax on East Beach beside the golden cliffs, sitting on the sand with a book and the sound of the sea.
Paddleboard from East Beach when the sea is calm (though this is very occasional!).
Pick up some pasties from the Cornish Bakery for an easy lunch.
Treat myself (or more likely my daughter) to Le Bon Shoppe socks from Sea Purslane. They’re addictive!
Walk along West Beach, listen to the waves rolling over the pebbles. Choose an interesting stone or two to leave in the front garden.
Decide on an ice cream flavour from Baboo Gelato. Eat it sitting by the harbour or in the cottage’s back garden, trying not to attract seagulls.
Have a go on the rope swing in the play area. It says it has an age limit of 99 so it’s practically mandatory.
Wander around the Customs House vintage emporium – mostly tat, but worth a browse if you’ve got time on your hands.
Circle the Welcome Hub looking at all the motorbikes, especially on a sunny Sunday. This one is much more my husband’s thing.
Stop for cake and tea, or earlier for breakfast, at West Bay Tea Rooms. Or drop in for an emergency takeaway slice of carrot cake for revising daughter!
Sit outside on the riverside terrace at The George for an early evening drink.
For a special occasion, splurge a little on supper in an old railway carriage atPlatform Restaurant.
Pick up burgers and cheesecake from Platform, or pizza from The Palour Pizzeria, for a takeaway back at the cottage.
End the day watching the sunset over the sea. A perfect way to slow down and relax.
Drop your own local tips in the comments – we’d love to hear them 🙂
If you fancy doing your own thing in West Bay and you haven’t yet booked accommodation we’d like to welcome you to West Bay Cottage. Take a look inside the cottage, or head to our Book With Us page for availability, the rates and how to book.
If you go down to the Bay this spring you can’t miss the elephants. All together there are more than thirty of them to be seen across several West Dorset locations including Burton Bradstock, Lyme Regis, Bridport as well as West Bay. Each elephant has been painted by a different artist. The public art trail, called Stampede by the Sea, is a collaboration between local charity Weldmar Hospicecare and public art trail producer Wild in Art.
The trail will be running until May 25th, with maps available online and on a Stampede by the Sea app. You can also pick up a map or buy your own knitted elephant at The Trail HQ which is sited at the Salt House in the harbour. In June every elephant will be auctioned by Dukes Auctioneers to raise funds for the charity.
Here are some of the West Bay herd. Which one is your favourite?
Some more spotted in Bridport. This one covered in rope outside the museum is very clever.
The weather forecast takes on an extra significance when you’re on holiday. You don’t want to see grey clouds and raindrops. We hope you’ll be spending your holiday under clear blue skies but help is at hand if rain does make an unwelcome appearance. Read on for some local attractions and activities that are perfect to make the most of a wet and windy day.
You may believe that there is no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong clothes. Indeed we’ve been out in a gale with near horizontal rain and waves crashing over us on the pier and it’s been a lot of fun, rather salty and very memorable. This photo is not a black and white one! But this post is not for the (foolhardy?) all-weather adventurers, it’s for people who want to stay warm and dry, especially if you have a family to entertain who may not share a love of the great wet outdoors.
Go Ten-Pin Bowling
The Jurassic Fun Centre at Freshwater Beach Holiday Park in Burton Bradstock has six full-sized American 10-pin bowling lanes. Do ring to book ahead.
Go Swimming
You’ll not stay dry but you will keep under cover if you go to the Jurassic Fun Centre to visit their indoor pools, best for younger children with slides and other water features. Again ring to check availability and book.
Bridport Leisure Centre has a 25-metre, six-lane main pool. They also have fun sessions with inflatables, see the timetable on their website.
Visit A Soft Play Centre
If you’ve small children then rain doesn’t need to stop play with several indoor soft play areas in the area.
Bridport’s latest indoor soft play centre is the Reef Soft Play at Seal’s Cove. Suitable for primary school children (aged 12 and under) it has a sectioned off specifically for children aged 0-3 years. Also at Seal’s Cove, for older children (from 5+) and adults, is Jurassic Ridge, South West’s newest indoor climbing centre. The centre has routes for beginners and stronger climbers too. You can grab a drink and watch all the action from the viewing galleries too.
Vurlands Animal Farm and the Eggcup has a soft play area in their Play Barn. Their tearoom serves delicious home-cooked lunches and cream teas.
The Community Waffle House in Axminster has created a small indoor soft play area for under 4’s. They also have some retro computer games older children can enjoy, plus a library of board games. Not forgetting the waffles of course.
See A Film
In Bridport the Electric Palace shows films occasionally. The nearest multiscreen is the Odeon in Dorchester.
Visit A Museum
Still looking for something family friendly? We have the award winning West Bay Discovery Centre just a few minutes walk away but if you want a day trip there’s loads of museums in Lyme, Dochester and beyond.
In East Devon there’s the Beer Quarry Caves. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like when you’re in a cave!
Enjoy Some Live Music
Have a look at what’s going on locally. Check out the guides for the Electric Palace and Bridport Arts Centre. Many of the local pubs and bars have live music regularly too, with some starting in the afternoon at weekends. A good bet is The Ropemakers. Look at Lemonrock to see listings for the area.
For Antique And Vintage Lovers
It may be too wet for the alfresco courtyard café but you will stay dry wandering around The Customs House Emporium, housed in an old listed warehouse near East Beach in West Bay. Lots of individual traders sell an eclectic mix of stuff, both old and new.
Antique and vintage lovers should also make a beeline to The Alleyways Bridport Antiques Centre in the Art & Vintage Quarter on St Michael’s trading estate in Bridport. It has 50 traders under one roof and is open every day.
For Art Lovers
From The Alleyways you can also visit the large art gallery Global Art Galleries and Bridport Vintage Warehouse at Unit 61. It has paintings for sale by a range of different artists with an eclectic and extensive number by the world’s most prolific reformed art forger, William ‘Billy The Brush’ Mumford. Painting versions of the works of many famous painters and passing them off as originals, he was eventually jailed for two years after putting more than £6 million in fake works through some of the art world’s best-known auction houses. He now recreates pieces legitimately under his own name.
Just around the corner from the cottage the art gallery at Sladers Yard sells contemporary British art, very lovely and expensive handmade furniture designed by local craftsman Petter Southall and designer craft by leading artists, designers and makers. Downstairs you can eat locally produced lunches, snacks and cakes in the gorgeous rustic café.
You can shelter from grey skies within the white walls and vibrant works of Artwave West, a contemporary art gallery based in Morcombelake, Dorset, just a short drive from Bridport. The gallery exhibits a frequently changing, collated and diverse range of British and international award-winning contemporary artists.
For Beer Lovers
Palmers Brewery have been brewing ales non-stop since the 18th century in the lovely old thatched brewery on the way into Bridport from West Bay. Take a tour and as you walk through the buildings you will learn about each of the stages involved in the process before a spot of beer tasting at the end. Tours run daily at 11am, Monday to Friday all year round and last two hours. Book in advance.
Put Your Feet Up!
Of course, you could always stay dry and warm by staying in before venturing out when the rain dies down. Light the woodburner and relax with a good book perhaps, you’re on holiday. If you’ve read all this and haven’t yet booked accommodation for your trip to the area, we’d love to welcome you to West Bay Cottage. Take a look inside the cottage if you wish, or head to our Book With Us page for availability, the rates and how to book.
Bridport is only a five minute drive away, or a twenty-five minute stroll from our cottage. You can find many of the well known high street shop names there, including banks, supermarkets, newsagents and chemists. But what makes shopping in Bridport different from any old generic high street is its many independent shops and market. It’s a cool place to wander around.
The Market
You can easily spend a morning browsing Bridport’s street market, held every Wednesday and Saturday. Friendly traders fill the pavements in front of the shops of South, East and West Streets with stalls selling books, ancient tools, clothing, furniture, pots, vintage jewellery, flowers and plants, local foods, books, bric-a-brac, brass things, antiques and various other curiosities and miscellaneous items. Think of it a cross between a traditional market and a flea market. Definitely worth a rummage through some junk to find your treasure!
On most market days between February and September there is live music for shoppers in Bucky Doo Square in front of the Town Hall. The town also has a monthly Farmer’s Market at the Arts Centre and a Vintage Market within the Art and Vintage Quarter in St Michael’s Trading Estate.
The Shops
Don’t worry if it’s not a market day, there are lots of interesting shops to explore. These include a huge Toymaster toyshop (where we spent many hours when our daughter was little), several galleries, a yarn and a sewing shop, a shop devoted to hats (T Snooks), a hardware shop, a music shop and several book shops. The Book Shop, housed in a building that dates back to the 1830s, is a Bridport institution with an extensive Dorset section. Who could resist a second-hand bookshop called Wild and Homeless Books? For a unique gift Malabar Trading on South Street is a treasure trove of Asian textiles, jewellery and ceramics. Bridport is recognised as a Beacon Town for the quality and variety of its locally produced food. Alongside several supermarkets there are smaller groceries and independent butchers, bakers and green grocers. One of them, R Balson, is Britain’s oldest family business.
The Art & Vintage Quarter
Situated near to the centre of town is the Art & Vintage Quarter where you’ll find The Alleyways with over 50 traders under one roof. You’ll be surrounded by artists, sign writers and artisans plus a collection of antique, vintage and retro shops. A place you can happily lose yourself and drift back in time. If you are keen on collecting vinyl you’ll wonder where the time has gone after stepping into Clocktower Music. Enjoy it all while you can as there are plans afoot to convert some of the space into housing.
Getting There
When you holiday in our cottage it’s worth making a few trips to Bridport. The downside of the lively, busy market is trying to park on Saturday mornings. It’s best to get there early or walk. There is a choice of ways to walk from West Bay. You can head up the same way as the cars but it’s more interesting to follow the old railway line footpath from the play area. Or you can take the footpath at the back of the local caravan site. This path goes through fields, along the River Brit, and comes out near Palmers Brewery.
Of course I’ve only mentioned the shopping in Bridport here. There’s also a museum, loads of pubs, great places to eat and three arts venues. Click here for some details and links.
If you’ve read all this and haven’t yet booked accommodation for your trip to the area, we’d love to welcome you to West Bay Cottage. Take a look inside the cottage if you wish, or head to our Book With Us page for availability, the rates and how to book.
Do you want to whisk someone off on a fabulous romantic break? West Dorset is a perfect destination. Perhaps some of these ideas will inspire your romantic escape to our cottage for that special getaway!
Enjoy a countryside walk and the dreamy scenery of gentle rolling hills.
Stroll around the harbour together with an ice cream or a bag of chips.
Simply take to the South West Coast Path and gaze at the beautiful coastline.
Feast your eyes on the blanket of bluebells across Eype Down in late spring.
Make the most of Dorset’s dark sky and gaze at the stars together.
Snuggle in front of the wood burner in the cottage.
Feeling the love? So why not channel your inner Bridget Jones and visit West Dorset for a Full-Blown Mini-Break Holiday Weekend, or stay longer and explore all that the area has to offer. If you haven’t yet booked accommodation we’d love to welcome you to West Bay Cottage. Take a look inside the cottage, or head to our Book With Us page for availability, the rates and how to book.
For only the second time in history, the first being exactly 60 years ago, Bridport Town FC made it into the third round of the FA Cup qualifiers.
They were drawn against St Albans City, three divisions above them. St Albans is my home town so I went along to watch. Having never seen the Bees before I was a little disappointed to see they were wearing red kits rather than black and yellow stripes! Thinking my loyalties might be torn, I found myself supporting Bridport. I do like an underdog and they needed all the support they could get!
And the match? In the first half Bridport went down two goals but rallied in the second half to bring it back to 2-1. The last 10 minutes or so was all pressure by the Bees. The St Albans crowd was visibly anxious. But Bridport just couldn’t get that equaliser and the match finished 2-1 to Saints. Good effort though.
